The Bill Daniels Ethical Leadership Award was conceived in the fall of 2016 at an early-morning meeting at Turtle Rock Café in Laramie. Meeting participants from the UW College of Business and the Wyoming Business Alliance/Heritage Foundation determined it was time for Wyoming to honor citizens who embody the ethical leadership principles exhibited by Bill Daniels, a cable-television pioneer who started his professional career in Casper, Wyoming. The meeting participants took their concept to the Daniels Fund as well as their respective organizations and in a matter of a few short weeks, the Bill Daniels Ethical Leadership Award became a reality.
2017 - Dave Bonner was selected as the inaugural recipient of the ethical leadership award. Dave was recognized for serving as president of the University of Wyoming’s Board of Trustees, his 50 years as a highly-regarded newspaper publisher, and for his selfless service as a legislator and state elected official.
2018 - Attorney Greg Dyekman was the 2018 recipient of the Bill Daniels Ethical Leadership Award. The award was presented in November at the Wyoming Leaders and Legends Banquet at Little America in Cheyenne. The evening was the centerpiece of the annual Governor’s Business Forum and attracted Wyoming’s top business, government, education, and civic leaders. Greg Dyekman (center left) is pictured with former Governor Matt Mead, Daniels Fund Senior Vice President Bo Peretto, and others. In 2018, the award became a biennial event.
2020 - Tucker Fagan For his leadership capabilities and impact on the state and those he worked with, Tucker Fagan was awarded the 2020 Bill Daniels Ethical Leadership Award last by the Daniels Fund, the University of Wyoming College of Business and the Wyoming Business Alliance/Wyoming Heritage Foundation.
2022 - Eli Bebout of Riverton, was the recipient of the 2022 Bill Daniels Ethical Leadership Award. He was selected for this distinction, in part, due to his tenue in the Wyoming legislature, having served in the House and the Senate. Throughout his time in office, he consistently displayed an ethical presence and performed his duties with honor.
The Keiji G. and Shirley S. Okano Memorial Award for Ethical Leadership - This award is accompanied by a scholarship grant to a student enrolled in the College of Business at the University of Wyoming. To be eligible for this scholarship award, the student must be a member of the student-based ethics program and must have a 3.0 grade point average or higher. The recipient will be selected during the spring semester by the Bill Daniels Chair of Business Ethics, the Director of the Center for Principle-Based Leadership and Ethics, and a faculty member in the Principle-Based Leadership and Ethics program. The student receiving this award will be recognized during the Annual College of Business Recognition Dinner.
2022 – Tucker Norman
2023 – McKenna Kail
The NASBA Student Center for the Public Trust (StudentCPT) provides an interactive environment where ethical business behaviors and ideas can flourish on college campuses. Each school year, the StudentCPT will honor one student and one faculty member on each chapter’s campus who positively impacts the school by displaying strong, ethical leadership.
Campus Being a Difference Award recipients do not simply aspire to make a difference – they are being a difference on their campus and in other endeavors by embodying the best in ethical behavior, integrity, and leadership.
Teacher Recipients
Student Recipients
Created in 2013, the Wyoming Business Hall of Fame recognizes business and industry leaders who have demonstrated substantial business merit while making a virtuous impact on their community. The Wyoming Business Hall of Fame Award is a joint venture among the Daniels Fund, the University of Wyoming College of Business, Wyoming Business Council, and the Wyoming Business Alliance/Wyoming Heritage Foundation.
2019
Contemporary/Visionary – Kelly Lockhart
Legacy – Howard Woody
Legacy – Neil “Mick” McMurry (Casper)
Contemporary – Mike Wandler
2021
Legacy – Dr. Ray Fleming Dinneen
Legacy – Senator Mike Enzi
2022
Legacy – W. Richard Scarlett III
Legacy – Jim Mathis
The BBB Torch Awards for Ethics honors organizations whose leaders demonstrate a high level of personal character; ensure that the organization's practices meet the highest standards of ethics; and consequently, generate trust with its customers and the community. The program not only promotes the importance of building trust, but also celebrates the willingness and efforts made by outstanding organizations to help contribute to an honorable marketplace.
2020
Business Category - Elder Construction, Windsor, CO
Business Category - Exodus Moving and Storage, Fort Collins, CO
Business Category - Neenan Archistruction, Fort Collins, CO
Nonprofit Category - The Matthews House, Fort Collins, CO
2021
Business Category - Blue Federal Credit Union, Cheyenne, WY
Business Category - Coffey Engineering and Surveying, Laramie, WY
Business Category - Spine and Injury Clinic of Laramie, Laramie, WY
Nonprofit Category - Animal Friends Alliance, Fort Collins, CO
2022
Business Category - Kittle Real Estate
Business Category - Snaptron
Nonprofit Category - Neighbor to Neighbor
2023
Business Category - Ditesco Project & Construction Services
Business Category - Lindgren Landscape
Business Category - Palmer Flowers
Nonprofit Category - Dementia Together
Finalists competing in the John P. Ellbogen $50k Entrepreneurship Competition may be considered for the Ethical Startup Award by submitting a strategy for creating an ethical culture within their organization. The proposal incorporates the use of the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Principles as the centerpiece of the plan.
2019
Torch Creamery
2020
Build Mothers, Build the World
2021
LifeGlass
2022
Carving the Future
2023
MC Care
