Article In Rolla Daily News

PCB cited by Wall Street Journal

Employee owners - About 40 of the 85 employee-owners of Phelps County Bank in downtown Rolla took time out Tuesday to be recognized for their achievement. The bank is among 850 companies nominated.

Alan Lewis Gerstenecker, Editor

Wall Street is a long way from Pine Street, but it was Wall Street that came calling Monday on 718 North Pine St. in Rolla, home of Phelps County Bank.

Employee-owned Phelps County Bank, whose main building is located in Rolla’s historic downtown and operates three branches, has been named in the Wall Street Journal as one of the best Top 15 Small Workplaces for 2007.

The Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces, a nonprofit whose mission is to help the leaders of small and midsize organizations create better workplaces, have teamed up to create their first annual list of the best small workplaces in the U.S. in a report called Top Small Workplaces. The 15 winners were featured in the Journal report on Small Business in Monday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

The listing did not name the 15 businesses from first to last, instead just listing the Top 15. “It’s a big deal for us,” said Phelps County Bank President Bill Marshall. “It is really a neat honor and a tremendous boost when the Wall Street Journal recognizes you. We think it’s great for us, our customers, the city and the county.” Marshall said he learned about four months ago the bank was nominated by Corey Rosen of the National Center for Employee Ownership.
The Wall Street Journal collected 850 companies and then narrowed the field down to 35, eventually announcing the Top 15.

Of about 8,570 banks in the nation only two are totally employee-owned, Marshall said. The other being located in West Virginia.

“It’s a great recognition for our employee owners,” Marshall said. “All of our employees come to work, knowing their hard work pays off for our customers and for them, as owners.”

The Top Small Workplaces list features exceptional small employers in the U.S. , which include private, nonprofit and publicly held organizations. The Wall Street Journal report spotlights those small businesses that have built workplace environments that encourage collegiality, professional growth and provide an atmosphere and benefits that make their employees want to stay.

“Small businesses continue to be the engine of economic growth in the U.S. ,” said Marcus W. Brauchli, managing editor, The Wall Street Journal.

“By providing our readers with this list of top workplaces, the Journal is able to capture the importance of what small businesses have to offer their employees and clients, particularly in their workplace practices. These small companies are leading innovators and tend to be role models for larger companies by creating an environment that encourages productive behavior.” Productive behavior, that’s just how Diana Elliott, 49, of the PCB Call Center, described being an employee owner.

“I started as a teller and I worked my way to the Call Center, and I love it,” Elliott said. “Being an employee owner ... you feel like you have a lot of empowerment. You look at things differently, and it helps because you know when you are good to your customers, you’re being good to yourself,” said Elliott, who, as she put it, “joined the team” eight years ago. “I really can’t think of anywhere else I want to work. The retirement is plan is terrific,” she said.

Dave McKee, PCB’s Public Relations and Marketing Director, said being honored by the Wall Street Journal is “a wonderful thing for the bank and our customers.
“We receive back what each employee puts into it. It’s not just a job here. It’s the best position I’ve ever had, and because we feel this way it becomes a great thing for our customers, too,” McKee said.

The upbeat feeling at PCB is something that is prevalent at all Top 15 businesses.

“Each of the 15 Top Small Workplaces winners has a great story to tell,” said Ken Lehman, Winning Workplaces founder and board chair. "The winners come from very different business sectors and are geographically diverse. But, they share a commitment to valuing, trusting, and respecting their employees, and viewing them as the key to achieving business success. These winners should inspire small businesses everywhere that they, too, can become great workplaces.”

The 2007 Top Small Workplace winners include the following:

Alaska Wildland Adventures Inc., Girdwood, Alaska

Barclay Water Management Inc., Watertown, Mass.

Corporate Ink Public Relations Ltd., Newton, Mass.

Cowden Associates Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.

Exactech Inc., Gainesville, Fla.

FRCH Design Worldwide, Cincinnati, Ohio

Gentle Giant Moving Co., Somerville, Mass.

Guerra DeBerry Coody, San Antonio, Texas

Healthwise Inc., Boise, Idaho

NRG Systems Inc., Hinesburg, Vt.

Phelps County Bank, Rolla, Mo.

Point B Solutions Group, Seattle, Wash.

Reflexite Corp., Avon, Conn.

Restek Corp., Bellefonte, Pa.

Summit Aviation Inc., Middletown, Del.