Oak Park resident and Village Trustee Ray Johnson was recently recognized for fostering diversity in his workplace.
Johnson, 47, was one of five employees – out of a workforce of about 2,500 – who were recognized Tuesday with a Diversity Ambassador Award by HSBC, a banking and financial services firm. The Mettawa-based office of the corporation gave Johnson the token of appreciation, which he says is similar in appearance to a Fabergé egg, at a breakfast ceremony on Tuesday morning.
A coworker recommended Johnson for the award, which recognizes employees for their “hard work and dedication to diversity and inclusion,” according to a company announcement last week. Johnson has been with HSBC for 27 years and has worked as both the program manager for community investment and, since January, as regional coordinator for climate partnership in North America.
His duties include managing climate-related activities, such as volunteer projects that employees can work on during company paid time, along with managing grants for local nonprofits that work in the field of climate change.
Johnson says no salary bonus comes with the award, but it will be something to hang his hat on when he’s up for performance reviews in the future.
“I was very surprised and honored, to be honest with you,” he said.