See, people are still capable of doing good

Employees in a small Minnesota town are getting quite a holiday bonus this year.

Joe Lueken of Bemidji, Minn, a successful local grocer who is planning his retirement, has decided to give his company to his employees rather than sell the small business to bigger buyers, the Star Tribune reports. Through an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP), the 400 employees of Lueken's Village Foods will become the new owners at the start of 2013, despite offers from large independent chains.

"My employees are largely responsible for any success I've had, and they deserve to get some of the benefits of that," Lueken told the Tribune. "You can't always take. You also have to give back."

An ESOP is a stock equity plan that enables employees to acquire ownership in a company. The employees form a trust, which then purchases shares of the company. Employees generally contribute to the trust through payroll deductions.

In Lueken's case, however, he won't require his employees to pay anything for their shares, effectively giving the company to the employees for free.

This isn't the first time a small business owner has utilized an ESOP to reward employees for their hard work and loyalty.

In 2010, an Oregon man celebrated his 81st birthday by giving a big present to his employees. Bob Moore, of Milwaukie, Ore, gave his whole-grain production business to the 209 employees who worked for him through an ESOP.

Other CEOs have rewarded employees in an even simpler way: cash.

Tech CEO Markus 'Notch' Person distributed the $3 million he collected from company stock dividends to his employees in March.

Naveen Jain, the CEO of Intelius, started an employee competition in 2011 which rewards 13 employees with checks ranging from $2,000 to $50,000 for ideas on cost-saving measures and new products.

Joe Lueken grocer gives comapny to employees

it's good to see that some employers recognize the value of their employees....

unlike some of the multi million dollar companies that are firing employees (or reducing hours) because of the new health care plan...

Nice...

I love good stories...

Now that is news worth reading...

rugadd

RyuJin wrote: it's good to see that some employers recognize the value of their employees....

unlike some of the multi million dollar companies that are firing employees (or reducing hours) because of the new health care plan...

In my opinion, RyuJin, I don't think this is a truthful conclusion. In general, successful companies DO value their employees, which is why they have advanced to the multi-million dollar level of success that they currently have. Look at Apple, for example. They provide their employees with regular bonding sessions and train them just as well in social skills as they do with computer salesmen skills. Even if you don't know what exactly Apple does behind closed doors, you can tell that they respect their employees.

I guess you're probably thinking of sweatshops, right? As in, the managers sit in offices, count money, and smoke cigars while women and children work 14 hours a day with a half hour lunch break? Well, have you seen these small factories advance any larger than small factories? Probably not, because they don't value their employee's ideas and innovations, unlike these "multi million dollar companies" which do.

Also, take McDonald's for another example. Many of the most popular menu items, like the Big Mac and Filet-O-Fish, were invented by local franchisees. Ray Kroc, the original CEO of McDonald's corporation, is often known for valuing his employees and rewarding their ideas. It's still evident today in McDonald's current menu.


So I personally think that it's not true that "some of the multi million dollar companies that are firing employees (or reducing hours)" because the "employers [don't] recognize the value of their employees...."

In contrast, it's usually the opposite. At least in the U.S. and Great Britain.

The ones I had in mind are the ones that threatened to fire employees if obama won the election...then did so simply because they didn't want to pay the little extra for employee healthcare...

I admire any corporation that treats their employees right...without the employees where would the corporation be...

Prison Inmates Save Three Children Who Had Fallen Into a Creek



Three youngsters, 16, 10 and 8, accidentally flipped the kayak they were travelling in and found themselves floundering in the fast-moving Salmon Creek in southwest Washington State. The only people close enough to hear their cries for help were prisoners on a work detail.

The three inmates gave no thought to their own safety or to the fact that they were breaking the rules by leaping into the freezing water. They just knew the kids needed help.

It was around 12:30 p.m. when the kayak suddenly tossed the three brothers into the chilly waters of Salmon Creek. A work detail from Larch Corrections Center in Yacolt was nearby and heard the screaming children.

At first they thought it was just kids playing somewhere nearby according to inmate Nelson Pettis, 37. Then they saw two heads bobbing in the water and the overturned kayak. Realizing the creek was raging pretty quickly, Pettis dove into the water and let the current carry him downstream of the boys. He steadied himself and the boys were carried right up to where he was waiting but just then the current surged and took out his feet. He was able to grab the kids and get them to a tiny island in the center of the creek.

Inmate Larry Bohn, 29, leapt into the water and assisted Pettis in getting the kids to shore while inmate John Fowler, 29, helped inflate the rescue boat and then carried the 10 year old child to the ambulance.

Bohn described the children as being really frightened. He said they repeatedly thanked the three men.

The three brothers and two of the inmate rescuers were treated at a nearby hospital for hypothermia but there were no serious injuries reported.

All three inmates were incarcerated for non-violent crimes. They claimed they simply did what anyone else would have done in the same situation. Bohn is scheduled for release in June, Pettis in November and Fowler for May of 2014. All three will be receiving a letter of praise from the prison’s assistant secretary.

Thank you Wendaline

When the defense contracting firm I used to work for 'graduated' from being classified as a small business in 2006, the two owners sold it to ITT for over $100 million. Each employee got $1000 bonus, with execs (of course) getting an extra bonus as well.

I thought that was cool. They didn't have to do that at all.

I thought Master RyuJin would have a special interest in this. This happened last week.


HANOVER, Mass. (WHDH) -- A man who was riding his bicycle rescued a 14-year-old girl who fell through the ice on Forge Pond in Hanover on Thursday.

“I started treading water, trying to get help, saw a dude running by, screamed, ‘Help,’ first thing that comes to mind, you know? ” said Chloe, who was rescued from the pond.

The seventh grader said she was sliding around on the ice in her sneakers after school when the ice broke and she was suddenly neck-deep in ice-cold water.

“Then I was trying to get out. First impression, you want to get out of freezing water, so I was scrabbling, the ice kept breaking,” Chloe said.

Officials said the 57-year-old Scituate man jumped into the water to save her. By the time emergency responders arrived the girl was out of the water.

“No, [I didn’t think twice about saving Chloe], not really. It was just a no brainer,” said Richard Cullen. “I had to break the ice on the way out ‘cause I couldn’t stand on it and I was able to pound through it ‘til I got to her. And then I was able to hold her up.”

Fire officials said before the man jumped into the water he was able to alert some people passing by to call for help.

The fire chief said Cullen saved the teenagers life.

The 14-year-old girl was treated and released from the hospital.