The Hillsborough-Orange County Chamber of Commerce recently named PHE Inc., the adult mail order and production company’s owner, “Business of the Year.”
Chamber President Robbin Taylor-Hall praised the company and its employees for humanitarian efforts and cash contributions to the area, including work with local animal shelters and a violence prevention group.
“We didn't have any problem giving them the award,” Taylor-Hall told local reporters during the announcement. “We don't look at some of the items they sell.”
PHE, which boasts $70 million in annual sales of sex toys and videos and employs more than 300 people in Hillsborough, originally moved to the city 11 years ago.
The company received a less-than-welcome reception upon its arrival, with several groups picketing the company’s headquarters and local ministers decrying its presence, claiming it would turn the town into the pornography capital of North Carolina.
PHE President Phil Harvey, who also runs a nonprofit company promoting family planning and AIDS prevention, said the award indicates many locals have changed their tune about adult businesses in the area.
According to the “Business of the Year” award guidelines, companies that qualify for the award “are always ready to lend a hand to an effort, to sponsor an event and to provide support for their employees.”
