The University of West Florida Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business and the Combined Rotary Clubs of Pensacola named Nan DeStafney and Bobby Potomski as the 2024 recipients of the annual Ethics in Business Award during the 22nd Combined Rotary Luncheon at the Pensacola Yacht Club.
The Ethics in Business Award recognizes individuals who exemplify the concept of “service above self” and work to build a positive sense of self-worth within both the business community and the broader community as a whole. Criteria for the award includes adherence to the high ethical standards of honesty, integrity and consistency in dealing with employees, contractors and customers, while positively enhancing the economic well-being of the firm’s stakeholders and providing jobs, opportunities and profits.
“Nan and Bobby are extremely deserving of these awards,’” Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business Dean Richard Fountain said. “They adhere to high ethical standards in the workplace and generously donate their valuable time to causes that better our community. They truly exemplify the concept of service above self.”
Potomski, the executive director of operations for Baptist Health Care, was recognized for the large business sector, organizations with 50 or more employees. He is responsible for strategic operational leadership of imaging, lab, radiation therapy, infusion centers, palliative care and hospital-based physician programs. He previously served as administrator of the Baptist Gulf Breeze Hospital, where he provided leadership in service excellence, operations improvement and financial performance.
Potomski has been with Baptist Health Care for 14 years and held various positions including director of primary care services, senior manager of physician practice development and operations and executive director of hospital medicine.
He has served as president of the board of trustees for the Pensacola Cultural Center and Pensacola Little Theatre, the Rotary Club of Gulf Breeze and has been a board member of the Capital Trust Agency, the Gulf Breeze Regional Water System, and the Board of Governors for the Pensacola State College Foundation.
Note: Bobby and his wife Hong are Inweekly Rising Stars.
“As a product of the Pensacola community, I have benefitted from being mentored and developed by outstanding teachers and leaders,” Potomski said. “Our community has grown and prospered because of like-minded individuals working together for the betterment of all concerned, and it has been a privilege to do my part to help contribute to that. Through my career at Baptist Health Care, I’ve strived to conduct myself with fairness and consistency while focusing on the common benefit of our larger community. Similarly, the opportunities I have been granted to volunteer in various capacities in the area which we all call home has been a rewarding way to give back and pay it forward to others.”
DeStafney, winner of the small division, assumed the role of CFO at Blues Angel Music in 2009, following her retirement from the U.S. Navy after 37 years of service. By 2012, she had ascended to the position of CEO, overseeing 11 divisions and 49 employees, in a nationally recognized corporation.
A member of Impact 100, the Paul Harris Society and Cordova Rotary Club, DeStafney also serves on the board of trustees for the J. Hugh and Earle W. Fellows Memorial fund and the board of directors for the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra. She is a sought-after speaker, frequently addressing audiences on the neurobiological effects of music and is the executive director of the Blues Angel Music Foundation.
“This recognition reaffirms our commitment conducting business with the highest ethical standards, integrity and transparency in keeping with the Rotary International Code of Conduct,” DeStafney said. “Thank you for this meaningful acknowledgment. I am deeply honored.”
For more information about the UWF Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business, visit uwf.edu/cob.
