St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) August 27, 2014 -- StorageMart of Columbia, Mo., is among 10 businesses and two charities who will receive TORCH Awards from Better Business Bureau (BBB) Serving Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois at noon Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis.
StorageMart is the latest incarnation of a self-storage business that homebuilder Gordon Burnam started in 1973. The current company was founded in 1999 after the previous company was bought by a competitor. It has 390 employees and 150 locations in the United States and Canada.
“I love a challenge,” said Cris Burnam, Gordon’s son and the current president. “For me, a challenge comes with constantly reinventing how we do business.” The company pays close attention to customer reviews on its own site as well as review sites to make sure customers are happy.
“I read every single review,” Burnam said.
Businesses and charities who apply for the TORCH Awards are evaluated for their commitment to customer service through exceptional standards for ethical business practices. A committee of previous winners chooses the award winners.
This year’s TORCH Awards features Mark Whitacre, once a rising star at Archer Daniels Midland who became an internationally known whistleblower on the company’s price-fixing practices. Whitacre, whose story was the basis for the movie, The Informant, has found his way back into business and is in high demand as a motivational speaker.
KMOV News Anchor Steve Savard will emcee the event.
The TORCH Awards luncheon is at noon Tuesday, Oct. 14, in the Khorassan Room at the Chase Park Plaza. Tickets for the luncheon are available at $60 a person, or $600 for a table of 10. Patron sponsorships, which include luncheon tickets, are available for $1,500.
To reserve a table or a seat at the event or for information on sponsorships, go to http://www.bbb.org/stlouis/events. For more information or for additional information on sponsorships, please call 314-645-0606 or send email to executive(dot)assistant(at)stlouisbbb.org.
About BBB
The BBB is a nonprofit, business-supported organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. All BBB services to the public are free. BBB provides objective advice, free BBB Business Reviews on more than 4 million companies, 11,000 charity reviews, dispute resolution services, alerts and educational information on topics affecting marketplace trust. Please visit http://www.bbb.org for more information.
About StorageMart
Headquartered in Columbia, Missouri since its formation with a single store in 1999, StorageMart now owns and operates 149 full-service self storage facilities throughout the United States and Canada. In addition to renting out self storage units, StorageMart properties offer for purchase a wide variety of high quality packing and moving supplies, making each StorageMart a one-stop shopping spot for all moving, packing and storage needs.
StorageMart Gives is the charitable arm of the company. Its mission is to identify strong, non-profit organizations to work with as partners in every market StorageMart calls home. Partner organizations include the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Open Books (Chicago), the Food Bank of Northeast and Central Missouri and the Des Moines Music Coalition as well as organizations dedicated to animal welfare, children’s advocacy groups and women’s shelters. StorageMart is also a charter member of Charity Storage, an industry wide giving back program providing financial assistance to non-profit organizations across the United States, including Kure-It Cancer Research.
Sarah Little, StorageMart, 573-449-0091, [email protected]
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