October 28, 2014 Contact: Jenifer McDonald, Chapter Administrator The ESOP Association, California/Western States Chapter (916) 333-3280 jenifer@caws-esop.org ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE CALIFORNIA/WESTERN STATES CHAPTER 2014-2015 AWARD WINNERS The California/Western States Chapter of The ESOP Association announced the winners of its annual awards program during the 2014 Chapter Conference that was held October 8-10 at the California Grand Hotel in Anaheim. The chapter awards program recognizes ESOP companies in several areas: Communications Excellence, Best ESOP Event, Most Effective ESOP Committee, Company of the Year and Employee Owner of the Year. Employee Owner of the Year Award The Employee Owner of the Year Award honors a non-management employee of an ESOP company who has taken the initiative to become an exemplary employee-owner by learning about the ESOP, helping to educate and motivate their colleagues, and actively promoting an employee ownership culture. This year s nominees were: Stephanie Mercado, Carl Warren & Company Kelly Brandow, Dental Health Services Lauri Veverka, Entertainment Partners Brian Wilkerson, Jackson s Hardware Cheryl Braun, Kapco Global Felipe Equihua, LeFiell Manufacturing Company Bill Smith, Recology Kristin Mann, R.W. Smith & Co. Daniel Penate, Each of these nominees has shown great value to their company s ESOP community and all deserve to be awarded for their continued support of the ESOP community, but one Employee Owner nominee stood out: 1
Lauri Veverka of Entertainment Partners was recognized as the winner of this year s Employee Owner of the Year Award. Lauri is the co-chair of the company s ESOP committee and leads all of their ESOP promotion efforts. As the face of ESOP culture, she s participated in a number of panels at the ESOP annual conferences and even helped coordinate the popular Cookie Contest. Mark Goldstein, CEO of Entertainment Partners with Employee Owner of the Year Lauri Veverka. Lauri has led a company-wide food drive for the past few years benefiting the Burbank Temporary Aid Center. She has met with members of Congress about employee ownership during lobbying trips to Washington, D.C. Lauri was awarded the EP Cares Community Leadership Award in May 2014. Lauri Veverka will represent the California/Western States Chapter at the May 2015 ESOP National Conference in Washington, DC. Company of the Year Award The ESOP Company of the Year Award is presented to a company for its demonstrated commitment to employee-ownership and its success in maximizing the benefits of the ESOP regardless of company size or maturity of the ESOP. This year s nominees were: Karen Ellis, Chapter President celebrates with LeFiell Manufacturing Company employee owners. Entertainment Partners LeFiell Manufacturing Company Skyline Construction This year s California/Western States Chapter Company of the Year is LeFiell Manufacturing Company. LeFiell Manufacturing Company believes the benefits of being an ESOP company is shared amongst all its employees and, not unlike other ESOPs, they all understand what is at risk and they have been working for many years at keeping costs down while providing true results in the company for its finances and performance. 2
Their educational program consists of six interactive workshops and activities that encompass ESOP concepts while incorporating six ESOP winning habits. LeFiell Manufacturing Company offers these workshops during company time during all work shifts. The six winning habits of LeFiell Manufacturing Company are: Healthy Condition Company Financials Attitude: ESOP Basics Be Enthusiastic: Commitment/Benefits Industrious-Focus: Repurchase & Continuous Improvement Teamwork: Statement Stock Valuation Self Confidence: Participation and Diversification LeFiell has been active in the ESOP community for 44 years, although the company was founded many years before. Their chairman and key employees have all served in several capacities at the chapter and national level. In the award nomination, LeFiell Manufacturing Company noted they have survived for 84 years but the journey is not over. We have a lifetime ahead of us, we have to keep our minds open to new ways of thinking, be open minded to new technology, continue to use our street smarts, continue to educate ourselves, care about the people around us, and treat people with respect. We all have to be committed to one another, to our company and to this thing we all call ESOP. LeFiell Manufacturing Company will represent the California/Western States Chapter at the May 2015 ESOP National Conference in Washington, DC. Most Effective ESOP Committee Award The Most Effective ESOP Committee Award is presented to the ESOP Committee that has best coordinated activities to educate and motivate their fellow employee owners. The following companies submitted entries for this award: AG RX Caltrol LeFiell Manufacturing Company Rainbow Environmental Services R.W. Smith & Company Recology Caltrol Employee Owners: Most Effective ESOP Committee Award Winners 3
Caltrol received this year s Most Effective ESOP Committee award. The winner reinforces knowledge through continuous programs and events, games and puzzles developed and issued companywide to inform and educate their members and employees at large. Caltrol uses fun and creative ways of conveying information to fellow owners through their Newsletter, through crossword puzzles loaded with ESOP related questions, and through lunch and learns where they provide ESOP education on different topics throughout the year. They also have a CNN News Network which provides announcements, information and training via a newscast format broadcast at quarterly business meetings. Caltrol unites its members through lunches, ice cream socials, and an ESOP Month Auction where they can use their ESOP Bucks that are awarded throughout the year for participation in the games, charity walks, and other events, and allows them to bid against each other in a friendly competition for amazing prizes in their Silent on-line and Live Auctions over the course of their two-day celebration. With a Team Based Environment, and by following their motto Communicate, Educate, and Celebrate, Caltrol creates team spirit, ownership attitude and dedication to their company goals. Best ESOP Event The Best ESOP Event Award is presented to the company that has recently sponsored an event demonstrating their commitment to employee ownership. This year s nominees were: AG RX Carl Warren & Company Dental Health Services R.W. Smith & Company Rainbow Environmental Services Recology Tesco Controls AG RX received this year s Best ESOP Event Award. AG RX has been an ESOP company since 1996, but in late 2012 they committed to developing their ESOP culture. AgRX receives the Best ESOP Event Award. 4
The idea for their award winning event came about at the California/Western States Chapter Conference in 2012 where they listened to a speaker who recognized and awarded their employee owners with ESOP Bucks. AG RX presented the ESOP Auction to their employee owners. They would receive ESOP Bucks for participation in programs and events throughout the year. The Bucks would be used in an auction and raffle that would take place in ESOP Awareness Month. Owners who participated in greater than 75% of the events would participate in a live auction, and any employee who had at least one ESOP Buck could participate in a raffle. The participation of AG RX s employee owners boomed because of this event and talk about ESOP Bucks was constant. Fifty percent of AG RX s employee owners won one of the auction or raffle prizes and each person who participated left with a gift card for participating. Communications Excellence Award The Communications Excellence Award recognizes the benefits to ESOP companies of all sizes, achieved through their communication of the value and importance of ESOPs, using a variety of media. The Employee Ownership Committee had some amazing communications award submissions to review from: Alfred Music Caltrol Carl Warren & Company Dental Health Services Rainbow Environmental Services Recology The Chapter awarded two winners for the Communications Excellence Award: Most Innovative and Best Overall! For Overall Excellence in Communications, Recology succeeded with the idea to mail postcards to the homes of their employees including questions and answers about the basics of ESOP in relation to their company. Along with this idea, Recology debuted a video called One Team One Dream during Employee Ownership Month which helped to promote employee ownership in their company. The video sought to instill the employee Overall Excellence in Communications: Recology 5
ownership spirit in the new population, define what it means to be an employee owner, and to show how employee ownership impacts an individual s retirement. For Most Innovative Communications Excellence Award, Caltrol created a project to mimic a broadcast news program. It sought and succeeded to provide news, information, ESOP training and announcements to the entire company as well as targeted individuals or groups depending on the specific broadcast. Caltrol s goal was to create a different and more entertaining way of providing ESOP education and information to their owners in a new and innovative way that would grab everyone s attention and enable everyone to learn while having fun. Most Innovative Communications Excellence: Caltrol This broadcast idea debuted at the Annual Stockholder meeting with 180 attendees and since then has been presented at the quarterly business meetings attended by 200+ employee-owners. Caltrol has had overwhelmingly positive responses from many sources and the launch was so successful that they were asked to expand the program from being posted on their intranet with periodic episodes to creating additional quarterly episodes for use during their President s Quarterly Business Updates. Since the creation of this broadcast, Caltrol has had a significant increase in participation since the launch and what seems to be more interest in ESOP as a whole! ### Photo credit: The California/Western States Chapter thanks Lauri Veverka of Entertainment Partners for capturing the photos of this year s award winners. About the California/Western States Chapter Awards Program: Winners are chosen by a panel of judges, both management and non-management, from different companies, each of whom has demonstrated active experience and interest in the field of ESOPs. 6