The ESOP Association Blog

Employee ownership blog – the blog of The ESOP Association

2012 Edmunson Scholarship Winners

Congratulations to the 2012 Edmunson Scholarship winners!

Each year, the Employee Ownership Foundation honors the memory of Charles Edmunson, a leader of the employee-ownership community, by awarding scholarships for the training of non-management employees of employee-owned companies. Charles Edmunson dedicated his life to the belief that all employees should be provided an opportunity to own a piece of the company where they work and that each employee owner should be offered the respect and dignity of an owner. Charles believed that education was the cornerstone of this vision. The Charles R. Edmunson Scholarship helps to fulfill his goal by offering non-management employees of employee-owned companies the opportunity to attend motivational and education programs that promote employee ownership and educate about the rights, responsibilities, risks and rewards of employee ownership. For additional information visit: http://www.employeeownershipfoundation.org/edmunson.html.

The 2012 Edmunson Scholarship winners:

Erin L. Higgins, Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc., Needham, MA

Jodi Lamb, Big G Express, Inc., Shelbyville, TN

Mike Root, Karmak, Inc., Carlinville, IL

Damon Jones, The Palmer-Donavin Mfg., Co., Columbus, OH

John Glover, The Palmer-Donavin Mfg., Co., Columbus, OH

Matt Williams, QG Holding Inc., Cincinnati, OH

Steve Nolan, QG Holding Inc., Cincinnati, OH

Kip Crabbe, Salem Distributing Company, Inc., Winston Salem, NC

Marty Duran, Salem Distributing Company, Inc., Winston Salem, NC

Emilio Ballejos, The Sleep Train, Inc., Rocklin, CA

Andrew Freyholz, Douglas Machine, Inc., Alexandria, MN

Susan Yoshiba-Manzon, LeFiell Manufacturing Company, Santa Fe Springs, CA

Heather Norris, Mountain Hardware & Sports, Truckee, CA

Melanie Forrest, Worm’s Way, Inc., Bloomington, IN

Filed under: Employee Ownership Foundation, TEA Members, , ,

Looking back at the 2012 Annual Conference

We wanted to share a few photos from The ESOP Association’s 35th Annual Conference held in Washington, DC May 10-11, 2012. Thanks to all our members for another great Conference!

Some useful links to start off with:

2012 ESOP Award Winners

2012 AACE Award Winners

2012 Silver ESOP Award Recipients

More Annual Conference photos on Flickr

Senator Mitch McConnell’s address to attendees of the 2012 Annual Conference

This year’s AACE Awards on display.

The AACE Awards display at the 35th Annual Conference. This year 50 companies entered AACE.

Libby Perszyk Kathman, Inc., located in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been selected by The ESOP Association as its 2012 Employee Ownership Month Poster Contest Winner. The winning poster design was unveiled at the Association’s 35th Annual Conference in Washington, DC.

A full room for the Employee Ownership Foundation Luncheon. Guest speaker was Professor Joseph R. Blasi from the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University. He spoke about the results of the 2010 General Social Survey.

The Employee Ownership Foundation held its first ever silent auction at the 35th Annual Conference. The event was a hit with attendees.

We joined the world of apps.

Filed under: AACE - Annual Awards for Communications Excellence, Conference Information, Employee Ownership Foundation, Member Services, , , ,

We’d like to Share a Message from Senator Mitch McConnell

At The ESOP Association’s 35th Annual Conference in Washington, DC, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered, by video, a message to ESOP Association members during the Employee Ownership Foundation Luncheon on May 10th.

A long-time advocate for ESOP companies in Kentucky, Senator McConnell’s message to Association members encouraged everyone to talk to their member of Congress about ESOPs and employee ownership. He specifically cited figures from the 2010 General Social Survey proving employee stock ownership companies were more than four times less likely to lay off employees than conventionally owned firms during the 2009 recession. The Employee Ownership Foundation is the primary funding source for questions on the survey about employee ownership in the U.S.

“We thank Senator McConnell for taping this message to members of The ESOP Association,” said ESOP Association J. Michael Keeling. “It’s important for us, as a community, to remember how vital it is to share information with members of Congress that proves employee stock ownership is good for America.”

The video of the Senator’s remarks is now available on The ESOP Association’s YouTube Channel. You can also watch the video below.

Filed under: Conference Information, DOL Proposed Fiduciary Regulation, Economic Performance, Employee Ownership Foundation, Employee Ownership Message, Government Affairs, Uncategorized, , ,

Rutgers University Appoints 22 Fellows to Study Corporations and the U.S. Economy

News from the Employee Ownership Foundation

The Employee Ownership Foundation, in collaboration with the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR), is proud to announce the recipients of the Louis O. Kelso Fellowships for 2012 – 2013. The Louis O. Kelso Fellowships are awarded to scholars studying broadened ownership of capital in the U.S. The Fellowships are administered by the SMLR at Rutgers University. For additional information about the Kelso Fellowship and the SMLR, please visit: http://smlr.rutgers.edu/kelso-fellows.

You can read the full release from Rutgers University announcing the fellows here.

Filed under: Employee Ownership Foundation, ,

Louis O. Kelso Fellows Chosen by Rutgers University

The following press release was sent out by the Employee Ownership Foundation today.

Louis O. Kelso Fellows Chosen by Rutgers University –

Employee Ownership Foundation Provides Grant Money for Fellowship Program

For Immediate Release: April 12, 2012

For More Information: Amy Gwiazdowski, 202/293-2971, amy@esopassociation.org

April 12, 2012 (Washington, DC) – The Employee Ownership Foundation, in collaboration with the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR), is proud to announce the recipients of the Louis O. Kelso Fellowships for 2012 – 2013. The Louis O. Kelso Fellowships are awarded to scholars studying broadened ownership of capital in the U.S. The Fellowships are administered by the SMLR at Rutgers University. For additional information about the Kelso Fellowship and the SMLR, please visit: http://smlr.rutgers.edu/kelso-fellows.

“The Employee Ownership Foundation is pleased to once again sponsor the Louis O. Kelso Fellowships program through the Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations,” said Employee Ownership Foundation Chair, Frieda S. Takaki. “It’s a very exciting day for the Foundation and the employee ownership field at large. We are proud to support this research as the evidence shows employee ownership is good for employees, the companies, the communities, and, yes, our country.”

The list of 2012 – 2013 Louis O. Kelso Fellows and research topics:

Andy Kim, Ph.D. candidate, Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations Program in Industrial Relations and Human Resources

Question: How do employees’ attributions to Employee Stock Ownership Plans affect their attitudes and behaviors using a survey of the workers of a major New Jersey ESOP company?

Kyle Farmbry, Associate Professor, Rutgers University School of Public Affairs and Administration and Juris Doctorate Candidate, Rutgers University School of Law (Ph.D. from George Washington University in Public Administration in 1999)

Question: What are the legal barriers to the further growth and development of broad-based ESOPs?  What is the relevance of broad-based ESOPs to poverty alleviation and wealth creation for citizens? 

Sanjay Joseph Pinto, Ph.D. candidate, Harvard University Program in Sociology and Social Policy

Question: What is the orientation of union decision-makers in the United States towards employee stock ownership?

George Edward Cheney, Professor, Kent State University School of Communication Studies (Ph.D. from Purdue University in Communications, 1985)

Question: What are the best practices to develop a worker ownership culture in terms of orientation and training, human resources, and corporate communications?

Richard Simpson, Lecturer, University of Miami Program in Modern Thought and Literature (Ph.D. from Stanford University in Modern Thought and Literature in 2010)

Question: What can we learn about former Senator Stanford’s support of worker ownership as a way of overcoming the central conflict of industrial capitalism from the Leland Stanford Papers at Stanford University?

Jacquelyn Yates, Associate Professor Emerita, Kent State University Department of Political Science

Question: What can be learned about the problem and promise of ESOPs from a new survey of one of the largest network of ESOP firms in Ohio?

In addition to the Louis O. Kelso Fellowships, the Employee Ownership Foundation also helped to fund the Joseph Cabral Distinguished Scholar and Fellow through a Foundation pass through donation.

The 2012 – 2013 Joseph Cabral Distinguished Scholar and Fellow:

Erik Olsen, Associate Professor, University of Missouri at Kansas City Department of Economics (Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in Economics in 2005)

Question: Regarding majority employee-owned firms, what are the possible mechanisms that enhance their productivity, what role can they play in durable economic development, and what policies might be warranted in connection with them?

The Employee Ownership Foundation is The ESOP Association’s affiliated 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting employee ownership. More information: www.employeeownershipfoundation.org.

Founded in 1978, The ESOP Association represents over 1,400 ESOP companies who believe that employee ownership will improve American competitiveness, increase productivity through greater employee participation and strengthen our free enterprise economy. More information: www.esopassociation.org and www.esopassociationblog.org.

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Filed under: Employee Ownership Foundation, , ,

Leading in an Ownership Setting: The Program for CEOs

The Employee Ownership Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Organizational Dynamics have partnered to offer CEOs/Presidents and/or the CEO/President Designee of ESOP companies a breakthrough Certificate Program — Leading in an Ownership Setting: The Program for CEOs. This ESOP Leadership program is focused on enhancing each participant’s leadership effectiveness in his or her own company.

Over 30 ESOP company CEOs and CEO Designees have graduated from the Leading in an Ownership Setting Program including individuals from: Carris Reels, Inc., New Belgium Brewing Co., Inc., Carl Warren & Company, Pacific Steel & Recycling, and Woodward Communications, Inc., to name a few of the companies that have benefitted from the program.

Leadership development focused specifically on the leadership opportunities and challenges that exist in employee-owned companies:

• Leaders who want to work on their personal and professional development to enhance their own leadership effectiveness

• Leaders who practice and are committed to lifelong learning

• Leaders who want to maximize their opportunities to build a high-performance culture on the foundation of employee ownership

• Leaders who are interested in developing a national network with leaders of ESOP companies from around the country

For more information, contact meetings@esopassociation.org or download a copy of the brochure from the Employee Ownership Foundation website.

Filed under: Employee Ownership Foundation, ,

February 2012 Monthly Wrap-Up

In case you missed something this month, a re-cap is below.

We put out a call for AACE Awards submissions

Reminded readers of our Speaker Policies and Guidelines

Posted news from the Employee Ownership Foundation – Employee Owners’ Jobs More Stable in a Nervous Economy

Posted a letter to the editor of The Washington Post about encouraging employee ownership

More news from the Employee Ownership Foundation – Kelso Fellowship Funding Announced

Talked about President Obama’s FY 2013 Budget (Yes, we talked divorce on Valentine’s Day)

Announced the deadline for Edmunson Scholarships

A guest post from employee owner Mick Slinger at Van Meter Inc.

Announced updated Advocacy Kits

Talked about corporate tax reform

Posted our first vlog

Shared information on 401(k) plans

Filed under: Economic Performance, Employee Ownership Foundation, Employee Ownership Message, Government Affairs, Member Services, TEA Members, , , , , ,

Edmunson Scholarships

News from the Employee Ownership Foundation

Edmunson Scholarships

Each year, the Employee Ownership Foundation honors the memory of Charles Edmunson, a leader of the employee-ownership community, by awarding scholarships for the training of non-management employees of employee-owned companies. Charles Edmunson dedicated his life to the belief that all employees should be provided an opportunity to own a piece of the company where they work and that each employee owner should be offered the respect and dignity of an owner. Charles believed that education was the cornerstone of this vision. The Charles R. Edmunson Scholarship helps to fulfill his goal by offering non-management employees of employee owned companies the opportunity to attend motivational and education programs that promote employee ownership and educate about the rights, responsibilities, risks and rewards of employee ownership.

All applications are due by March 9, 2012. Award recipients will be selected by

April 13, 2012.

For more information, please visit the Employee Ownership Foundation website.  An application can be downloaded here.

Award Amount

Each scholarship pays $1,250 to the employee-owned company applying for the Edmunson Scholarship. The scholarship amount of $1,250 is split between two employee owners should the winning company have more than one employee-owner as winners.

Who Can Apply and How

  1. Employee-owned companies may apply on behalf of their employee owner(s).
  2. Each employee-owned company may nominate by application a maximum of two (2) employee owners.
  3. The individuals for whom the applicants should be made should be employees who do not have a managerial role in the company.
  4. Employee-owned companies must submit on behalf of their candidate(s) a fully completed application form.

How the Scholarship Can be Used

  1. The scholarship can be used to defray costs incurred when attending an employee ownership educational program. This can include, but is not limited to, registration, lodging and travel.
  2. The scholarship must be used within 12 months of receipt.
  3. The employee-owned company must provide the Foundation evidence of its use by submission of receipts.
  4. If terms and conditions can not be met after the scholarship has been awarded, the employee-owned company must refund the scholarship to the Foundation.
  5. The scholarship is not transferable.

Filed under: Employee Ownership Foundation, ,

Employee Ownership Foundation Approves Funding for New Kelso Fellowships

Employee Ownership Foundation News

The following release was sent out by the Employee Ownership Foundation. We wanted to share the news with readers here on the blog.

 For Immediate Release: February 13, 2012

For More Information: Amy Gwiazdowski, 202/293-2971, amy@esopassociation.org

 Employee Ownership Foundation Approves Funding for New Kelso Fellowships

February 13, 2012 (Washington, DC) – In 2012, the Employee Ownership Foundation will once again fund the Louis O. Kelso Fellowships which are awarded to scholars studying broadened ownership of capital in the U.S. The Fellowships are administered by the School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR) at Rutgers University. For additional information about the Kelso Fellowship and the SMLR, please visit: http://smlr.rutgers.edu/kelso-fellows.

In 2012, the Employee Ownership Foundation’s $67,500 gift will fund five Kelso Fellows bringing the total of Kelso Fellowships awarded since 2008 to 18.

“The Employee Ownership Foundation is pleased to once again sponsor the Louis O. Kelso Fellowships program through Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations. The mission of the Foundation is to develop research and data to support employee ownership through the ESOP model and we have seen some promising work in the last few years. The Foundation is proud to support this research,” said J. Michael Keeling, president of the Employee Ownership Foundation.

The Employee Ownership Foundation is The ESOP Association’s affiliated 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting employee ownership. More information: www.employeeownershipfoundation.org.

Founded in 1978, The ESOP Association represents over 1,400 ESOP companies who believe that employee ownership will improve American competitiveness, increase productivity through greater employee participation and strengthen our free enterprise economy. More information: www.esopassociation.org and www.esopassociationblog.org.

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Filed under: Employee Ownership Foundation, , , ,

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