Corporate Responsibility Magazine and the COMMIT!Forum are pleased to announce that Stuart Thorn, president and chief executive officer of Southwire, has been named the 2014 Corporate Responsibility Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Thorn will accept his award tonight at the culmination of the 2014 COMMIT!Forum. CR Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Awards recognize individuals whose risk-taking, vision and pioneering spirit have led to significant achievement in the field over the course of their careers.

“Stuart Thorn has dedicated his tenure at Southwire to creating a corporate culture that fervently promotes and advocates for corporate citizenship, responsibility and sustainability,” said Elliot Clark, CEO of SharedXpertise, the publisher of Corporate Responsibility Magazine. “We are proud to announce that this year’s Lifetime Achievement Awards goes to a leader like Stuart, who has built a career on a foundation of responsible corporate practices, and today serves as an example for chief executives across the world.”

“The credit for what we have achieved as a sustainable company lies squarely with Southwire’s 7,000 business people,” Thorn said. “I have been fortunate to enjoy a front-row seat as I’ve watched what our team can accomplish.  They’ve grown our business in a manner that builds worth for all of our stakeholders, while at the same time adhering to the highest ethical standards and responsibly stewarding our environment, our communities, and our employees.”

Under Thorn’s direction for the last 13 years, Southwire has created many initiatives and pledged to make a difference locally, within the company’s industry and around the world.  Stuart has been instrumental in bringing the Southwire’s goals to life by creating the standardized and branded framework for the organization’s five foundational pillars of success: building worth, growing green, living well, giving back and doing right.

He sincerely believes in the importance of community service, leads by personal example and his endeavors underscore the need for employees to increase their own involvement to the highest level possible when it comes to volunteerism and educating today’s youth.

Some of the programs that are making the greatest impact include Project GIFT (Giving Inspiration For Tomorrow), which matches employees with volunteer opportunities and other equally important initiatives that help to make their local community and the world a better place; 12 for Life a partnership with the Carroll County Schools motivates high school students on the verge of dropping out to graduate through education, employment and encouragement; the Southwire Engineering Academy, which, with the Carrollton City Schools, introduces juniors and seniors interested in science, technology, engineering and math to careers in engineering; the Southwire Center for Manufacturing Excellence at West Georgia Technical College, which allows students to build manufacturing and maintenance skills; and the Southwire Sustainable Business Honors Program,  a one-of-a-kind partnership with the University of West Georgia that offers traditional business classes with an emphasis on sustainable business practices. Students work in a hands-on environment on special projects with Southwire employees that relate to the company’s sustainability values. They are able to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration in four years.

In 2013, Southwire’s 12 for Life and SWEA programs helped Carroll County become the only county in Georgia invited to join Harvard University Graduate School of Education’s Pathways to Prosperity Project, which teams employers and educators to help students find routes into the labor market.

To learn more about Southwire’s products, community involvements, and its vision for a sustainable Southwire, please visit www.southwire.com.