Salem Distributing Co. has been selected by The ESOP Association as the winner of the 2018 Excellence in Communications Annual Award for Companies with less than 250 employees. The AACE Awards are sponsored each year by the association to recognize the outstanding communications and educational programs of its members. The awards are presented each May at the association’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., to companies that have excelled in communicating the ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) and its meaning to the company’s employees.

Salem Distributing is an employee-owned company located in Clemmons on Gun Club Road and “being employee owned means everyone has a piece of our success in terms of share appreciation” said Jordan Griffin. “What I do everyday adds value to our organization as well as what my fellow owners contribute.” Beneficial share owners of Salem are awarded contributions to their retirement plan each year based upon the annual valuation that is performed by an outside valuation firm. Jennifer Weitzel added, “The sweat equity that my fellow owners and I contribute every day has increased our share value for many years and is an additional contribution to my own retirement plan outside of 401k and personal investments.”

“We are pleased to have been selected as a 2018 AACE Award winner by The ESOP Association,” commented Mike Willard, CEO of Salem. “We are proud to be an employee-owned company and strongly believe in the power of employee ownership and feel it’s good for our employees, good for our community and good for America.”

Salem is an international distribution company that primarily imports glass and stone fabricating equipment and consumable supplies to process glass and stone that is used in commercial and residential settings. Salem also services the ophthalmic and precision glass optics industry for various high-quality precision needs.

The ESOP Association is the national trade association for companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and the leading voice in America for employee ownership. The core belief of The ESOP Association is that employee ownership will improve American competitiveness, increase productivity through greater employee participation, and strengthen our free enterprise economy. More information: website – www.esopassociation.org and blog – www.esopassociationblog.org.

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