(FORTUNE Magazine) – Tony Burns, CEO of Ryder System, recently joined some distinguished company: tennis great Arthur Ashe and Democratic National Committee Chairman Ron Brown. All three men won the Equal Opportunity Day Award from the National Urban League, an annual honor given to individuals who make important contributions to minority education and training. Burns, 50, a Mormon from Nevada, began working with the Urban League a decade ago and served as chairman in 1987-88. His $5.2-billion-a-year truck- leasing company has hired more than 300 employees from Urban League job- training programs. ''I think people like myself have a responsibility to get involved,'' he says. ! To Burns, good works make good business sense. Another example: As a member of We Will Rebuild, a task force organized to help South Florida recover from Hurricane Andrew, Burns lent over 400 trucks to assist in the cleanup. His charity work hasn't taken his eye off business, though. Nationwide, Ryder's vehicle-leasing division is turning in its best results in four years.