Torch Awards: Shining a Light on Ethical Excellence

Recognizing the 2025 Torch Awards Recipients Who Show How Integrity In Action Creates Lasting Trust

In a marketplace where headlines often highlight missteps, the real story is found in businesses that choose a different path — one defined by integrity, accountability and trust. Across Central Indiana, companies are proving that ethics is not a burden but a strength, shaping how they lead, how they serve and how they grow. The BBB® Torch Awards for Ethics, the organization’s premier honor, shines a light on these businesses and the principles by which they live.

This year, four recipients—Lucas Oil Products, Nguyen Law, Creative Financial Group and Summers of Kokomo—are recognized for demonstrating what ethics looks like in action. Their stories prove that trust is not built in grand gestures but in consistent, principled decisions that endure.

Lucas Oil Products: Character of Leadership

Leadership is ultimately measured not by titles but by the character required to guide people with integrity. At Lucas Oil Products, that philosophy has been central since its founding. CEO Morgan Lucas and President Katie Lucas carry forward the vision of company founder Forrest Lucas, Morgan’s father, who built the business on hard work, common sense and doing right by people.

Forrest’s recent passing brought fresh reflection on the foundation he established. He often said, “It doesn’t cost anything to smile,” a principle reflecting his belief that true leadership begins with respect and humility in every interaction.

Morgan has embraced that legacy, encouraging feedback from employees at all levels and striving to live with the same openness his father modeled. Katie, as president, partners with him to lead with accountability and compassion, ensuring decisions are rooted in integrity.

“Every person has a hand in shaping our mission, because true leadership is about building trust together,” Morgan notes.

For him and Katie, character is not an abstract value but the standard by which leadership decisions are made. Together, they show that leadership character is both a legacy to honor and a responsibility to carry forward.

“Every person has a hand in shaping our mission, because true leadership is about building trust together.” —Morgan Lucas, CEO, Lucas Oil Products

Creative Financial Group: Culture Built on Trust

For Creative Financial Group, culture is not a backdrop to business — it is the foundation on which everything else is built. Since its founding in 2003, the firm has worked to create an environment where employees feel valued, trusted and supported, knowing that culture is what sustains both ethical practices and client relationships.

CEO Kurt Supe and his leadership team emphasize transparency and open communication, fostering a workplace where employees contribute ideas and take ownership of the mission.

Staff members are encouraged to share perspectives during regular meetings, and their feedback often shapes company decisions. In this way, trust flows both ways: from leadership to employees, and from employees back to leadership.

Professional development is another cornerstone. Ongoing training in fiduciary responsibility, compliance and client service equips employees to navigate complex financial challenges with confidence. Beyond technical training, mentorship and career development programs reinforce that each person’s growth matters.

The result is a culture where employees feel empowered to do what is right, supported in their roles and connected to a larger purpose. As CEO Kurt emphasizes, “Culture is strongest when employees know they are empowered to make an impact”— a philosophy that underscores the firm’s belief that ethical business begins with the trust nurtured among its own people.

“Culture is strongest when employees know they are empowered to make an impact.” — Kurt Supe, CEO, Creative Financial Group

Summers of Kokomo: Commitment to Customers

At Summers of Kokomo, customer relationships are nurtured with as much care as technical expertise. The plumbing, heating and cooling company has served families since 1969 and built its reputation on honesty, reliability and respect.

Employees are trained in both technical and soft skills, ensuring they can deliver solutions while showing empathy. Summers empowers technicians with tools, authority and flexibility to resolve issues on the spot. Their philosophy is simple: every interaction should leave a customer confident they were heard and cared for. As Director of Operations Austin McQuiston observes, “Sometimes serving customers means doing more than the job—it means caring for the person behind the problem.”

One story captures this approach well. When a new mother faced a plumbing repair shortly after bringing her baby home, the Summers team not only completed the work but also arranged for professional cleaning to restore the home after the installation. Knowing the unique needs of a family with a newborn, they also provided a grocery gift card as an extra measure of care. Gestures like these highlight Summers’ belief that every customer is a person first, never just a transaction.

“Sometimes serving customers means doing more than the job—it means caring for the person behind the problem.” —Austin McQuiston, Director of Operations, Summers of Kokomo

Nguyen Law: Impact in the Community

For attorney David Nguyen, law is more than a career, it is a mission shaped by his family’s refugee story. Recognizing the challenges that immigrants and refugees face in an unfamiliar legal system, he founded Nguyen Law to provide not only representation but also education.

The firm’s commitment to community impact begins with accessibility. Clients are able to communicate in their preferred language, creating a sense of belonging while they confront complex legal matters. Nguyen Law extends its reach through free legal clinics, school presentations and partnerships with nonprofits, ensuring that those who might otherwise go unheard receive guidance.

This approach reflects Nguyen’s belief that knowledge empowers entire communities.

“Mentorship creates a ripple effect: when one person learns, a whole community grows stronger,” David says.

For him, that ripple effect is the true measure of impact — knowledge passed on, confidence gained and communities strengthened for generations.

“Mentorship creates a ripple effect: when one person learns, a whole community grows stronger.” —David Nguyen, Managing Attorney, Nguyen Law

The 2025 BBB® Torch Awards for Ethics honorees remind us that ethics in business is not an abstract principle but a daily practice. Each recipient reflects a different expression of trust in action — whether it’s a company guided by a founder’s legacy and a son’s commitment to leadership, a law firm giving voice to immigrant and refugee communities, a financial team cultivating a workplace where people thrive, or a service provider showing compassion in customers’ homes.

Together, they reveal how ethics comes alive in everyday decisions.

As BBB continues its mission of advancing marketplace trust, these stories show that ethics is not a slogan but a standard — one that guides leaders, shapes workplace culture, strengthens communities and defines customer care. They remind us that every choice matters, because each decision has the power to earn or erode trust. Ethics creates trust. Trust creates impact. And impact changes everything.

About the Torch Awards for Ethics®

The BBB® Torch Awards for Ethics shines a light on organizations that live out integrity and trust in meaningful ways. Applicants are reviewed by an independent panel of judges who look for excellence in leadership, culture, customer care and community impact. Honorees embody BBB’s mission of advancing marketplace trust through decisions that build confidence and credibility.