2005 Recipients

Avila Retail Development & Management, LLC

Avila Retail Development & Management, LLC has been in business for over 30 years in New Mexico. The business began with the vision of John & Kathleen Avila, a husband and wife team dedicated to two goals: serving the community (through employment and local product sales) and supporting their four children.

With twelve stores in Albuquerque, Denver and Phoenix, Avila Retail Development & Management has grown to great financial success. But, more importantly, this company’s ethical standards have afforded them an undeniable reputation for doing the right thing in the community.

With a formal code of conduct and ethical standards in place, Avila Retail Development & Management has a firm foundation based on moral values. This company empowers its employees to not only make ethical decisions at work, but to live daily by the principles of integrity, responsibility and accountability. This company offers a tremendous amount of training related to ethics and workplace accountability in addition to dedicating 80% or more of their employee newsletters to the same topics.

Their customers and suppliers and competitors often point to Avila Retail Development & Management’s customer service standards as top notch. During the 9/11 disaster, the Avila stores experienced great financial impact. But, instead of closing their doors to travelers stuck in airports, the shops remained open and even offered to ship purchases directly to their homes in an effort to ease baggage concerns. They are noted for going the extra mile and their stakeholders stand behind Avila Retail Development & Management because of their moral values and lawful operations.

Baca Valley Telephone Company, Inc.

In 1974, Baca Valley Telephone Company in Des Moines, NM began converting users of the party line service to a modern telephone system while providing the best possible customer service. Today, Baca Valley Telephone Company is an ethical family owned business with expanding services and a growing customer base.

At Baca Valley Telephone Company, the behaviors and attitudes of the staff at all levels demonstrate their desire to do the right thing regardless of cost to the company. When asked how his ethics practices are passed on to Baca Valley employees and other stakeholders, Paul Briesh, Jr, general manager of Baca Valley, responded “through my behaviors and actions”. As an example, Baca Valley Telephone Company regularly volunteers their staff and equipment to dig graves for community families when a loved on dies. Just last year, a semi-truck transporting horses crashed near the Baca Valley offices leaving the horses dead at the scene.
Baca Valley sent their backhoe and employees to dig graves for the horses.

For businesses in small communities, it makes good business sense to realize their dependence on happy customers. Baca Valley considers their purpose in the community as unconditional and full-time. 911 service in a community of this size is often re-routed to a larger town, in this case 40 to 50 miles away, making response time much slower in an emergency. But, Baca Valley Telephone Company sees their 911 operations as a necessary 24/7 service. While it’s not required by law and the cost is significant, Baca Valley sees it as their duty to provide the service round-the-clock at no extra charge to their customers.

Customers and other stakeholders are impressed with Baca Valley’s commitment to provide the most modern, up-to-date technology available while offering customer service that is reliable, trustworthy, honest, prompt to act, fair, responsible, diligent and community oriented.

Bobby Joe’s Auto Service

In a time when people are purchasing more new vehicles with warranties, a small family-owned auto shop in Albuquerque has maintained a strong business with long-term customer relationships. Bobby Joe and Suzie Rodriguez have built a business based on honest work and competitive pricing.

Bobby Joe’s Auto Service is one business that can boast about customer satisfaction. Their reputation in the community is outstanding. Customers say they are honest, reasonably priced and highly customer oriented. Several examples point to the shop’s honest approach to correcting automotive problems. One customer said she took her car to a shop which told her she needed one thousand dollars worth of repairs. After being referred to Bobby Joe’s, the shop’s only form of advertising, she was relieved to find that a one hundred dollar repair would do the job. Moreover, Bobby Joe’s does not place sales goals on their mechanics. Instead, Bobby Joe’s offers a plan for future repairs so that customers can budget accordingly. This level of honesty allows Bobby Joe’s Auto Service the luxury of loyalty from their customers.

As with any auto shop, Bobby Joe’s has the opportunity to purchase supplies from national suppliers. However, Bobby Joe’s is committed to supporting local businesses with excellent warranties, regardless of profit. Bobby Joe’s loyalty is unwavering; they have dealt with the same sales representative for 28 years.

Mentoring opportunities come daily at Bobby Joe’s. It is their mission to lead by example. Bobby Joe’s trains each new mechanic side-by-side with seasoned mechanics, some of whome have been with the company for decades. New mechanics learn that Bobby Joe’s is an honest and reliable auto shop and their actions are a reflection of the reputation they have worked so hard to build in the community.

Not-For-Profit Organization
PB&J Family Services, Inc.

Founded in 1972, PB&J Family Services, Inc. is a non-profit organization providing parenting programs focused on child abuse, neglect prevention and family preservation in central New Mexico.

PB&J has very thorough codes of conduct and ethical policies in place to manage the day-to-day ethical dilemmas which arise in their organization. Under law, PB&J is expected to train all staff in ethical decision-making annually. But, it’s their attention to going above and beyond the required that sets this organization apart. During regularly scheduled in-service trainings, staff engage in work-related mock scenarios and are expected to problem solve each dilemma to arrive at an ethical solution.

Open communication and trustworthiness are important components of the organization. PB&J believes strongly that ethical behavior among the staff is not something that merely gets placed on the checklist. PB&J says ethical behavior and the substance of who a person is will be evident in their conduct. Employees are expected to stand for the values of the organization in both their professional and personal lives. Any breach of PB&J’s clear ethical codes is managed through their strong organizational standards.

Values-based leadership is demonstrated by the Board of Directors and management. Their strong core belief is setting company values and influencing employees through personal examples. Management recognizes that it is possible for employees and clients to confuse friendships and professional relationships due to the nature of work at PB&J. In order to prevent such occurrences, management places an emphasis on creating appropriate boundaries within the organization. More importantly the management team is particularly mindful of their personal actions and behaviors in the workplace.

PB&J is recognized for exceeding ethical standards through its organizational design, company values and leadership.

PNM Award for Individual Excellence in Ethical Business Practice,
in Honor of John Ackerman
Judy Zanotti

Judy Zanotti is a native New Mexican who is deeply committed to doing the right thing. She is considered by many as a woman of integrity, honesty and fidelity. Her ethical principles have guided her through many personal and professional dilemmas. Judy’s ability to clearly define right and wrong has tempered her into a community leader who can be counted on to protect the interests of all people. Her leadership qualities have allowed her to leave a positive and lasting impression on the organizations she’s served.

Judy’s ethical and moral values were instilled in her at an early age by her Italian grandparents who immigrated to the United States. She was raised to do the right thing even when nobody was watching. Her grandparents taught her patriotism, the responsibility of being involved, and never to be afraid of being ostracized for her beliefs. Judy defines her ethical behavior as “respecting the dignity of every human being, building a sense of trust and building a values system for what you feel to be right.”

In business situations, Judy has faced numerous ethical dilemmas. In one situation, she had to deal with an employee’s poor job performance. In a typical situation, there may not have been an ethical dilemma. However, Judy faced a decision on whether to keep the employee, who was unable to perform his tasks, or face a political and social backlash. She wanted to do the right thing regardless of the impact of her decision.

Judy’s ethical values and principles are displayed in her personal and professional life. Community leaders call her an inspiration because of her ability to do the right thing regardless of perception.