In the battle against North Carolina’s recent amendment to ban gay marriage, not one executive of a Fortune 500 company spoke out — even as an individual — against it. Silence reigned at Bank of America, Duke Energy, VF Corporation or Lowe’s.

Bob Page, gay founder of Replacements Limited, did lobby legislators, contribute about $250,000 to the cause, rented a billboard along the interstate near its headquarters, and sold tee shirts.

In Maiden, NC just down the road from Greensboro, Charles C. Worley, pastor of the Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, N.C., preached on May 13 that lesbians and gays should be quarantined behind electrified fences. “In a few years, they’ll die out,” Mr. Worley said. “They can’t reproduce.” Video of the sermon circulated on the Internet.

Read more about Bob Page’s journey to authenticity at the NY Times. What caught our eye is that Bob and his partner Dale Frederiksen have adopted twin boys — now 13 — from Vietnam. Technically only Page is the parent because North Carolina doesn’t permit gay adoption. Page and Frederiksen have been together 23 years.

Replacements China — which I swear by — has annual sales of $80 million and creates jobs for 450 people in North Carolina. 

Mr. Page has a long history of business accolades, being named North Carolina’s small-business person of the year by the Small Business Administration in 1986.  Inc. Magazine’s “Inc. 500” included Replacements China in 1986; in 2004 the firm made Fast Company’s “Fast 50”. It was cited in 2002 by the Advocate magazine as one of the top 10 gay-friendly companies in America. “Hundreds of local construction workers completed an expansion that nearly doubled the size of its warehouse to 500,000 square feet. It holds over 13 million items.”

Probably no fact in this article about Page and Replacements China says more about Page’s principles than the fact that the owner of a company with revenues of $80 million drives a Ford Explorer with 146,000 miles on it. Not only has success not gone to Page’s head, he remains deeply committed to changing the values of his community towards gays and lesbians.