Charles Miller, 2000 Recipient
Charles Miller received the award in recognition of the outstanding work he did in strengthening Houston's public schools and in diversifying boards of directors throughout Houston.  Miller founded and directed several successful pension management firms and mutual funds, is a millionaire many times over, a man who has made regular appearances on TV’s Wall Street Week and the cover of Barron’s, the national business and financial weekly. Both Houston and the state of Texas are benefactors of his strong sense of civic responsibility. He is credited with changing the leadership face of Houston by actively seeking out and mentoring men and women with capacity and ability from diverse backgrounds. And Miller, called “education’s class act” and one of the 20 “Most Influential Texans” by Texas Monthly, has also provided the leadership to dramatically change the Texas public schools for the better through an accountability system.

It is only fitting that the University of St. Thomas has made Miller the first recipient of its Ethical Leadership in Action Award.

Jack Blanton, 2002 Recipient
Jack Blanton received the award in recognition of the significant institution -building he did within the city of Houston. Often working behind the scenes while others sought the limelight, he helped make Houston the dynamic city it is today. Those who know him well call Blanton "a quiet giant."  While he enjoyed much success as the president of Scurlock Oil and Eddy Refining, and later as chairman of Ashland Oil, the people who know him best say his greatest achievements can be found in his role as civic leader and philanthropist. Education remains a major focal point.

Blanton, at age 74, is self-effacing about his achievements, often telling people he got to where he is by working with good people or being in the right place at the right time. The truth is, he likes being in the middle of the action. He has served on many boards, including stints as vice chair of Methodist Hospital and chairman of the University of Texas board of regents. He also serves on the board of the Texas Medical Center. Most notably, he has chaired the Houston Endowment, a $1.5 billion philanthropic foundation set up by Jesse and Mary Gibbs Jones in 1937. Blanton served as chairman of the Houston Chamber of Commerce, later absorbed by the Greater Houston Partnership, during the tumultuous real estate and energy busts of the 1980s.

George Martinez, 2004 Recipient
George Martinez received the award in recognition of the work he did as the founder of Sterling Bank to develop a mindful and sustainable ethical culture as the founder of Sterling Bank. Sterling Bank is often cited as one of the best corporations to work for in America.

Martinez came to Houston in 1959 to attend Rice University.  He was chief financial officer of Retzloff Industries when, in 1974, he and a group of businessmen founded what would become Sterling Bank, which as of Sept. 30 exceeded $3 billion in assets. He was recently appointed by President Bush to serve on the National Infrastructure Advisory Committee and serves as chair of the Education and Workforce Advisory Committee of the Greater Houston Partnership. He is a board member of the Houston Community Foundation, the Center for Houston’s Future, the UT-Houston Health Science Center Development Board, the Houston Zoo, Inc., and is a member of the Council of Overseers of the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University.  He is a senior fellow, board member, and member of Class XVII of the American Leadership Forum.  He is also president of Chrysalis Partners, LLC, a business consulting, coaching and training company.

Jim Ketelsen, 2006 Recipient
Jim Ketelsen, founder of Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams), joins a growing list of Houston business people selected for the Ethical Leadership in Action Award. He has already spoken to classes in the Cameron School of Business, according to Daryl Koehn, director of the Center for Business Ethics, the award’s sponsor.

“Project GRAD started as a dream with just a handful of students,” said Chip Carlisle, president of Wells Fargo Bank, Texas, and chairman, Greater Houston Partnership. “Now, some of these students have graduated from America’s finest universities. Mr. Ketelsen has amazed everyone. This project now is so much bigger than just him. It is bigger than just Houston. He is a special individual who has really changed the world for the better. God has blessed him in an amazing way, and he has taken God’s blessings and used them to help his fellow man, and he does this in such a humble manner.”