Everett Rigsby learned how to be a good boss long before he owned an automotive recycling facility.

At one of his earliest jobs, a young Rigsby found a role model in a lumberyard supervisor named Freddy Hinds. Decades later, the owner of Rigsby's Auto Parts and Sales, Inc., in Zephyrhills, Fla., still remembers Hinds for his fairness and kindness to employees.

"I always admired the way he treated people," Rigsby said. "I tried to include a lot of his values into what I do here."

Those values have earned Rigsby the Locator UpFront Boss of the Year award, an honor that's been given to one outstanding employer in the automotive recycling industry since 1996. Although nomination forms poured in from across the country, a tall pile soon accumulated for Rigsby; all 14 employees at Rigsby's Auto Parts nominated him for the award.

"I felt very honored by the award," Rigsby said, "and I was very much surprised."

The honor was no surprise to Rigsby's employees, however. They've known for years - even decades - that their boss is one of the best.

"I don't know a more honest man," said Manager Tommy Ellison, who has worked for Rigsby for 21 years. "He's always got a smile on his face. He has a good sense of humor, and he goes along with the flow. He's a lot of fun, but he's businesslike, too."

Rigsby's daughter, Rachel Rigsby Lare, works as the office manager and said she has seen how her father's easygoing manner affects everyone at the business.

"He can turn a tense situation around in a split second with a smile or humor," she said. "People just flock around him. He's truly genuine, and that's something you don't see a lot."

Rigsby began his career in the salvage industry more than 30 years ago, when he worked at a facility in Ohio. He observed the way it was run, and he knew he could do a better job if he ever got the chance. In 1977, Rigsby jumped at the opportunity to buy his own business in Florida.

"I've been very happy ever since," he said.

While Rigsby's 14 employees all gave different reasons their boss should win the contest, such as his honesty, his sense of humor and his positive attitude, nearly all of them seemed to agree on one thing: Rigsby will never ask an employee do to something he wouldn't do himself.

"I believe in treating employees like equals," Rigsby said. "I treat them as people, not as employees. I don't want to act like I'm on a different level, because I'm not."

Rigsby also isn't one to stay cooped up in an office all day long. When he wants to get away from it all, he said, he hops on the forklift and gets to work.

"I find some people can go read a book and sit back and relax," he said. "I can get on the loader and ride around all day. I spend as much time out there as I can."

To those who work for him, it's always been clear that Rigsby isn't just another employer.

"He's more than a boss," Ellison explained. "He's a friend to everybody here."