Comment Letters Indicate DOL Proposed Regulation "Would Seriously Impede ESOPs" discusses a review of all the DOL Comment letters that found that 41% of the submitted comments believe that the proposed DOL fiduciary regulations would harm ESOPs:

We have discussed at length the Reasons to Remove the Requirement that ESOP Appraisers are Fiduciaries from the Proposed DOL Regulations. The DOL has published a Fact Sheet:

Time to update ERISA fiduciary rule

The Board of Directors are part of the ESOP Corporate Governance process.

We are proud to sponsor the 2011 NCEO/Beyster Institute Annual Employee Ownership Conference from April 13-15 in Denver. If you will be attending, please stop by and visit us at booth #8.

• Apache Hose & Belting, Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA


• B & I Contractors, Inc., Fort Myers, FL


• Bollman Hat Company, Adamstown, PA


• Bolton & Co., Pasadena, CA


• Caltrol, Inc., Las Vegas, NV


• CCI Systems, Inc., Iron Mountain, MI


• Community Financial Services ESOP, Benton, KY


• Cramer Products, Inc., Gardner, KS


• Dealey, Renton & Associates, Oakland, CA


• DeKalb Feeds, Inc., Rock Falls, IL


• Dickinson Press Inc., Grand Rapids, MI


• Durden Banking Co., Inc., Twin City, GA


• Employee Owned Holdings, Inc., Houston, TX


• First National Bank of Bemidji, Bemidji, MN


• Foldcraft Company, Kenyon, MN


• Follett Corporation, Easton, PA


• Foxx Equipment Company, Kansas City, MO


• Gulf Industries, Inc., Mandeville, LA


• Horizon Bancorp, Michigan City, IN


• Insurance Associates, Inc., Rockville, MD


• Jones-Hamilton Co., Walbridge, OH


• Mayville Engineering Company, Inc., Mayville, WI


• McNaughton-McKay Electric Company, Madison Heights, MI


• Melton Machine & Control Company, Washington, MO


• MidSouth Building Supply, Inc., Springfield, VA


• Oswald Companies, Cleveland, OH


• Overton Chicago Gear Company, Addison, IL


• Perry Corporation, Lima, OH


• Recology, San Francisco, CA


• Reell Precision Manufacturing Corp., Saint Paul, MN


• Reflexite Corporation, Avon, CT


• Rieth-Riley Construction Co., Inc., Goshen, IN


• Sentry Equipment Corp., Oconomowoc, WI


• Shamrock Bancshares, Inc., Coalgate, OK


• The Mosser Group, Fremont, OH


• Web Industries, Inc., Marlborough, MA


• Wikoff Color Corporation, Fort Mill, SC


• Winona Agency, Inc., Winona, MN


• Worzalla Publishing Company, Stevens Point, WI


• Xtek, Inc., Cincinnati, OH


• Zandex, Inc., Zanesville, OH

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The ESOP Association has presented 41 corporate members of the Association with a Silver ESOP Award to recognize their work in sustaining their ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) for 25 years or more. This year, the Silver ESOP Awards are being presented to companies that will be celebrating 25 years or more as an ESOP company in 2011.

The March 31, 2011 Employee Ownership Update is online and discusses the following: