NAACP Region Five Honors Goodyear as Corporation of the Year

AKRON, Ohio, May 7 , The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has been named Corporation of the Year by the NAACP's Region Five at the organization's 50th Annual Civil Rights Advocacy Training Institute in Charlotte, N.C.

Goodyear received the award based on the partnership it has developed with the NAACP's Southeast Region, which is comprised of seven states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Goodyear employs more than 14,000 associates at factory, retail and commercial operations in the region.

"I personally am gratified that Goodyear's efforts to improve the diversity of our North American organization have been recognized by a key advocacy group such as the NAACP," said Chairman Sam Gibara. "We made a conscious decision to improve our outreach and influence in the communities where so many of our associates work and live, and expect to continue our commitment and tradition of good corporate citizenship."

"As Goodyear and the NAACP work together to address various issues of mutual interest, we are able to reach a better understanding of each other's needs," said Philip Brown, vice president of human resources for Goodyear's North American Tire operations. "In the past, our respective organizations typically called on each other when we needed something. Today, we need to be in touch with each other daily, resulting in better, more useful contribution to all who depend on the NAACP to improve the quality of life."

Brown noted that Goodyear was instrumental in a voter registration drive at the company's retread facility in Social Circle, Ga. "The late W. C. Patton played a significant role in the success of the NAACP's voter registration drives," said Brown. "Today, his grandson is an employee of Goodyear, working at the company's Akron headquarters."

Brown added that Goodyear also has been involved in a pilot program aimed at supporting the rehabilitation of individuals convicted of non-violent crimes. The company called on its relationship with Chattanooga-based Armstrong Relocation to help sponsor the Spider Martin Collection of artwork portraying civil rights activities during the years 1965-1968. Armstrong is a supplier of relocation services for Goodyear.

Goodyear also has strengthened its relationship with the NAACP by raising its level of activity in job recruiting, according to Brown.

"Over the last twelve months, North American Tire has been putting into key positions personnel whose work and life experiences position them to find value in a diverse workforce and turn the diversity into a business asset," Brown said. "We have stepped up efforts in factory towns, at retail stores and at our headquarters in Akron, undertaking initiatives in three areas aimed at getting the best people in the right jobs.

"We're stepping up efforts to improve alliances between the company and community. Management teams -- especially in our factory locations -- are mirroring the community where an operation is located, with respect to the population. We've also begun a process to find a more effective way to resolve problems," added Brown.

"Goodyear recognizes that the diversity in others is essential because few, if any, are able to 'go it alone,'" Gibara said. "Success in today's work environment takes cooperation and collaboration.

"We are both pleased and honored to have an association with the NAACP that allows our organizations to identify areas of mutual interest so that, working together, we can change in the way we look at people, change in the way we think, and improve the way we conduct business."