CARLSBAD, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 18, 2006–Callaway Golf Company (NYSE:ELY) was named the winner of the 2006 Better Business Bureau International Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, topping a field of more than 1,000 international businesses, all of which had been honored as winners of local 2006 BBB Torch Awards. The announcement came Monday at the BBB’s official award ceremony in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Callaway Golf prevailed in the largest division, Category 1, for businesses with 1,000 or more employees. Last fall the Company won top honors in the San Diego Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) 2005 Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics for the third time in five years, and was among the finalists in the international competition.
"On behalf of our 3,500 worldwide employees, I want to thank the Better Business Bureau for recognizing Callaway Golf’s ongoing commitment to ethical business practices in the marketplace," said George Fellows, President and CEO of Callaway Golf. "We are extremely proud to receive this award for a number of reasons. It is a tribute to the way Callaway Golf employees conduct themselves in relationships with our customers and consumers and it is evidence that the ethical principles Ely Callaway insisted upon when he started Callaway Golf nearly 25 years ago have endured to this day throughout the culture of the Company he created."
Presented annually since 1996, the BBB International Torch Award recognizes the long-term value of honest and honorable business practices. The finalists for the 2006 International Torch Award came from the more than 1,000 businesses honored in local Torch Award competitions, which were narrowed to the 100 that qualified for entry at the international level.
"Callaway Golf enjoys a superb reputation for integrity, and can certainly say that it does well by doing right by its customers, employees, and business and community partners," said Steven Cole, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. "Since the establishment of the BBB International Torch Award for marketplace ethics in 1996, only 41 companies have ever earned the honor. This year we are proud to have Callaway Golf join our winners’ circle."
All finalists for the International Torch Award were selected by an independent panel of business ethics experts. Companies are evaluated against criteria including commitment to and demonstration of ethical practices in the marketplace; high standard of behavior toward customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and communities; truthfulness and accuracy of advertising and sales practices; ethical reputation among industry peers and communities in which they do business; and training and communications programs to assist employees in carrying out established ethics policies.
Through an unwavering commitment to innovation, Callaway Golf creates products and services designed to make every golfer a better golfer. Callaway Golf Company manufactures and sells golf clubs and golf balls, and sells golf accessories, under the Callaway Golf(R), Top-Flite(R), Odyssey(R) and Ben Hogan(R) brands. For more information visit www.callawaygolf.com.
Contact:
Callaway Golf Company
Larry Dorman
760-931-1771
