Winner of the Corporate Citizen of the Year award, Phil Cooper (third from left) poses with event sponsors Howard Cohen, Ian Gallagher and Frederic Giordano at the awards dinner on Dec. 9, 2013 at The Palace in Somerset.
NJBIZ named Lawrenceville-based CEO, Phil Cooper, its Corporate Citizen of the Year.
Cooper, CEO of Cooper Pest Solutions & BedBug Central in Lawrenceville, was awarded for his involvement in the community and commitment to his employees.
He was among 15 nominees in the Corporate Citizen category, which was then narrowed down to six finalists.
Since an early age, Cooper was taught about the importance of charitable giving by his parents. Something he and his wife made sure to instill in their two children as well. Once taking over the family business in 1991, Cooper made it a priority to compile a diverse staff that was as focused on giving back to the community as he was.
Cooper is an avid supporter of the National MS Society. In the summer of 2012, he joined the Bike the US for MS ride from Yorktown, Va., to San Francisco, Calif.
During the 3,780 mile-ride through nine states, Cooper raised $50,000.
He developed philacrossamerica.com, which serve as an additional fundraising outlet, a place to engage supporters and a channel to blog about his journey.
After a successful fundraising campaign, Cooper decided to set out on “Phil’s Summer of Cycling 2013.” During this ride, he raised money for five local and national charities.
In addition to riding locally in the Anchor House Ride for Runaways, MS150 City to Shore, American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure and the 2013 LIVESTRONG Challenge Philly, Cooper hooked up with the last leg of the Bike the US for MS ride from Montana to Seattle, Wash.
Cooper also uses his pest control background to help donate free bed bug services to those in need during the holiday season. The charitable program “Taking the Bite Out of the Holidays,” was developed by BedBug Central and has donated more $500,000 to those in need since its inception in 2009.
After his NJBIZ win, Cooper is looking forward to the future of his philanthropic efforts, including guest bartending for charity between Feb. 20 to March 10 at locations in Bucks County, northeast Philadelphia and New Jersey. More information is online philacrossamerica.com/guest-bartending/.
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