On October 30, 2013, REJ President and CEO Elliott A. Wiley was recognized as a Top 100 MBE by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Director Sharon R. Pinder and the Mayor’s Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Development. The ceremony was held at the War Memorial Building in Baltimore City.
The Top 100 MBE awards were created “to recognize those enterprising women and minority entrepreneurs that fuel this nation’s economy through their innovation, sacrifices, and dedication. These business owners are living their dreams and making significant contributions to their clients, professions, industries and communities.”
Mr. Wiley was selected for his “history of significant and worthwhile contributions to his profession, active involvement and leadership with business and professional organizations, client satisfaction, and mentorship to others.”
Elliott says, “I became an entrepreneur to have ownership in a business enterprise, to employ others, and to create something of value that will ultimately enable me to give back to the community. My parents and extended family always stressed the values of ownership and, after working for other companies, my wife and mother-in-law encouraged and supported my leap into entrepreneurship. Being in business is challenging, risky, rewarding, and based on establishing and keeping good relationships with customers. We have built a small company that stresses providing added value to our clients and delivering quality work, on time and on budget. My proudest business accomplishment is the purchase and furnishing of an historic building in Mt. Vernon for our offices, and then hiring great people to work there. As a new company, having people with leadership skills who share the same vision and work toward common goals is extremely important to success. Owning our offices helps set us apart from the free-lance community, provides credibility as a business owner, and also helps the company in its asset appreciation approach to development.”