Governor Mary Fallin has declared October to be Employee Ownership Month in Oklahoma. Oklahoma joins other states and the national ESOP Association in celebrating Employee Ownership Month in October. ESOP is short for Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
According to the ESOP Association, there are approximately 10,000 ESOPs in place in the U.S., covering 10.3 million employees or 10% of the private sector workforce. Total assets owned by ESOPS are estimated to be $869 billion.
The proclamation was requested by GUY Engineering Services. GUY implemented an ESOP in 2013.
“Because of the ESOP, GUY employees have a stake in how well the company performs,” says GUY President John Blickensderfer. “We want to highlight the many benefits of employee ownership, and this is why we requested the proclamation.”
GUY’s month-long celebration of employee ownership will include opportunities for training and games, all culminating with their third annual ESOPtoberfest on Friday, October 28. On this day, they will have a community volunteer activity in the morning, a chili cook off and lunch, and a cornhole tournament.