Blue Ocean Construction:
A case study in Gulen charter school related-party deals and strategic ambiguity
A case study in Gulen charter school related-party deals and strategic ambiguity
Page created August 23, 2014
A Blue Ocean Construction vehicle parked in front of the Fulton Science Academy Private School construction site in Alpharetta, Georgia, in August 2014. This related-party Gulenist vendor has also been involved in facilities construction for several Gulen charter schools in Florida and South Carolina.
Blue Ocean street address is same as that of GREEN Charter School
The Blue Ocean Construction website, accessed in August 2014, showed the following address:
"South Carolina Office:
1440 Pelham Rd. Greenville, SC 29615"
This address is shared by:
The Blue Ocean Construction website, accessed in August 2014, showed the following address:
"South Carolina Office:
1440 Pelham Rd. Greenville, SC 29615"
This address is shared by:
- GREEN Charter School (Gulen charter school)
- Green Apple Childcare Center
- Sprinter Education Foundation
- Sprinter Learning Center
Each U.S. region has its charter school facilities construction vendor
The Gulen Movement manages its charter schools and other organizations by dividing the US into 6 areas, as shown on the organizational chart at the bottom of this page. Each region has an umbrella management organization and vendors for its charter schools. For example, the schools overseen by Harmony Public Schools, in TX, OK, NM, AR and LA, have used Solidarity Contracting for building construction. (Before Solidarity there was Atlas, Rasanet, etc - the names and principal officers of these businesses constantly mutate, dictated both by the "strategic ambiguity" tactics of the Gulen Movement and its policy of continually rotating its members around its entities. Regardless of these mutations, these are all related-party vendors.)
These Gulenist construction vendors appear to be, in actuality, shell companies. They typically have no true physical plant, are in business for only a short period of time, and their corporate address is generally a residential house where one of the corporate officers lives. Their "portfolios" and "satisfied client" references are typically made up entirely or almost entirely of jobs within the Gulen network. Bona fide non-Gulenist local construction companies and contractors are generally hired to do the actual construction work. The Gulenist contractor can charge overhead, of course.
In the southeastern states of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, the Gulen charter schools are under the control of Charter Educational Services & Resources, formerly known as the Grace Institute for Educational Research and Resources, Inc. Blue Ocean Construction and the closely-related NOSS Construction are currently (as of August 2014) the vendors for school facility construction and renovation for these schools. Blue Ocean Construction was founded by Mehmet Fahrettin Taskan, an individual with multiple Gulenist affiliations including several Gulen charter schools.
The Gulen Movement manages its charter schools and other organizations by dividing the US into 6 areas, as shown on the organizational chart at the bottom of this page. Each region has an umbrella management organization and vendors for its charter schools. For example, the schools overseen by Harmony Public Schools, in TX, OK, NM, AR and LA, have used Solidarity Contracting for building construction. (Before Solidarity there was Atlas, Rasanet, etc - the names and principal officers of these businesses constantly mutate, dictated both by the "strategic ambiguity" tactics of the Gulen Movement and its policy of continually rotating its members around its entities. Regardless of these mutations, these are all related-party vendors.)
These Gulenist construction vendors appear to be, in actuality, shell companies. They typically have no true physical plant, are in business for only a short period of time, and their corporate address is generally a residential house where one of the corporate officers lives. Their "portfolios" and "satisfied client" references are typically made up entirely or almost entirely of jobs within the Gulen network. Bona fide non-Gulenist local construction companies and contractors are generally hired to do the actual construction work. The Gulenist contractor can charge overhead, of course.
In the southeastern states of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, the Gulen charter schools are under the control of Charter Educational Services & Resources, formerly known as the Grace Institute for Educational Research and Resources, Inc. Blue Ocean Construction and the closely-related NOSS Construction are currently (as of August 2014) the vendors for school facility construction and renovation for these schools. Blue Ocean Construction was founded by Mehmet Fahrettin Taskan, an individual with multiple Gulenist affiliations including several Gulen charter schools.
Evidence of Gulen Movement and Gulen Charter School connections of Mehmet (Fahrettin) Taskan
- Principal Officer, Blue Ocean Construction
- Orlando Science Middle Charter School
- Petitioner for Discovery Academy of Science Charter School, Orange County, Florida, 2005; this school was later called Orlando Science Charter School
- Lead Petitioner, Osceola Universal School , Osceola County, Florida, 2006 (proposed Gulen charter school)
- Petitioner for Universal Charter School, Florida, 2010 (appeal denied) (proposed Gulen charter school)
- Discovery Education Services (operates Orlando Science Middle Charter School)
- Universal Education Services (company formed for proposed Gulen charter schools)
- Husband of Tuba Taskan, affiliated with Amity Turkish Cultural Center
- Nile Foundation (Gulenist organization)
- President, Founder, Islamic Discussion Group, Cleveland State University (Zeki Saritoprak was participant in event) (Gulenist organization)
- Orlando Turkish Cultural Center (Gulenist organization)
- Mentioned in Today’s Zaman article of Aug 27, 2009 about opening of Orlando Turkish Cultural Center (Today's Zaman is an English-language newspaper based in Turkey and run by the Gulen Movement)
Gulen charter schools for which Blue Ocean is a known vendor
This list is very likely not complete. The evidence that Blue Ocean did construction for these Gulen charter schools is elaborated on further down.
This list is very likely not complete. The evidence that Blue Ocean did construction for these Gulen charter schools is elaborated on further down.
- Broward Math and Science Schools, Margate, Florida
- Fulton Sunshine Academy, Alpharetta, Georgia
- GREEN Charter School, Greenville, Suuth Carolina
- River City Science Academy, Jacksonville, Florida
- Stars Middle School, Tallahassee, Florida
- Fulton Science Academy Private School, Alpharetta, Georgia
- Istanbul Center (Gulenist organization)
- Green Apple Childcare Center, Greenville SC (a.k.a. Sprinter Education Services) located at same street address as the GREEN Charter School
- Fulton Sunshine Academy, a Gulen charter school in Roswell, Georgia
- Fulton Science Academy Private School (formerly Fulton Science Academy Middle School, a Gulen charter school in Alpharetta, Georgia)
- Istanbul Center, a Gulenist organization
Gulen Movement connections
Blue Ocean Construction has a number of ties to the Gulen Movement and Gulen charter schools (see chart below). Through Serkan Saglam, Blue Ocean Construction is tied to NOSS Construction, which has contracted to the charter schools operated by Fulton Educational Services in Alpharetta GA. A June 1, 2012 forensic audit commissioned by Fulton Couty Schools that investigated vendor relationships with Fulton Science Academy Middle School (a publicly-funded charter school that lost its charter and is now a private school) identified NOSS Construction as a contractor for the three schools run by Fulton Educational Services. The name NOSS appears in a connection chart in that audit, and it is not specified exactly which of the 3 schools it performed construction for. However, the NOSS Construction website (accessed August 2014) listed the following as among the company's projects:
- Project Name: Sunshine Academy Middle School Renovation Phase II
Owner: Sunshine Academy Middle School
Location; Alpharetta ,GA
Building Utilization: School
Size: 15,000sf
Statues: Completed 2011
-Project Name: Fulton Science Private School, New Playground Installation
Owner: FSAP
Location: Alpharetta, GA
Size:1000 sf
Statues: Completed 2012
Note that the actual name of the first school is Fulton Sunshine Academy, and it is an elementary, not a middle school. It is located in Roswell, not in Alpharetta. It seems doubtful that NOSS Construction was truly unaware of this. The actual name of the second school is Fulton Science Academy Private School, and it is abbreviated FSAPS, not FSAP.
Blue Ocean Construction has a number of ties to the Gulen Movement and Gulen charter schools (see chart below). Through Serkan Saglam, Blue Ocean Construction is tied to NOSS Construction, which has contracted to the charter schools operated by Fulton Educational Services in Alpharetta GA. A June 1, 2012 forensic audit commissioned by Fulton Couty Schools that investigated vendor relationships with Fulton Science Academy Middle School (a publicly-funded charter school that lost its charter and is now a private school) identified NOSS Construction as a contractor for the three schools run by Fulton Educational Services. The name NOSS appears in a connection chart in that audit, and it is not specified exactly which of the 3 schools it performed construction for. However, the NOSS Construction website (accessed August 2014) listed the following as among the company's projects:
- Project Name: Sunshine Academy Middle School Renovation Phase II
Owner: Sunshine Academy Middle School
Location; Alpharetta ,GA
Building Utilization: School
Size: 15,000sf
Statues: Completed 2011
-Project Name: Fulton Science Private School, New Playground Installation
Owner: FSAP
Location: Alpharetta, GA
Size:1000 sf
Statues: Completed 2012
Note that the actual name of the first school is Fulton Sunshine Academy, and it is an elementary, not a middle school. It is located in Roswell, not in Alpharetta. It seems doubtful that NOSS Construction was truly unaware of this. The actual name of the second school is Fulton Science Academy Private School, and it is abbreviated FSAPS, not FSAP.
NOSS Construction's owner, Nabi Ozturk, has ties to the Gulen Movement through the Cosmos Foundation of Georgia and the Turkish American Islamic Institute, both Gulenist organizations. In the chart below, MAFTAA, Orlando Turkish Cultural Center, the Nile Foundation, and the Turkish American Association of Kentucky are all Gulenist organizations.
Blue Ocean Construction and NOSS Construction have a number of ties to the Gulen Movement and Gulen charter schools.
Blue Ocean Construction and the GREEN Charter School
The Blue Ocean Construction website (accessed August 2014) shows photos of the GREEN (Greenville Renewable Energy Education) Charter School, a Gulen charter school in Greenville SC, but does not name the school. Instead, it refers to the property by the name of its owner, Pelham Oaks Plaza, LLC, which is a Florida corporation also registered in South Carolina. It is certain that the photos on the Blue Ocean website are of the GREEN Charter School because they are 100% identical to photos identified as being of that school on the website (link) of Accent Photography, which shows them as part of its portfolio. The March 11, 2014 board meeting minutes for the GREEN Charter School contain the following reference to the school's lease:
"Mr. Adem [Adem Dokmeci, the school principal]: The landlord requested advanced rent payments of $100,000. Then the Phase II construction would start on time. I request to pay the amount of $100,000 as a security deposit to Pelham Oaks Plaza during the months of April 2014 and May 2014. According to the agreement GREEN Charter will pay $25,000 less rent each of these months; August 2014, September 2014, October 2014 and November 2014." The GREEN Charter school's Gulen Movement connections can be viewed here.
The Blue Ocean Construction website (accessed August 2014) shows photos of the GREEN (Greenville Renewable Energy Education) Charter School, a Gulen charter school in Greenville SC, but does not name the school. Instead, it refers to the property by the name of its owner, Pelham Oaks Plaza, LLC, which is a Florida corporation also registered in South Carolina. It is certain that the photos on the Blue Ocean website are of the GREEN Charter School because they are 100% identical to photos identified as being of that school on the website (link) of Accent Photography, which shows them as part of its portfolio. The March 11, 2014 board meeting minutes for the GREEN Charter School contain the following reference to the school's lease:
"Mr. Adem [Adem Dokmeci, the school principal]: The landlord requested advanced rent payments of $100,000. Then the Phase II construction would start on time. I request to pay the amount of $100,000 as a security deposit to Pelham Oaks Plaza during the months of April 2014 and May 2014. According to the agreement GREEN Charter will pay $25,000 less rent each of these months; August 2014, September 2014, October 2014 and November 2014." The GREEN Charter school's Gulen Movement connections can be viewed here.
Blue Ocean Construction and River City Science Academy
The Jacksonville Financial News and Daily Record, in a January 9, 2014 article, stated:
"The former Florida Coastal School of Law site along Beach Boulevard has become the River City Science Academy charter school and now the closed restaurant to the east will become the school's gymnasium. ... a gym would be built for the K-12 River City Science Academy at 7565 Beach Blvd. ... The applicant is Yazan Khatib of property owner 7605 Beach Boulevard LLC and the agent is Blue Ocean Construction Inc. Site development plans were prepared for River City Plaza LLC. Khatib also is a manager of that organization. ... Plans show the 6,255-square-foot restaurant would be demolished and the 13,800-square-foot gymnasium would be developed on the 0.74-acre site east of the River City Science Academy charter school."
The Jacksonville Financial News and Daily Record, in a January 9, 2014 article, stated:
"The former Florida Coastal School of Law site along Beach Boulevard has become the River City Science Academy charter school and now the closed restaurant to the east will become the school's gymnasium. ... a gym would be built for the K-12 River City Science Academy at 7565 Beach Blvd. ... The applicant is Yazan Khatib of property owner 7605 Beach Boulevard LLC and the agent is Blue Ocean Construction Inc. Site development plans were prepared for River City Plaza LLC. Khatib also is a manager of that organization. ... Plans show the 6,255-square-foot restaurant would be demolished and the 13,800-square-foot gymnasium would be developed on the 0.74-acre site east of the River City Science Academy charter school."
Blue Ocean Construction and Stars Middle School in Tallahassee FL
The Buildzoom website (link) shows several building permits for Blue Ocean Construction pertaining to 1500 Miccosukee Rd, Tallahassee, Leon County:
The Buildzoom website (link) shows several building permits for Blue Ocean Construction pertaining to 1500 Miccosukee Rd, Tallahassee, Leon County:
- July 14, 2011 - 1500 Miccosukee Rd, TALLAHASSEE-LEON COUNTY, FL Third review - approved - p.t. 04/19/11 Value: $87,500 | Type: T-route, resub: resubmittal | Permit #: TBB1110872
- July 11, 2011 - 1500 Miccosukee Rd, TALLAHASSEE-LEON COUNTY, FL Second review - p.t. - denied 07/13/11 Value: $87,500 | Type: T-route, resub: resubmittal | Permit #: TBB1110871
- June 27, 2011 - 1500 Miccosukee Rd, TALLAHASSEE-LEON COUNTY, FL First review - m.r. denied - 07/01/11 Value: $87,500 | Type: T-route, initial: initial | Permit #: TBB1110870
- June 27, 2011 - 1500 Miccosukee Rd, TALLAHASSEE-LEON COUNTY, FL Nt-comm alt stars middle school renovation Value: $87,500 | Type: T-bldp, 0325 | Permit #: TBB111087
Blue Ocean Construction and Broward Math and Science Schools
Broward Math and Science Schools is a Gulen charter school that opened in early August 2014. It occupies a site at 6101 NW 31st St, Margate, Florida. Dun and Bradstreet (link) also give this as the address of a Florida corporation called DAI, LLC. The website of Blue Ocean Construction shows a project described as follows:
DAI, LLC
Owner: DAI, LLC
Location: Margate, FL Size (sqft): 29,590
Special Used: K-8 Public School
Finish Date: August-2012
This is clearly a reference to the Broward Math and Science Schools facility.
Broward Math and Science Schools is a Gulen charter school that opened in early August 2014. It occupies a site at 6101 NW 31st St, Margate, Florida. Dun and Bradstreet (link) also give this as the address of a Florida corporation called DAI, LLC. The website of Blue Ocean Construction shows a project described as follows:
DAI, LLC
Owner: DAI, LLC
Location: Margate, FL Size (sqft): 29,590
Special Used: K-8 Public School
Finish Date: August-2012
This is clearly a reference to the Broward Math and Science Schools facility.
Gulenist ties of Yazan Khatib, charter school landlord
Yazan Khatib, apparently the landlord for River City Science Academy, and also, as owner of Pelham Oaks Plaza, LLC, the landlord for the GREEN Charter School, has ties to the Gulen Movement. Khatib has written an article for Today's Zaman (link), the flagship Gulen Movement propagandist newspaper. He is on the advisory board of the Istanbul Center (as of August 2014), an organization known to be affiliated with the Gulen Movement. The Facebook page (link) of the Istanbul Cultural Center of Jacksonville shows Khatib's Aug 8, 2010 post "Looking forward to it thank you" in reference to one of the organization's events.
The website of Khatib's practice, the First Coast Cardiovascular Institute, states "Despite his busy practice, Dr. Khatib was always an active philanthropist, dedicated to inter-cultural dialogue and to the promotion of a greater understanding of the world we live in. He was the main sponsor of the Amity Center dialogue dinner “Alliance of Civilizations” in October 2009, as well as several other similarly themed activities like the first Annual Art and Essay Contest for middle and high school students at Florida State College in 2010 and 2011. ... He is also on ... the Advisory Board of Amity Turkish Cultural Center." The Amity Turkish Cultural Center (ATCC) is a Gulenist organization; its official legal name is the Atlantic Foundation of North Florida. ("Amity" and "Atlantic" are both favored by Gulenists in naming their organizations or schools.) Another website of unknown ownership called "mydigitalpublication.com" has an article on Khatib stating that he "supports" the Amity Turkish Cultural Center.
Yazan Khatib, apparently the landlord for River City Science Academy, and also, as owner of Pelham Oaks Plaza, LLC, the landlord for the GREEN Charter School, has ties to the Gulen Movement. Khatib has written an article for Today's Zaman (link), the flagship Gulen Movement propagandist newspaper. He is on the advisory board of the Istanbul Center (as of August 2014), an organization known to be affiliated with the Gulen Movement. The Facebook page (link) of the Istanbul Cultural Center of Jacksonville shows Khatib's Aug 8, 2010 post "Looking forward to it thank you" in reference to one of the organization's events.
The website of Khatib's practice, the First Coast Cardiovascular Institute, states "Despite his busy practice, Dr. Khatib was always an active philanthropist, dedicated to inter-cultural dialogue and to the promotion of a greater understanding of the world we live in. He was the main sponsor of the Amity Center dialogue dinner “Alliance of Civilizations” in October 2009, as well as several other similarly themed activities like the first Annual Art and Essay Contest for middle and high school students at Florida State College in 2010 and 2011. ... He is also on ... the Advisory Board of Amity Turkish Cultural Center." The Amity Turkish Cultural Center (ATCC) is a Gulenist organization; its official legal name is the Atlantic Foundation of North Florida. ("Amity" and "Atlantic" are both favored by Gulenists in naming their organizations or schools.) Another website of unknown ownership called "mydigitalpublication.com" has an article on Khatib stating that he "supports" the Amity Turkish Cultural Center.
Strategic Ambiguity
The searching required to ascertain that the Gulenist businesses Blue Ocean Construction and NOSS Construction contracted to several Gulen charter schools is an indicator of Gulenist "strategic ambiguity." The website of Blue Ocean avoids naming the schools, and, in the case of NOSS Construction, the school names are altered, almost certainly with intention to obscure them. As noted earlier, the NOSS Construction website incorrectly uses the names "Sunshine Academy Middle School" for Fulton Sunshine Academy elementary school, and "Fulton Science Private School (FSAP)" for Fulton Science Academy Private School (FSAPS). Such seemingly "minor" alterations in names can make web searches more difficult.
While photos of the GREEN Charter School shown on the website of Accent Photography are identical to those shown on the website of Blue Ocean Construction, the Accent site captions refer to "Construction and upfitting by Unique Builders" and do not name Blue Ocean. Unique Builders, a licensed general contractor in Greenville SC, has been in business for over 20 years (in contrast, Blue Ocean Construction was created as a Florida corporation in 2012), and mentions the GREEN Charter School by name in its website portfolio (link). It is a good assumption that Unique Builders did the actual work, while Blue Ocean Construction collected overhead and took credit for it (albeit without naming the school) on its own website. (As an aside, Unique Builders mentions an "extremely aggressive construction schedule," again fitting a pattern seen repeatedly in construction jobs for Gulen charter schools in other states.)
Blue Ocean Construction is also the name of an unrelated, non-Gulenist corporation registered in North Carolina. A number of Gulenist entities have been found to use names identical to those already registered in other states by unrelated organizations or businesses, or names that are easily confusable with other corporations in the same state. As this is a recurring pattern, it is believed to be another manifestation of strategic ambiguity.
The searching required to ascertain that the Gulenist businesses Blue Ocean Construction and NOSS Construction contracted to several Gulen charter schools is an indicator of Gulenist "strategic ambiguity." The website of Blue Ocean avoids naming the schools, and, in the case of NOSS Construction, the school names are altered, almost certainly with intention to obscure them. As noted earlier, the NOSS Construction website incorrectly uses the names "Sunshine Academy Middle School" for Fulton Sunshine Academy elementary school, and "Fulton Science Private School (FSAP)" for Fulton Science Academy Private School (FSAPS). Such seemingly "minor" alterations in names can make web searches more difficult.
While photos of the GREEN Charter School shown on the website of Accent Photography are identical to those shown on the website of Blue Ocean Construction, the Accent site captions refer to "Construction and upfitting by Unique Builders" and do not name Blue Ocean. Unique Builders, a licensed general contractor in Greenville SC, has been in business for over 20 years (in contrast, Blue Ocean Construction was created as a Florida corporation in 2012), and mentions the GREEN Charter School by name in its website portfolio (link). It is a good assumption that Unique Builders did the actual work, while Blue Ocean Construction collected overhead and took credit for it (albeit without naming the school) on its own website. (As an aside, Unique Builders mentions an "extremely aggressive construction schedule," again fitting a pattern seen repeatedly in construction jobs for Gulen charter schools in other states.)
Blue Ocean Construction is also the name of an unrelated, non-Gulenist corporation registered in North Carolina. A number of Gulenist entities have been found to use names identical to those already registered in other states by unrelated organizations or businesses, or names that are easily confusable with other corporations in the same state. As this is a recurring pattern, it is believed to be another manifestation of strategic ambiguity.
H-1B Visas
In common with numerous Gulenist enterprises operating in the US, Blue Ocean Construction has applied for and obtained H-1B visas. Such visas are intended to be for specialty occupations where there is a shortage of qualified US workers. In 2012, its application for a Construction Project Engineer in Jacksonville FL was denied, but another application for a Project Engineer in Orlando FL was certified (link). In 2014. two H-1B visas for Project Engineers in Alpharetta GA were certified (link). It is difficult to believe that there is truly a shortage of qualified project engineers in Florida and Georgia. All these visa petitions show wage offers higher than the prevailing wages determined by the Department of Labor.
In common with numerous Gulenist enterprises operating in the US, Blue Ocean Construction has applied for and obtained H-1B visas. Such visas are intended to be for specialty occupations where there is a shortage of qualified US workers. In 2012, its application for a Construction Project Engineer in Jacksonville FL was denied, but another application for a Project Engineer in Orlando FL was certified (link). In 2014. two H-1B visas for Project Engineers in Alpharetta GA were certified (link). It is difficult to believe that there is truly a shortage of qualified project engineers in Florida and Georgia. All these visa petitions show wage offers higher than the prevailing wages determined by the Department of Labor.
Copy-paste: an economical way to produce websites
A pattern has emerged from observations of websites of numerous Gulenist businesses. Text on the websites matches verbatim or near-verbatim text from similar, non-Gulenist businesses. Because this is a recurring pattern, it appears likely that it is the Gulenist businesses who are doing the copy-paste. This is consistent with already-known cases of plagiarism involving Gulen schools (see "The Gossamer Wings of Easy Promise.") Compare the following:
Text from Blue Ocean Construction website (accessed August 2014)
"Blue Ocean Construction understands the time-critical nature of commercial, restaurant, school, day-care, medical office and has the experience and resources needed to meet aggressive, fast-track schedules while still delivering a high-quality finished project."
Text from website of E I B Contractors, Texas (accessed August 2014)
"E I B understands the time-critical nature of commercial, office, retail, and health-care projects and has the experience and resources needed to meet aggressive, fast-track schedules while still delivering a high-quality finished project."
Text from Blue Ocean Construction website (accessed August 2014)
"Our vision
From a corporate document of Miller Construction Company, Ft. Lauderdale FL:
"Guiding Principles
A pattern has emerged from observations of websites of numerous Gulenist businesses. Text on the websites matches verbatim or near-verbatim text from similar, non-Gulenist businesses. Because this is a recurring pattern, it appears likely that it is the Gulenist businesses who are doing the copy-paste. This is consistent with already-known cases of plagiarism involving Gulen schools (see "The Gossamer Wings of Easy Promise.") Compare the following:
Text from Blue Ocean Construction website (accessed August 2014)
"Blue Ocean Construction understands the time-critical nature of commercial, restaurant, school, day-care, medical office and has the experience and resources needed to meet aggressive, fast-track schedules while still delivering a high-quality finished project."
Text from website of E I B Contractors, Texas (accessed August 2014)
"E I B understands the time-critical nature of commercial, office, retail, and health-care projects and has the experience and resources needed to meet aggressive, fast-track schedules while still delivering a high-quality finished project."
Text from Blue Ocean Construction website (accessed August 2014)
"Our vision
- Inspire trust by being trustworthy
- Act professionally and with absolute integrity
- Think long-term growth
- Continue to strive for better results
- Provide opportunities for our people to grow
- Serve the community we live in"
From a corporate document of Miller Construction Company, Ft. Lauderdale FL:
"Guiding Principles
- Inspire trust by being trustworthy
- Act professionally and with absolute integrity
- Provide opportunities for our people to grow
- Think long-term growth
- Continuously improve everything we do
- Contribute to the communities we serve"
Final note to interested journalists: screenshots have been saved as evidence of all connections noted above.