The Earl G. Reubel Supplier Diversity Awards
Recognizing healthcare industry leaders — individuals and organizations — who advocate for diversity within the healthcare supply chain.
Honoring a Legacy
The Supplier Diversity Earl G. Reubel Awards are awarded to those that are making significant progress in advancing supplier diversity in the healthcare industry. Owens & Minor is proud to partner with our diverse network of trusted suppliers to drive progress, productivity, and performance across the healthcare supply chain. We are honored to serve as a founding partner of these awards honoring Earl G. Reubel’s legacy.
2022 Awards Winners
CIVIC LEADER OF THE YEAR
Carey Jaros, President, and CEO of GOJO Industries, Inc., a women’s business enterprise certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), led the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Jaros’ leadership, the company dramatically increased production capacity for its PURELL® products during the peak of the pandemic and made significant capital investments in northeastern Ohio that resulted in the hiring of over 500 new employees.
DIVERSE ENTERPRISE OF THE YEAR
Caracal Corporation, a certified minority-owned enterprise (MBE), actively gives back to communities via its scholarship, mentorship, and workforce development programs. Additionally, more than 60 percent of the company’s products and services are sourced directly from minority and women-owned businesses, helping to accelerate job growth in diverse communities.
LARGE CORPORATION OF THE YEAR
Jackson Health System, a Florida-based nonprofit academic medical system that offers world-class care to all residents of Miami-Dade county regardless of their ability to pay, has implemented a variety of programs and initiatives across its workforce that empower diverse employee voices and encourage advocacy and allyship. Jackson Health has also demonstrated its commitment to supplier diversity through its capital investments, outreach, and mentoring programs.
General Eligibility
For each award category, consideration will be given to individuals and organizations that represent diverse and underrepresented populations and that demonstrate entrepreneurship, civic engagement, or professional service leadership and are actively engaged in impacting healthcare delivery and/or community wellness.
About Earl G. Reubel
From humble beginnings to a successful entrepreneur: Earl G. Reubel’s intellect, instincts, insights and drive propelled him from the streets of Harlem to CEO of one of the largest veteran-minority-owned manufacturer/supplier companies in the healthcare private sector.
A natural born businessman, Earl’s early sales training going door-to-door for Kirby Vacuums in New York City ignited his business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit. He launched his first company, a search and rescue business in Washington State, after serving in the United States Army as a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War. In 1983 he partnered with nephew Joe Reubel to create Verdan Healthcare, which served as the foundation for Kerma Medical Products Inc. launched in partnership with his wife Joyce Kershaw Reubel in 1991.
Earl built Kerma from a manufacturer of small cap equipment and supplies for the United States Government to become a major manufacturer of commercial medical products distributed to over 4,000 Acute Care hospitals across the country. He developed a close association with Owens & Minor as a key part of their diversity supplier offerings to hospital customers, and in the process created a legacy for his family. Today, Kerma Medical is one of the largest veteran-minority owned companies in the healthcare industry, and is one of Owens & Minor’s most strategic partners and longest-tenured diversity supplier.
Earl G. Reubel Award Founding Partners
Previous Winners
• Diverse Business of the Year: SDVOSB Laboratory
• Civic Leader of the Year: Deborah Williams, Senior Director of Supplier Diversity, Premier, Inc.
• Jackson Health System Large Corporation of the Year (Medtronic)
• G. Gilmer Minor, III Civic Leader of the Year
• Enterprise of the Year: MYCO Medical of Apex, North Carolina
• Large Corporation of the Year: Bon Secours Mercy Health in Baltimore
• Health System/Corporate Leader: Partners Healthcare
• Diverse Supplier of the Year: Kerma Medical Products