DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford surpassed Honda in initial vehicle quality for the first time and reached new levels of customer satisfaction with vehicle quality, a new survey shows.

Ford is also statistically tied with Toyota at the top of the industry when it comes to initial vehicle quality, according to the 2009 U.S. Global Quality Research System survey done quarterly for Ford by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

The latest GQRS survey measured 2009 vehicle initial quality in two categories: the number of "things gone wrong," and customer satisfaction with vehicle quality in the first three months of ownership.

In the first quarter of 2009, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles saw things gone wrong fall by 5 percent to 1,228 per 1,000 vehicles, better than Honda's 1,422 things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles and statistically equal to Toyota's 1,150.

In addition, the survey shows that Ford Lincoln Mercury improved two percentage points to 79 percent in customer satisfaction with vehicle quality, which puts Ford's domestic brands in a tie with Toyota and Honda for industry leadership.

The Ford Mustang, Ford Taurus, Ford Taurus X, Mercury Milan, Ford Ranger, and the new 2009 Ford F-150 recorded quality levels that equate to less than one problem per vehicle, as did the Fusion and Edge.

In other Ford news, editors of Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com named the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid to its 2009 list of "Top 10 Green Cars."

Butler Health System's public relations and marketing departments have received two awards for the WholeHealth television ad, "The Wait."Both the Telly Awards and the Service Industry Advertising Awards honored the commercial that has been aired on cable television.The national Telly Awards recognized local, regional and cable television commercials and programs, as well as video, film productions and the Internet. BHS's spot competed against 14,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents.The SIAA awards are given to marketing work in the service industries, such as health care, education and hospitality.These two awards bring the total awards won by these departments to nine for 2008-2009.

BUTLER TWP - The Butler Human Resources Association and the Butler County Chamber of Commerce will host a forum on labor and employment laws from 8 a.m. to noon May 13 at the Succop Theater at Butler County Community College.The Pittsburgh law firm of Cohen & Grigsby will present, "What's Here and On the Horizon," at 9:15 a.m. after a breakfast buffet. Other sessions include the Employee Free Choice Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act.BC3 and Specialized Staffing are sponsoring the event that costs $15 for chamber or human resource association members, or $20 for nonmembers. A small business expo will also be held. Businesses interested in participating should call the chamber at 724-283-2222.Reservations should be made by Monday.

ZELIENOPLE - The Pennsylvania Chapter of the Nature Conservancy has awarded the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau its Investing in Nature Award in the Ecotourism Category.The tourism bureau received the award for its "Get Outdoors" initiative launched in January 2009.Visitors are invited to "Wake Up, Chow Down, Get Out and Dig Into the Hands-on Experiences in Butler County, Pa.""Butler County is the perfect place for people who love the outdoors, and we're happy that our ecotourism efforts are recognized by The Nature Conservancy," Jack Cohen, executive director of the bureau, said in a news release.The tourism bureau joined four other winners, the Philadelphia Phillies, Greenline Paper, Saint Vincent College and McKissick Associates Architects, and LandStudies that were honored for outdoor and environmental initiatives.

• S&T Bancorp, announced Monday a loss of $3.1 million, or 11 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared to a net income of $14.9 million or 60 cents per share for the first quarter 2008. The loss came as the company was forced to set aside more funds to cover souring loans.• II-VI in Saxonburg announced Tuesday that it had a 63 percent loss in net income for the first quarter of 2009. In the quarter that ended March 31, II-VI posted a $4.8 million profit, or 16 cents per share, as compared to 2008's first quarter profit of $13 million, or 43 cents per share. The company has had several rounds of layoffs in recent months.• AK Steel Holding reported Tuesday it has recorded a first-quarter loss of $73.4 million, or 67 cents per share. This is AK's second consecutive quarterly loss. In comparison, the company reported a $101 million net profit, or 90 cents per share, for the same period 2008. AK Steel, based in West Chester, Ohio, has idled several of its plants in recent months, but not the Butler Works in Butler Township.

• Eleanora Miller of Grove City has been reappointed to the board of trustees of the Polk Center in Venango County by Gov. Ed Rendell.• Joe Cravener with Klingensmith HealthCare, a provider of home medical equipment, has earned his Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America's assistive technology practitioner credential, which means he can help customers pick the correct wheelchair for their needs. Klingensmith has six offices including in Butler, Ford City and Natrona Heights.