Author: sHq_LoGiNz

BOSTON, May 6, 2026 /3BL/ – Sappi North America has earned an EcoVadis Platinum rating, becoming the only paper and packaging manufacturer whose North American operations have reached this top-tier distinction six times. The recognition places Sappi among the top 1% of companies assessed by the global business sustainability ratings provider. The 2026 result is notable because EcoVadis tightened its criteria this cycle, raising the threshold for Platinum across the board.

“This recognition belongs to the teams across our mills, supply chain, and offices who treat sustainability as part of the daily work, not a separate program,” said Sean Wallace, VP of Sustainability, Research, and Development at Sappi North America. “It shows up in how we approach safety, energy use, sourcing, and our relationships with suppliers and communities.”

The Platinum rating joins other recent third-party recognition of Sappi’s sustainability work. In March, Sappi North America received the Climate Performance Award from ClimateWork Maine for its Maine operations. At the global level, parent company Sappi Limited also earned a place on the CDP Forests A List for 2025, alongside strong scores in Climate Change (A-) and Water Security (B).

EcoVadis evaluates companies across four themes: Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. Sappi North America’s results are backed by tangible work in each area. About 78% of SNA’s energy comes from renewable and clean sources, contributing to Sappi’s Science Based Targets initiative-approved goal of reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions 41.5% per ton of product by 2030 against a 2019 baseline. On Sustainable Procurement, 82% of SNA’s eligible spend is now covered by suppliers who have signed compliance with Sappi’s Supplier Code of Conduct.

EcoVadis provides an evidence-based view of a company’s sustainability management system. More than 130,000 companies across 200 industries and 175 countries have been assessed through the platform.

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About Sappi North America, Inc.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, Sappi North America is part of a global pulp, paper, and packaging company that transforms wood-fiber into sustainable alternatives to plastics and fossil fuel-based products. From cosmetics packaging and food-safe barrier papers to dissolving wood pulp used in textiles, our solutions support a circular economy worldwide.

Employing approximately 2,200 people across facilities in Maine, Minnesota, and Quebec, Sappi North America combines deep manufacturing expertise with a commitment to responsible forestry. Recognized with an elite EcoVadis Platinum rating for seven consecutive years and CDP scores of A in Forests, A- in Climate Change, and B in Water Security, we back our sustainability claims with data.

Sappi North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited (JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with more than 12,000 employees and manufacturing operations on three continents across seven countries, and customers in over 150 countries. To learn more, visit www.sappi.com.

Contact:

April Jones

Sr. Corporate Communications Manager, Sappi North America
april.jones@sappi.com
617.398.0691

ATLANTA, May 6, 2026 /3BL/ – Georgia-Pacific announced that effective immediately, John Mulcahy, vice president of stewardship for Georgia-Pacific, will assume the role of senior vice president of communications, public affairs and stewardship.

After 38 years of contributions to the company, Sheila Weidman, senior vice president of communications, government and public affairs, has decided to retire effective June 5. Over her career, Sheila embraced a series of leadership roles with increasing scope and impact, ultimately serving on Georgia-Pacific’s executive leadership team for more than two decades.

John joined Georgia-Pacific in 1987 and most recently served as vice president of stewardship, where he worked with GP’s business units and capability groups to develop and implement sustainability strategies, directed the company’s sustainable forestry practices, and helped drive overall sustainability improvement. Prior to that role, he held stewardship, category management, strategy, and supply chain roles in both the Consumer Products and Packaging & Cellulose businesses. In his new role, John will lead the capability as Georgia-Pacific heads into its second century.

With this leadership change, David Brabham will become the vice president of Georgia-Pacific’s stewardship capability. Prior to this role, David served as senior director of customer engagement and stewardship for the company’s cellulose, containerboard, recycling and pine solutions businesses. He returns to the GP stewardship capability after spending more than a decade in various forestry and sustainability roles with the company, focused on responsible resource management, policy and stewardship strategy.

About Georgia-Pacific 
Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose and building products. Our familiar consumer brands include Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Dixie®, enMotion®, Quilted Northern®, Sparkle® and Vanity Fair®. Georgia-Pacific has long been a leading supplier of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. Its Georgia-Pacific Recycling subsidiary is among the world’s largest traders of paper, metal and plastics. The company operates more than 150 facilities and employs approximately 30,000 people directly and creates more than 80,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: gp.com/about-us. For news, visit: news.gp.com. Follow Georgia-Pacific on LinkedIn, Meta, Instagram, X and YouTube.

SOURCE Georgia-Pacific

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SLB received two 2026 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Spotlight on New Technology Awards, recognizing innovations that are helping reshape the offshore energy sector.

Each year, the OTC Spotlight on New Technology Awards honor breakthrough solutions that demonstrate real‑world performance and impact across drilling, completions, subsea systems, AI, and more. Winning technologies are evaluated on uniqueness, proven success, commercial viability, and their ability to deliver meaningful value to the offshore industry.

This year, two SLB technologies were selected as 2026 award recipients:

Retina™ at-bit imaging system 
The Retina at-bit imaging system redefines formation evaluation by delivering high-resolution, complete borehole images directly at the drill bit. Integrated into PDC drill bits, it captures pristine formation detail before drilling impact, enabling confident decisions, optimized well placement, and expanded subsurface understanding — without impacting drilling performance or efficiency.

“Retina provides an unparalleled view of the formation and its characteristics downhole, enabling better-informed decisions from the start,” said Cecilia Prieto, president, Well Construction, SLB. “This leading-edge technology marks a significant advancement in borehole imaging, providing drillers with critical insight in situations where it was previously impossible. With imaging at the bit, before the formation is affected by drilling fluids, the exceptional resolution unlocks new opportunities around drilling, fluid management, and completions, leading to significant risk reduction and production optimization.”

FIV-III™ dual-trigger formation isolation valve 
The SLB FIV-III dual-trigger formation isolation valve, equipped with eTrigger™ IV electronic activation, delivers steadfast redundancy for well control in demanding environments. Its remote operation, robust sealing, extended suspension capability, and adaptive activation ensure offshore operations enhanced safety, efficiency, and compliance, setting a new benchmark in reliability and operational performance.

At OTC 2026, SLB experts are also sharing insights across a wide range of technical paper sessions, covering key challenges and innovations shaping the future of offshore energy.

Learn more about SLB technology and innovation here.

View original content here.

Now in its fifth year since its 2021 launch, the Excellence Awards continue to spotlight some of the most impactful work across Covia. With over 100 nominations submitted from Covia’s various locations and departments, the selection process reflected an outstanding pool of candidates and the high level of performance in 2025. Ten awards were presented in total, which is an increase from previous years, including the introduction of a new category. Covia introduced the Mission Impact Award to recognize a nominee whose contributions exemplify our values and directly advance the mission.

The 2025 Covia Excellence Award winners are:

• President’s Safety Award (Large Plant) – Ahuazotepec Plant (Mexico)
• President’s Safety Award (Small Plant) – Tamms Plant (Illinois)
• Plant of the Year – Portage Plant (Wisconsin)
• Leaf Environmental Award – Emmett Plant (Idaho)
• Team Impact Award – Ashleigh Snyder, Customer Service Supervisor
• Support Impact Award – Chase Charron, Business Process Specialist
• Operations Impact Award – Wlices Ramos, Operations Director
• Commercial Impact Award – Jonathan Cockrell, Senior Sales Manager
• Mission Impact Award – Steve Schilling, Director Technology & Application Development
• Volunteer of the Year – David Gatto, Operator

President’s Safety Awards

The President’s Safety Award is presented to Covia facilities that demonstrate the highest level of safety performance across a rigorous set of criteria, reflecting our unwavering commitment to keeping people safe. The award recognizes excellence across key metrics including recordable and lost-time incidents, self‑assessment actions, exposure monitoring, incident investigations, and near‑miss reporting. With zero always the goal, only sites achieving an exceptionally high, and nearly perfect, safety record are eligible. This year, Covia introduced separate award categories for small and large plants to better reflect the differing operational challenges, while maintaining the same uncompromising safety expectations for all facilities.

President’s Safety Award (Small Plant)

The Tamms Plant (Illinois) received the President’s Safety Award for a Small Plant. The Tamms team not only met the strict qualifying criteria but also distinguished itself by completing more than 250 days of Soter wearable monitoring. By wearing the monitoring, participants reduced their risk of injury,, achieving an average spine hazard improvement of more than 20%. The site completed three of four MSHA inspections with zero citations, reported no dust exposure exceeding internal occupational limits, and continued to reliably and effectively serve customer needs.

President’s Safety Award (Large Plant)

The Large Plant President’s Safety Award was presented to the Ahuazotepec Plant (Mexico), marking the third consecutive year of perfect safety performance. The plant has also earned Plant of the Year honors in each of the past two years. In addition to meeting all qualifying criteria, the Ahuazotepec team corrected 376 identified hazards, reported nearly 40 near misses, completed over 2,000 safety behavior interactions, and conducted 24 safety and health committee tours, identifying over 240 unsafe conditions. The site logged over 7,700 hours of safety training and nearly 300 hours of fire training for 35 members. It also became “Safe Company” certified for self-management of safety, setting a powerful example of what sustained safety excellence looks like.

Plant of the Year

The Covia Plant of the Year award recognizes excellence in safety, manufacturing performance, environmental stewardship, and community engagement. It is presented to a facility that meets all safety and environmental KPIs while demonstrating exceptional operational results, including achieving cost-per-ton performance at or below budget and maintaining zero plant-controllable customer complaints.

Covia is proud to name the Portage Plant (Wisconsin) as the 2025 Plant of the Year. Portage stands out not only because the team met these demanding standards, but also because of how they did so. Despite being one of Covia’s smaller, older facilities with limited capital investment, Portage achieved remarkable results through focused leadership, creativity, and persistence. The team deepened its understanding of customers, implemented innovative scheduling and workforce adjustments in response to volume changes, and optimized operations to reduce electricity costs. These efforts dramatically improved the plant’s cost profile and reflected a strong growth mindset across the organization. Thanks to the team’s determination to continually improve and make the most of every opportunity, Portage had a fantastic year and exemplified well-rounded excellence.

Leaf Award for Environmental Excellence

The Environmental Leaf Award recognizes a Covia facility that demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to environmental compliance and impactful environmental and community projects. The Emmett Plant (Idaho) was selected for this honor in 2025 based on its significant positive environmental impact and strong alignment with Covia’s environmental goals. The Emmett plant distinguished itself in every area. Highlights include completing 99% of Cority compliance activities on time, proactively managing environmental projects, earning Gold Certification through the Wildlife Habitat Council for its award-winning conservation program, and engaging the local community through school field trips, bird banding efforts, and supporting at-risk populations. The plant also reported zero spills and celebrated an exceptional milestone: 30 years of safe operations. These accomplishments exemplify environmental excellence and responsible stewardship, making the Emmett plant the 2025 Environmental Leaf Award winner.

Impact Awards

Operations Impact Award

By nature, plant operations are complex, requiring strong coordination across teams, disciplines, and priorities to deliver results. While Covia recognizes this through awards at the plant level for safety, environmental performance, and Plant of the Year, there are also individuals whose leadership and dedication create a meaningful operational impact.

Covia is proud to present the Operations Impact Award to Wlices Ramos, Operations Director at the Canoitas, Mexico Plant. Through multiple independent nominations, Wlices was consistently recognized for driving a significant operational transformation at Covia’s largest plant in Mexico, achieving substantial improvements in safety, cost, quality, service, and culture. Through strong leadership, employee empowerment, a zero-incident mindset, and strong financial, customer, and quality results, Wlices embraces Covia’s values and is making a lasting, positive impact on operations.

Commercial Impact Award

The Commercial Impact Award recognizes individuals who exemplify leadership and professionalism in all areas of commercial excellence. For 2025, Covia is proud to honor Jonathan Cockrell with this distinction. A senior sales manager, Jon was nominated by colleagues from Sales, Operations, and Logistics, reflecting his highly collaborative, cross-functional approach. He is known for operating beyond his formal role and has driven significant revenue, margin, and volume growth through major renewals and long-term contracts, as well as his involvement in the opening of Covia’s Innovation Center. Jon has not only generated tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue but has also successfully navigated complex customer transitions and negotiations while demonstrating strong commercial judgment and a commitment to winning business the right way.

Support Impact Award

The Support Impact Award recognizes individuals whose contributions to critical processes often occur behind the scenes. Covia is pleased to recognize Chase Charron, Business Process Specialist, for his support of IFS functions for the Operations team in 2025. Chase led the successful implementation of the Shipment Management Portal (SMP) at the Marston, North Carolina Plant, whi`ch is Covia’s largest shipping location in the Performance Materials market. He executed a seamless rollout in their 24/7 operating environment, allowing for real-time shipment visibility and near-instant customer invoicing. Chase has also supported multiple plants with SMP deployments and other IFS initiatives, earning consistent recognition as a collaborative, hands-on expert who adapts quickly, solves complex challenges, and demonstrates a strong growth mindset that helps drive lasting success.

Team Impact Award

The Team Impact Award evolved from the Prism Award to better align with Covia’s values by recognizing individuals whose results are driven by collaboration and strong team leadership. Covia is proud to recognize Ashleigh Snyder, Customer Service Supervisor, for her ability to guide customer service teams and cross-functional partners through significant change. Ashleigh is consistently described as approachable, patient, and generous with her time. She is known for listening, welcoming feedback, and recognizing the contributions of others. These qualities made her a stabilizing leader during key transitions and enterprise initiatives. Through her partnerships with Sales, SIOP, Logistics, IT, and Operations, she helped maintain alignment, engagement, and execution. She ensured continuity for customers, even during periods of transformation, and demonstrated the power of Covia’s Team Value in action.

Mission Impact Award

Alongside its established awards, Covia introduced the Mission Impact Award for 2025 to recognize a nominee whose contributions exemplify Covia values and directly advance its Mission. For 2025, this new award recognizes Steve Schilling, whose leadership delivered impact across strategy, execution, and results. Steve played a pivotal role in opening the new Covia Innovation Center in Concord, North Carolina, a state‑of‑the‑art lab that opened on time and under budget, while simultaneously accelerating product and R&D pipelines. His team has helped support the successful commercialization of MinexST and the advancement of 20 new product ideas into Covia’s formal stage‑gate process. In parallel, Steve partnered closely with Sales to institutionalize customer engagement, strengthen technical credibility, customer interaction, and demand generation. He also partnered with a cross functional team to rebuild audit-ready reporting for new product sales and vitality metrics. Steve is repeatedly described as a selfless, high‑standards leader who elevates teams, challenges the status quo, and focuses on building durable capabilities rather than one‑off wins. Ultimately, his work consistently converts innovation into profit, customer‑visible results that drive commercial growth, and create scalable capabilities that enhance Covia’s competitive position both today and well into the future.

Volunteer of the Year

Covia is proud to help our team members invest in their communities, and the Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes a standout individual whose consistent service makes a difference in their area. Nominees were selected from team members who earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award by completing at least 200 volunteer hours. This year’s nominee pool included more than 15 individuals, with David Gatto standing out for his exceptional service. David volunteers extensively with Possibilities International, supporting humanitarian efforts such as medical aid, food distribution, housing assistance, and the delivery of essential supplies to individuals facing hardship, while also providing transportation for volunteer teams. David’s dedication to service embodies the spirit of community impact at the heart of this award.

“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the world’s problems, but I believe we can change the world by sharing hope with the people who need it most.”
— David Gatto, 2025 Volunteer of the Year Winner

Congratulations to all of our 2025 award winners! Each winner exemplifies Covia’s values through outstanding performance, leadership, and teamwork. These achievements reflect the meaningful difference our people make every day, from operational and commercial excellence to environmental stewardship and community impact. We encourage you to take a moment to congratulate the winners. Their accomplishments set a powerful example and help move Covia forward.

Now in its fifth year since its 2021 launch, the Excellence Awards continue to spotlight some of the most impactful work across Covia. With over 100 nominations submitted from Covia’s various locations and departments, the selection process reflected an outstanding pool of candidates and the high level of performance in 2025. Ten awards were presented in total, which is an increase from previous years, including the introduction of a new category. Covia introduced the Mission Impact Award to recognize a nominee whose contributions exemplify our values and directly advance the mission.

The 2025 Covia Excellence Award winners are:

• President’s Safety Award (Large Plant) – Ahuazotepec Plant (Mexico)
• President’s Safety Award (Small Plant) – Tamms Plant (Illinois)
• Plant of the Year – Portage Plant (Wisconsin)
• Leaf Environmental Award – Emmett Plant (Idaho)
• Team Impact Award – Ashleigh Snyder, Customer Service Supervisor
• Support Impact Award – Chase Charron, Business Process Specialist
• Operations Impact Award – Wlices Ramos, Operations Director
• Commercial Impact Award – Jonathan Cockrell, Senior Sales Manager
• Mission Impact Award – Steve Schilling, Director Technology & Application Development
• Volunteer of the Year – David Gatto, Operator

President’s Safety Awards

The President’s Safety Award is presented to Covia facilities that demonstrate the highest level of safety performance across a rigorous set of criteria, reflecting our unwavering commitment to keeping people safe. The award recognizes excellence across key metrics including recordable and lost-time incidents, self‑assessment actions, exposure monitoring, incident investigations, and near‑miss reporting. With zero always the goal, only sites achieving an exceptionally high, and nearly perfect, safety record are eligible. This year, Covia introduced separate award categories for small and large plants to better reflect the differing operational challenges, while maintaining the same uncompromising safety expectations for all facilities.

President’s Safety Award (Small Plant)

The Tamms Plant (Illinois) received the President’s Safety Award for a Small Plant. The Tamms team not only met the strict qualifying criteria but also distinguished itself by completing more than 250 days of Soter wearable monitoring. By wearing the monitoring, participants reduced their risk of injury,, achieving an average spine hazard improvement of more than 20%. The site completed three of four MSHA inspections with zero citations, reported no dust exposure exceeding internal occupational limits, and continued to reliably and effectively serve customer needs.

President’s Safety Award (Large Plant)

The Large Plant President’s Safety Award was presented to the Ahuazotepec Plant (Mexico), marking the third consecutive year of perfect safety performance. The plant has also earned Plant of the Year honors in each of the past two years. In addition to meeting all qualifying criteria, the Ahuazotepec team corrected 376 identified hazards, reported nearly 40 near misses, completed over 2,000 safety behavior interactions, and conducted 24 safety and health committee tours, identifying over 240 unsafe conditions. The site logged over 7,700 hours of safety training and nearly 300 hours of fire training for 35 members. It also became “Safe Company” certified for self-management of safety, setting a powerful example of what sustained safety excellence looks like.

Plant of the Year

The Covia Plant of the Year award recognizes excellence in safety, manufacturing performance, environmental stewardship, and community engagement. It is presented to a facility that meets all safety and environmental KPIs while demonstrating exceptional operational results, including achieving cost-per-ton performance at or below budget and maintaining zero plant-controllable customer complaints.

Covia is proud to name the Portage Plant (Wisconsin) as the 2025 Plant of the Year. Portage stands out not only because the team met these demanding standards, but also because of how they did so. Despite being one of Covia’s smaller, older facilities with limited capital investment, Portage achieved remarkable results through focused leadership, creativity, and persistence. The team deepened its understanding of customers, implemented innovative scheduling and workforce adjustments in response to volume changes, and optimized operations to reduce electricity costs. These efforts dramatically improved the plant’s cost profile and reflected a strong growth mindset across the organization. Thanks to the team’s determination to continually improve and make the most of every opportunity, Portage had a fantastic year and exemplified well-rounded excellence.

Leaf Award for Environmental Excellence

The Environmental Leaf Award recognizes a Covia facility that demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to environmental compliance and impactful environmental and community projects. The Emmett Plant (Idaho) was selected for this honor in 2025 based on its significant positive environmental impact and strong alignment with Covia’s environmental goals. The Emmett plant distinguished itself in every area. Highlights include completing 99% of Cority compliance activities on time, proactively managing environmental projects, earning Gold Certification through the Wildlife Habitat Council for its award-winning conservation program, and engaging the local community through school field trips, bird banding efforts, and supporting at-risk populations. The plant also reported zero spills and celebrated an exceptional milestone: 30 years of safe operations. These accomplishments exemplify environmental excellence and responsible stewardship, making the Emmett plant the 2025 Environmental Leaf Award winner.

Impact Awards

Operations Impact Award

By nature, plant operations are complex, requiring strong coordination across teams, disciplines, and priorities to deliver results. While Covia recognizes this through awards at the plant level for safety, environmental performance, and Plant of the Year, there are also individuals whose leadership and dedication create a meaningful operational impact.

Covia is proud to present the Operations Impact Award to Wlices Ramos, Operations Director at the Canoitas, Mexico Plant. Through multiple independent nominations, Wlices was consistently recognized for driving a significant operational transformation at Covia’s largest plant in Mexico, achieving substantial improvements in safety, cost, quality, service, and culture. Through strong leadership, employee empowerment, a zero-incident mindset, and strong financial, customer, and quality results, Wlices embraces Covia’s values and is making a lasting, positive impact on operations.

Commercial Impact Award

The Commercial Impact Award recognizes individuals who exemplify leadership and professionalism in all areas of commercial excellence. For 2025, Covia is proud to honor Jonathan Cockrell with this distinction. A senior sales manager, Jon was nominated by colleagues from Sales, Operations, and Logistics, reflecting his highly collaborative, cross-functional approach. He is known for operating beyond his formal role and has driven significant revenue, margin, and volume growth through major renewals and long-term contracts, as well as his involvement in the opening of Covia’s Innovation Center. Jon has not only generated tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue but has also successfully navigated complex customer transitions and negotiations while demonstrating strong commercial judgment and a commitment to winning business the right way.

Support Impact Award

The Support Impact Award recognizes individuals whose contributions to critical processes often occur behind the scenes. Covia is pleased to recognize Chase Charron, Business Process Specialist, for his support of IFS functions for the Operations team in 2025. Chase led the successful implementation of the Shipment Management Portal (SMP) at the Marston, North Carolina Plant, whi`ch is Covia’s largest shipping location in the Performance Materials market. He executed a seamless rollout in their 24/7 operating environment, allowing for real-time shipment visibility and near-instant customer invoicing. Chase has also supported multiple plants with SMP deployments and other IFS initiatives, earning consistent recognition as a collaborative, hands-on expert who adapts quickly, solves complex challenges, and demonstrates a strong growth mindset that helps drive lasting success.

Team Impact Award

The Team Impact Award evolved from the Prism Award to better align with Covia’s values by recognizing individuals whose results are driven by collaboration and strong team leadership. Covia is proud to recognize Ashleigh Snyder, Customer Service Supervisor, for her ability to guide customer service teams and cross-functional partners through significant change. Ashleigh is consistently described as approachable, patient, and generous with her time. She is known for listening, welcoming feedback, and recognizing the contributions of others. These qualities made her a stabilizing leader during key transitions and enterprise initiatives. Through her partnerships with Sales, SIOP, Logistics, IT, and Operations, she helped maintain alignment, engagement, and execution. She ensured continuity for customers, even during periods of transformation, and demonstrated the power of Covia’s Team Value in action.

Mission Impact Award

Alongside its established awards, Covia introduced the Mission Impact Award for 2025 to recognize a nominee whose contributions exemplify Covia values and directly advance its Mission. For 2025, this new award recognizes Steve Schilling, whose leadership delivered impact across strategy, execution, and results. Steve played a pivotal role in opening the new Covia Innovation Center in Concord, North Carolina, a state‑of‑the‑art lab that opened on time and under budget, while simultaneously accelerating product and R&D pipelines. His team has helped support the successful commercialization of MinexST and the advancement of 20 new product ideas into Covia’s formal stage‑gate process. In parallel, Steve partnered closely with Sales to institutionalize customer engagement, strengthen technical credibility, customer interaction, and demand generation. He also partnered with a cross functional team to rebuild audit-ready reporting for new product sales and vitality metrics. Steve is repeatedly described as a selfless, high‑standards leader who elevates teams, challenges the status quo, and focuses on building durable capabilities rather than one‑off wins. Ultimately, his work consistently converts innovation into profit, customer‑visible results that drive commercial growth, and create scalable capabilities that enhance Covia’s competitive position both today and well into the future.

Volunteer of the Year

Covia is proud to help our team members invest in their communities, and the Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes a standout individual whose consistent service makes a difference in their area. Nominees were selected from team members who earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award by completing at least 200 volunteer hours. This year’s nominee pool included more than 15 individuals, with David Gatto standing out for his exceptional service. David volunteers extensively with Possibilities International, supporting humanitarian efforts such as medical aid, food distribution, housing assistance, and the delivery of essential supplies to individuals facing hardship, while also providing transportation for volunteer teams. David’s dedication to service embodies the spirit of community impact at the heart of this award.

“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the world’s problems, but I believe we can change the world by sharing hope with the people who need it most.”
— David Gatto, 2025 Volunteer of the Year Winner

Congratulations to all of our 2025 award winners! Each winner exemplifies Covia’s values through outstanding performance, leadership, and teamwork. These achievements reflect the meaningful difference our people make every day, from operational and commercial excellence to environmental stewardship and community impact. We encourage you to take a moment to congratulate the winners. Their accomplishments set a powerful example and help move Covia forward.

Originally published on Aflac Newsroom

Sports fans immediately recognize his voice. Beloved broadcaster Ernie Johnson Jr. first graced the airwaves in 1979 and quickly became one of the most recognizable sports hosts and analysts. On air, his visible warmth, humor and humanity was welcomed in millions of living rooms across the nation and matched only by his persona off the air.

Then, “it” happened.

Ernie’s long cancer journey began quietly in 2003, at the young age of 47. He noticed swelling on the left side of his face. Admittedly, he delayed getting it checked out — after all, it was painless and didn’t interfere with his work. Eventually, he saw his doctor, went through scans, biopsies and a bone marrow test before finally receiving a diagnosis: non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, but also a wake-up call that transformed him from innocent bystander to the cancer epidemic into an active advocate. It was only the tip of his iceberg, as years later, prostate cancer would take hold as well.

Not just a survivor — a champion

This April, Ernie received an honor, becoming one of Aflac’s inaugural Check for Cancer Champions. An exclusive group comprised of people who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to turning negatives into positives.

Though he is grateful for this recognition, there’s a common phrase among those living with cancer that Ernie often expresses, “It’s a club no one wants to belong to.” It’s through this reluctant association that he gained a new understanding of vulnerability, empathy and the importance of using his platform and voice to help others navigate their own journeys, starting with early detection. That’s why he turned his own situation into an opportunity to fiercely advocate for cancer screenings and proactive health care. It is why he has been named a Check for Cancer Champion.

Using his voice to inspire others to check for cancer

Ernie doesn’t cut around the edges when it comes to his advocacy. He urges people to face the “fear factor” of testing — avoidance is not a strategy. He encourages open conversations and uses his own experience as proof points. And for those diagnosed, he says, “You may have cancer, but it doesn’t have you!”

Ernie is famous. He has a wonderful family and is beloved within and outside of his profession. He could easily have dealt with cancer in solitude. He had every right to say, “It’s none of your business.” But that is not Ernie. That’s not the man who gives of himself in ways that are never discussed or publicized. It’s not the guy who quietly gives back to his community, visits children at the nearby cancer center and motivates others to higher levels of altruism.

What he does is speak out. He says, “There’s no shame in taking care of your health,” reminding men that it is a sign of strength. He lends his name and bandwidth to organizations whose missions are to improve and save lives through advocacy awareness and support. He pulls no punches reminding Black men to prioritize early screening, as they are more likely than any others to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. And, extending his legacy of advocacy, Ernie and his wife Cheryl, cofounded the Love You Too Foundation to support vulnerable children and families facing various health‑related needs. Ernie Johnson Jr. helps save lives, and that makes him a champion.

The Check for Cancer Champions program is part of Aflac’s Check for Cancer initiative, a bold, national movement to increase cancer screenings by 10% over 10 years. Learn more about the Check for Cancer movement by visiting Aflac.com/CheckForCancer.

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FedEx and longtime supported nonprofit, Orbis International, have been named “Best of the Best” at the 2026 Halo Awards, the highest honor presented by Engage for Good to recognize outstanding corporate–nonprofit partnerships that prove purpose and business can go hand in hand.

The award celebrates Delivering Sight Worldwide, a decades-long collaboration that combines FedEx’s global logistics and aviation expertise with Orbis’s mission to improve access to eye care around the world.

Powering the Flying Eye Hospital

At the heart of the partnership is the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital—a fully accredited teaching hospital onboard an aircraft. The Flying Eye Hospital delivers advanced eye care to underserved communities while training local ophthalmologists, nurses, and biomedical engineers to ensure lasting impact.

For more than 40 years, FedEx has helped make this work possible. From donating the aircraft itself to providing global logistics, aviation expertise, volunteer pilots, and ongoing maintenance, FedEx plays a critical role in ensuring Orbis teams—and life-changing eye care—can reach people who need it most.

Sight That Transforms Lives

Beyond restoring vision, Delivering Sight Worldwide opens doors to education, employment, and fuller participation in daily life. As Orbis leaders have shared, restoring sight doesn’t just change what patients see—it changes what’s possible for them, their families, and their communities.

This holistic impact is what set FedEx and Orbis apart among the 2026 Halo Award honorees. Selected from 28 gold and silver winners across 14 categories, the partnership was recognized for its scale, longevity, and measurable global health impact.

Recognition from the Field’s Highest Honor

Now in its 24th year, the Halo Awards are widely regarded as the highest recognition in corporate social impact. Winning “Best of the Best” underscores the strength of a partnership built on shared purpose, operational excellence, and long-term commitment.

Together, FedEx and Orbis continue to demonstrate how logistics can be a force for good—and how enduring collaboration can help deliver sight, opportunity, and hope worldwide.

Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program.