LBS Receives IA/NE ESOP Rising Star Award

LBS Rising Star Award

2022 Rising Star Award – Library Binding Service (LBS)

First awarded in 2020, the Rising Star Award is an award that is given from time to time when a “new” employee-owned company has proven that they have set a high trajectory and are pursuing it with absolute gusto. This year, the Chapter was pleased to present this award to Library Binding Service (LBS)!

This organization became an ESOP in 2014 and are working hard every day to create a financial legacy for their employee owners and their families. Here are just a few examples of how:

Have cultivated a culture that empowers all of their employee owners to provide ideas, implement improved processes, and find efficiencies that make their company better.
Provides ESOP education throughout the year in a variety of ways.
Organizes an annual stock price reveal that includes a fun theme, education, and prizes.
Celebrates Employee Ownership Month in October with fun and creative events.
Holds companywide meetings so all employee owners are kept informed about what’s going on in the company as it relates to strategic focuses, company goals, sales numbers, etc. An ESOP education component is included in each meeting as well.
All employee owners were involved in some capacity during an acquisition in early 2021. Input was sought from everyone and they were trusted to create procedures that would be the most efficient processes for their specific roles and departments. This high level of involvement helped show employees they were truly valued showcasing ownership and it resulted in a very successful acquisition.
Joined the Executive Committee of the IANE Chapter and have sponsored and got involved with a number of Chapter conferences and events.
During their 100-year anniversary celebration, they invited several individuals to speak about ownership and received a proclamation from Des Moines Mayor, Frank Cownie, that October 2021 was “LBS 100th Anniversary Month.” The proclamation also noted that LBS is an employee-owned company.
As a result of the above bullet, the Governor’s (Iowa) office held a press conference at LBS on Feb. 2, 2022 speaking about her initiative to eliminate state taxes on retirement income in Iowa, including ESOPs. The Governor went back to LBS in early March to sign this legislation into law!

Congratulations to LBS! You truly demonstrate what being an employee-owned company means and we can’t wait to see what you do in the future!

Iowa/Nebraska ESOP Chapter
March 2022

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