John H. Sykes to Receive Tampa Bay Ethics Award

Entrepreneur and philanthropist John H. Sykes will receive the Tampa Bay Ethics Award at a breakfast and ceremony on Friday, Sept. 21, from 7:30-9 a.m. in the Vaughn Center Crescent Club on The University of Tampa campus. The award is presented by UT’s Center for Ethics.

Sykes began his entrepreneurial endeavors in 1977, founding Sykes Enterprises Inc. in his hometown of Charlotte, NC. Under Sykes’ leadership, the company grew into one of the largest customer service support companies in the world. Sykes retired from Sykes Enterprises Inc. in 2004, going on to invest in several businesses in the financial services and thoroughbred horse industries.

He has been honored with numerous awards for his entrepreneur abilities and community involvement and inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame. Active in the Tampa Bay community, Sykes is a chairman emeritus and member of the UT Board of Trustees, and the Sykes College of Business and Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values at UT are named in his honor.

This is the 22nd annual Business Ethics Breakfast put on by the Center for Ethics at UT. The center conducts many programs throughout the year that combine education and business services, and is supported by an advisory board of business and community leaders.

Former winners of the ethics award include Gov. Bob Martinez, Freddie Solomon and Frederick B. Karl. Nominees for the award must live and work in the Tampa Bay area, and must demonstrate high ethical character in the course of their everyday lives. They must also promote and encourage ethics and integrity in the workplace or other organizations, and they must exhibit respect, trustworthiness and fairness.

The price to attend the Tampa Bay Ethics Awards is $25 per person or $150 per table of eight. Please RSVP by Friday, Sept. 14. For information or reservations, go to www.ut.edu/TampaBayEthicsAward or call (813) 257-3782.