The Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership and Atlanta-based Turknett Leadership Group have announced the top award recipients for the 11th Annual Turknett Leadership Character Awards at the Awards ceremony held on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 at the Sheraton-Atlanta.

This year’s top award recipients are:

CEO/President/Managing Partner - Large Company Category 
Kessel Stelling, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer – Synovus

CEO/President/Managing Partner – Small/Medium Company Category 
Claire “Yum” Lewis Arnold, Chief Executive Officer – Leapfrog Services, Inc.

Executive Manager Category 
Letty Ashworth, Director of Global Diversity – Delta Airlines

Education Category 
Dr. Kenneth Bernhardt, retired Professor – Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University 
William Underwood, President – Mercer University

Non-Profit Category 
James Franklin, Chief Executive Officer – TechBridge 
Val Porter, Director – Foundation Center Atlanta

"Inspiritor" Category 
Susan Bell, Managing Partner – Ernst & Young 
Don Chapman, past Chair – Georgia Tech Foundation

Kent C. "Oz" Nelson, former CEO of UPS, received the third Lifetime Achievement Award for character in leadership. The award recognizes leaders who exemplify the highest standards of character and integrity over a lifetime of service to an organization and to the larger community.

Since 2003, the annual Turknett Leadership Character Awards have recognized Georgia leaders who demonstrate character in leadership based on alignment with the Leadership Character Model, a model developed by Bob and Lyn Turknett in 1995. The model represents character as a scale with integrity as the base and respect and responsibility balanced on either side. Nominations were accepted in six categories: CEO/President/Managing Partner – Large Company, CEO/President/Managing Partner – Small Company, Executive/Manager, Non Profit, Education and “Inspiritor.” The Awards ceremony was a part of the 24th annual Greenleaf Center Servant Leadership Conference.

Top award recipients in each category were selected by the five-person Advisory Board. Members of the 2014 Advisory Board include Ann Cramer, Senior Consultant with Coxe Curry & Associates; Tom Crawford, owner of Crawford Corporate Coaching; David Ratcliffe, former President, and CEO of Southern Company; Conchita Robinson, President and CEO of C Robinson Associates, Inc.; and Dr. Betty Siegel, President-Emeritus of Kennesaw State University.

The awards were presented under the auspices of the Greenleaf Center, a nonprofit [501(c)3] with international reach. This year’s awards luncheon was held as part of the Greenleaf Center’s 24th Annual International Servant Leadership Conference at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, September 24, 2014. The conference, which convenes those interested in building the understanding, awareness and practice of servant leadership, was an ideal venue to celebrate great leaders of the community.

UPS was the presenting sponsor for the 2014 Awards, and Kroger, GV Financial, FHLBank of Atlanta, and CMIT Solutions were additional sponsors.