Texarkana, Ark., City Manager Dr. Kenny Haskin has the same motto as the Better Business Bureau.
The BBB motto is "start with trust," and Haskin urges businesses to work together to build a "trust account" to accomplish personal and community goals.
He was the guest speaker during a luncheon Wednesday sponsored by the BBB to honor 12 companies for practicing trust and ethics.
"The Torch Awards are presented to the company that helps create an ethical marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust each other," said Dwayne Butler, chairman of the BBB Texarkana Advisory Board.
"We need to work together as a team, and we can accomplish big goals working hand in hand," Haskin said.
"We're all salesmen to a degree. We have a message to articulate, and we want people to like us. We need to hone a message and galvanize it," he said.
"Integrity is clearly important. We have to build a trust account and tell people the truth. You don't earn trust overnight. The trust account at the end of the day has to be full and strong to convince people to work together," Haskin said.
He also urges the businesses to treat everyone with respect.
"Be consistent. It's all fundamental to build a trust account and I hope we have our account full of trust. I feel like it's critically important," Haskin said.
"I'm impressed with the fundamentals of the BBB and the motto of 'start with trust,'" he said.