Honoring Our Core Values: The ECI Everyday Hero Award

In its eighth year, our Everyday Hero Award program honors ECI customers across the world—both individuals and companies—who consistently go above and beyond to help others and their community. This year we are going global, inviting nominations from every corner of the world. Nominations can be submitted by ECI employees, customers, and partners and evaluated by a panel of judges.

For us here at ECI, this is the greatest time of the year. While we work non-stop for our customers year-round, Everyday Hero is an opportunity to share how our customers worked just as hard for their communities.

Over the years, we’ve received hundreds of stories describing the acts of service our customers carry out in their lives. We have been amazed these stories have included:

• Servicing children that are experiencing everything from hunger to cancer or lacking quality education in their country
• Helping people with medical care needs, be it a place to stay when away from home for treatment or a flight in a privately owned Cessna to medical facilities in a distant city
• Preventing drug addiction through education and music or preventing overdoses for those who are addicted
• Helping those who are physically challenged with job training, a bedroom designed to fit their needs or the simple, comforting gift of a weighted blanket
• Reaching out to those who are in danger of being left on the margins after being released from prison, becoming elderly, or living in a third-world country
• Helping animals in rural areas that don’t have a network of rescues, foster systems, and no-kill shelters; and many nominees just want to be of service and help multiple organizations in their communities
• And so much more!

Last year’s winners all shared the experience of being moved to serve after meeting someone whose life was very different---and far less comfortable---than their own. Our 2022 Everyday Hero Winner, Forough Hosseini and Nellie Lupoli of ICI Homes were recognized for their work building houses for working-poor families (Homes Build Hope) and helping children in Daytona Beach get good nutrition and educational opportunities (Food Brings Hope).

The First Runner-up, Chris Shee of MasterCraft Builder Group, loaned his support and technical expertise in designing and obtaining permits to construct a new boys’ home and a girls’ home at Seamark Ranch. His involvement provided the organization with two new 6,000 sq ft homes at a savings of over $500,000.

And our Second Runner-up, Jeff Cardwell of Cardwell Do it Best Home Center, was awarded for his work as the founder of People Helping People, which focuses on housing, hunger, health, and education initiatives in the United States and around the world.

We’re so blessed to work with customers who are truly transforming the world. The people we’ve met and the experiences we’ve shared have inspired us to give back by donating to the top three winners’ charities of choice. This year, we’ve opened up submissions to our customers around the globe, and the top prize is $10,000 USD, and $5,000 USD and $3,000 USD going to the two runners-up.

We can’t wait to learn more about our customers’ acts of giving through the submissions we’ll receive for the 2023 Everyday Hero Award.

Are you an Everyday Hero, or do you have a fellow employee who is? Nominations are now open and being accepted through May 19, 12:00 a.m. U.S. CDT.

Nominate your Hero today.