McCormick & Company Announces 2010 Community Service Award Winners

Vicente Torres Cruz, a Cost Accountant at McCormick Pesa in Cuautitlan, Mexico, says his life changed dramatically when he was a boy growing up at Internado Infantil Guadalupano, a boarding school and orphanage in Mexico. "They gave me a place to live, education, and instructed me in values. So I grew up with dignity and good habits,” Vicente recalled. Since graduating in 2000, those values have stuck with Vicente. Each month he invests an average of 30 hours with the boys and young men at the school. He’s a tutor, role model, and advisor helping fellow graduates transition to adult life. In honor of his concern for others, commitment to values and work with Internado Infantil Guadalupano, Vicente Torres Cruz has received the McCormick 2010 Community Service Award.

Left to right: Richard Ayres, William Humphreys, Jorge Canas Minero, Vicente Torres Cruz, Alan Wilson, Tina Sherrice Stevens. (Photo: Studio Z)

The award was announced March 30th at McCormick and Company Incorporated’s (NYSE:MKC) Annual Shareholders Meeting in Hunt Valley, Md. It includes a $25,000 contribution to Internado Infantil Guadalupano from the company.

The award, established in 2004, recognizes exemplary volunteerism by McCormick employees around the world. Employees are nominated, and an independent panel selects the most deserving. The top winner chosen gets a check for $25,000 to donate to his or her charity of choice. Four runners-up are picked to receive checks for $5,000 for their causes.

Other Community Service Finalists who each earned $5,000 for their charities included:

• Richard Ayres, of McCormick Canada, who works for Victim Services in London, Ontario
• William Humphreys, of McCormick Global Ingredients Ltd., who works with Agape Youth Sports Community Service Program in The Caymans.
• Jorge Alberto Canas Minero, of McCormick de Centro America in El Salvador, who works with Fundacion Salvadorena De Sindrome De Down
• Tina Sherrice Stevens, of the U.S. Consumer Products Division, who works with the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Bentonville, Arkansas.

"I know that the financial support [from this award] will offer an opportunity for more generations of children who suffer from neglect, abuse and extreme poverty to achieve their dreams and have a better quality of life,” Vicente said. "This school manages to succeed thanks to the economic contributions and in-kind donations from individuals and foundations.” The boarding school/orphanage gives boys and young men an education based on values preparing them for professional or technical jobs such as carpentry, maintenance, automotive mechanics, fine arts and electricity.

"Today I can claim that, thanks to all of their support and what the boarding school provided for children in our country, I am a man of goodwill, respectful and committed to the school. I will continue doing everything in my hands to return a little bit of how much I have received from this great institution.”

Commending all Service Award Winners, Chairman, President and CEO Alan Wilson said, "‘The Power of People’ is a core belief that has resonated at McCormick for decades. It speaks to employees who make a difference in the communities where they live. These employees represent the many worldwide who are making a difference in their communities, and these days it’s more important than ever.”

[Internado Infantil Guadalupano has no web site but you can connect with the school via its Facebook page.]

About McCormick

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (www.mccormickcorporation.com) is a global leader in flavor with the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of spices, seasonings, specialty foods and flavors to the entire food industry – retail outlets, food manufacturers and food service businesses.

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