OREANDA-NEWS.    The National Bar Association (NBA) presented the 2014 Maynard H. Jackson Jr. Legacy award to UPS® (NYSE: UPS) in recognition of the company's community leadership efforts.
According to the National Bar Association, the Jackson Award is given to an honoree for "empowering the future and providing leadership of our communities as did the late Honorable Maynard H. Jackson Jr."
Jackson was Atlanta's first African-American mayor, serving three terms (1974-1982 and 1990-1994). Jackson is credited for helping to improve race relations and leading major public-works projects, including renovation of the Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, which was renamed the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport following his death in 2003.
The award was presented on Monday, July 28, during the NBA's 89th annual convention in Atlanta. Teri McClure, chief legal, compliance and communications officer, accepted the award on behalf of UPS.
"Maynard Jackson was a visionary and UPS - along with so many others - is the beneficiary of his vision, his commitment, and his advocacy for Atlanta," McClure said.
UPS moved its headquarters to Atlanta from Greenwich, Conn., 23 years ago, during Jackson's third term as mayor. "We chose the Atlanta that Maynard Jackson helped to build, the one in his own vision," McClure said.
In addition to employing more than 13,000 people in the state, UPS has given back to Georgia communities by donating more than 28,600 volunteer hours this year. The UPS Foundation, UPS's charitable arm, has issued grant monies to dozens of causes throughout the state, including Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta and the Center for Civil and Human Rights.
UPS recently pledged to complete 20 million hours of global volunteerism and community service by the end of 2020. By achieving this goal, UPS's total volunteer hours will increase more than 12% and non-profits will receive volunteer assistance valued at more than USD 460 million by the end of the initiative, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates.
The National Bar Association is the nation's oldest and largest bar association of African-American lawyers, judges and law students. The NBA was founded in 1925 and has a network of more than 59,000 professionals.