Honeywell Hometown Solutions Presents Richard Walden, CEO, Operation USA, The Hometown Heroes Award

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J., Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) honored Richard Walden, President, CEO and Founder of Operation USA, with the Honeywell Hometown Heroes Award at an all-employee meeting in Dana Point, CA, today.  The Honeywell Hometown Heroes Award is given to individuals who improve the lives of others and make their hometowns better places to live and work through long-term dedication, compassion, and the desire to do the right work, right now. 

"It gives me great pleasure to recognize a man who has helped so many people in times of desperate need around the world," said Honeywell Chairman and CEO Dave Cote before a live audience of 400, with thousands of employees around the world viewing via web streaming.  "Honeywell's partnership with Operation USA began 10 years ago, and we have been on a remarkable journey together, helping to make individuals and communities whole again after a natural disaster."

Operation USA, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit international relief and development organization established in 1979, helps communities alleviate the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately funded relief, reconstruction and development aid throughout the world.

In the 35 years since Richard Walden founded Operation USA, his organization has delivered more than $350 million in aid to more than 100 countries after natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. Long-term development projects include El Salvador, Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Ethiopia. Operation USA has also been active in Chile, Iraq, Iran, the Balkans, Turkey, Georgia, Japan, Rwanda, Taiwan, North Korea, Somalia, Kenya and East Timor.

Collaboration between Honeywell Hometown Solutions and Operation USA began with the reconstruction of an entire fishing village in Sri Lanka hit by a devastating tsunami.  Other projects included building health clinics in Pakistan after a 2005 earthquake; construction of clean water systems in Bangalore, India, in 2007; rebuilding two elementary schools and five health clinics in Sichuan Province, China, after a 2008 earthquake; building a new school in Jacmel, Haiti, following a 2010 earthquake; and building the Honeywell Ibasho House, a new community center for the elderly following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

"I am humbled and honored to accept this award," said Walden.  "What is most gratifying is seeing how many Honeywell employees participate in our relief efforts.  It means so much for people reeling from a natural disaster to know that a company and its people not only donate relief funds, but stand behind a project they have funded."

Walden continued, "I'd like to thank Dave Cote for leading one of the most contemporary and results-oriented CSR programs in the world.  It is a great pleasure working with him and the Honeywell Hometown Solutions team."

Walden's Operation USA shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize as a key member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. He is an elected member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and an attorney focused on international law, civil rights, and health care issues.

Operation USA received the President's Volunteer Action Award by the White House in 1983 for work as the first U.S. non-governmental organization (NGO) to provide relief to Cambodia and Vietnam after the Vietnam War. In 2008, Worth Magazine named Operation USA one of "America's Best 100 Charities," and Charity Navigator named Operation USA as the #1 rated "Exclusively Privately Funded Charity in America."

Honeywell Hometown Solutions has become one of the most recognized corporate social responsibility initiatives in the world, receiving more than 80 awards for its community outreach efforts.

About Honeywell Hometown Solutions
Honeywell Hometown Solutions is the company's corporate citizenship initiative, which focuses on five areas of vital importance: Science & Math Education, Family Safety & Security, Housing & Shelter, Habitat & Conservation, and Humanitarian Relief. HHS established the Honeywell Hometown Heroes award to honor exceptional community leaders making a positive impact in their cities, states and hometowns. Together with leading public and non-profit institutions, Honeywell has developed powerful programs to address needs in the communities it serves. For more information, please visit: http://citizenship.honeywell.com/. 

About Honeywell
Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; turbochargers; and performance materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com.

About Operation USA
Founded in 1979, Operation USA helps communities alleviate the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid throughout the world. The Los Angeles based non-government organization offers material and financial assistance to community-based organizations that promote sustainable development, leadership and capacity building, income generating activities, education, health services, and advocacy on behalf of vulnerable people. Learn more at www.opusa.org.

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SOURCE Honeywell