May 14, 2007 (Washington, DC) –The ESOP Association is pleased to announce the 2007 winners of the Annual Award for Communications Excellence (AACE). The AACE Awards are sponsored each year by the Association to recognize the outstanding communications and educational programs of its members. The awards will be presented May 14, 2007 at the Association’s Annual Conference in Washington, DC to companies who have excelled in communicating the ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) and its meaning to the employee owners.
AACE Award winners are chosen by a panel of five judges made up of both management and non-management employee owners, each of whom has demonstrated active experience and interest in the field of ESOPs and employee ownership communications. Awards are based on: overall quality and quantity of employee owner education, contributions of employee owners, integration of the ESOP into company culture, frequency of ownership communications, involvement and/or response of employee owners, encouragement of ownership attitudes, clear explanations, creative ideas, graphic design, and technical quality.
The 2007 AACE Award winners are:
Total Communications Program, 100 or fewer employees
Winner: Prentke Romich Company, Wooster, OH
Total Communications Program, 101 - 500 employees
Winner: CALIBRE Systems, Inc., Alexandria, VA
Runner Up: ACRT, Inc., Akron, OH
Total Communications Program, 501 – 1,000 employees
Winner: MMC Corp, Overland Park, KS
Runner Up: Woodward Communications, Inc., Dubuque, IA
Total Communications Program, 1,001 – 5,000 employees
Winner: Hot Dog on a Stick, Carlsbad, CA
Runner Up: Acadian Ambulance Service, Inc., Lafayette, LA
Total Communications Program, 5,001 + employees
Winner: Brookshire Brothers, Ltd, Lufkin, TX
Young ESOP
Winner: Forsythe Technology, Inc., Skokie, IL
Runner Up: Rosendin Electric, Incorporated, San Jose, CA
Audio Visual
Winner: Acadian Ambulance Service, Inc., Lafayette, LA
Runner Up: ComSonics, Inc., Harrisonburg, VA
Printed Materials, 250 or fewer employees
Winner: ComSonics, Inc., Harrisonburg, VA
Runner Up: The Chilcote Company, Cleveland, OH
Printed Materials, over 250 employees
Winner: Woodward Communications, Inc., Dubuque, IA
Runner Up: Carris Reels, Rutland, VT
Educational Materials, Print
Winner: Dakota Supply Group, Fargo, ND
Runner Up: Apache Hose & Belting, Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA
Education Materials, ESOP Intranet
Winner: Carl Warren & Company, Placentia, CA
Runner Up: Acadian Ambulance Service, Inc., Lafayette, LA
External ESOP Advertising, Print
Winner: MidSouth Building Supply, Inc., Springfield, VA
Runner Up: Cisco-Eagle, Inc., Dallas, TX
External ESOP Advertising – Website
Winner: Cisco-Eagle Inc., Dallas, TX
Runner Up: Carris Reels, Rutland, VT
Special Events, Promotions, 250 or fewer employees
Winner: The Chilcote Company, Cleveland, OH
Runner Up: Apache Hose & Belting, Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA
Special Events, Promotions, over 250 employees
Winner: Robert Bowden, Inc., Marietta, GA
Runner Up: Norcal Waste Systems, Inc., San Francisco, CA
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.
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