Abilene Dental Lab
1318 State Street
This family owned business has a long history of full service and good reputation. The owner came to Abilene in 1946 to work for L. S. Perry Dental Laboratory. He lived in the Grace Hotel for three months along with two other employees. He worked his way up to eventually buying the lab.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then Jesse Jacques the owner of Abilene Dental Laboratory should be very flattered, he has two brothers and two sons who have worked for him and then opened their own dental laboratories. His youngest son David plans to follow suit this January.
In the 57 years that Mr. Jacques has been in business he has many loyal dentist customers. One of them had this to say, "After moving 300 miles from Abilene…I tried other dental laboratories that were much closer and more convenient. It took only a few tries before I elected to tolerate the inconvenience of increased package delivery time in favor of the dependable service that Mr. Jacques consistently delivered."
Another dentist put it this way, " Because of the high quality of work, his unwavering dedication to the profession, and his exemplary character, integrity, ethical standards and honesty; I have done business with his laboratory exclusively for forty years.
Hanner Chevrolet Pontiac GMC
I-20 at FM 2047 Baird Texas
Hanner Chevrolet owned by the Mark Hanner family, is on the eve of celebrating their 30th Anniversary. They had this to say to the Judges, "...we are committed in whatever we do, whether at work or at home, to be above reproach.
We try to lead this company by our example of service to others. …We are not going to be satisfied with average; we are looking for excellence in customer satisfaction." That philosophy results in happy customers that consistently rank the dealer at the top in customer satisfaction in GM surveys.
The company has found a formula of long tenured employees, empowered to "do it right" and leadership by example. The company knows that "Actions speak louder than words. Our Customer is watching our whole dealership, not just the person they are dealing with."
Hanner Chevrolet knows that "one of the highest compliments we receive is when a satisfied customer returns to buy another vehicle…" The dealership is blessed with many return customers, "This is the 5th vehicle I have purchased from you. I appreciate the way you do business." Another customer wrote, "We trade with them for many reasons, we know the sales person will be totally honest, we know we will get a good and fair price for our trade-in and for the vehicle we are buying…Above all, we know that Mark Hanner will personally assure that we are treated honestly and fairly, regardless of the problem."
First American Bank
Multiple locations in Abilene and the area
First American Bank was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of 11 savings and loan institutions. Since then, First American Bank has grown to over 95 statewide banking centers with over $3.3 Billion in assets.
The philosophy of First American Bank is commitment to total customer satisfaction. The bank has succeeded in that commitment; this is what the customer that nominated the company had to say …"very customer oriented; eager to help to find a solution or 'cure and ill'."
Good habits start at the beginning, and new employees at First American Bank begin their career with the company's code of conduct and conflicts of Interest policy. Within this policy is a Code of Ethics that spells out what is expected of all directors, officers, and employees. First on the list: employees are expected to be honest and forthright in all company activities.
Here is what one company had to say: "Working with First American Bank has been more of a partnership rather than a customer / vendor relationship. Through this trusted working relationship both businesses have benefited. First American Bank exemplifies the qualities that the Torch Award represents." First American Bank has a long tradition of helping many community organizations including the United Way, Boy Scouts, Kiwanis, the Day Nursery of Abilene, to name just a few. The list goes on and on. The company's commitment to Abilene is strong and will soon include a new corporate banking center on Buffalo Gap Road.