Ford Named 'Company of the Year' By African Americans On Wheels

8 January 1998
Ford Named 'Company of the Year' By African Americans On Wheels

    DETROIT, Jan. 8 -- Ford Motor Company was named "Company of
the Year" tonight at African Americans On Wheels Second Annual Golden Wheels
Awards gala reception at the Museum of African American History.  The event
precedes the public opening of the North American International Auto Show.
    Ford received the "C.R. Patterson Golden Wheel Award," which the magazine
hands out annually to an auto company for achievement in diversity,
employment, marketing, community service, supplier and dealer relations.  The
award is one of four selected by a panel of automotive journalists from across
the country.
    Accepting the award was Jac Nasser, president of Ford Automotive
Operations.  "Ford is proud to be named 'Company of the Year' by African
Americans On Wheels, and I'm pleased to accept the award on behalf of the
company and all of our employees," said Nasser.
    "Actually, it's not very surprising that Ford should win an award like
this," he added.  "From an historic standpoint, diversity always has played a
major role in the operations of the company, and it continues to do so today
-- in regard to employees, suppliers, dealers and our many community and
cultural programs."
    "Ford was selected because of its leadership in fostering a climate of
inclusion for African Americans in the automotive community," declared Randi
Payton, publisher and editor-in-chief of African Americans On Wheels.  The
company actively recruits and promotes minorities and does not hesitate in
targeting its products to African American consumers through black media.
Ford has also been a pioneer in helping blacks compete in major motorsports
competitions.  Last year, it announced a partnership with Washington Erving
Motorsports to produce NASCAR Winston Cup's only minority-owned teams.
    Ford's cultural and community activities have included major sponsorships
of UniverSoul Big Top Circus, which earned rave reviews from its 10-city tour;
the Henry Ford Academy of Manufacturing Arts & Sciences; a $1 million
contribution to the Museum of African American History; and the National
Association of Black MBAs.  The company has been most aggressive in its
support and recruitment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
    African Americans On Wheels magazine is a quarterly, 40-page supplement to
33 black newspapers and zoned editions of three daily publications:  The
Detroit News and Detroit Free Press and The Washington Post.

SOURCE  African Americans On Wheels