Get the Most Out of Your ESOP

Three-Day Conference on Best Practices for an Effective ESOP Culture

Minneapolis, MN

October 27-29, 2008

This conference provides specific tools, big-picture concepts, and lots of real-life examples of best practices in creating an ownership culture--- to help your company get the "ESOP advantage." Whether you are just starting or already moving down the road to an ownership culture, you will leave this meeting with plans and ideas for next month and upcoming years.

Learning objectives include: participants will become familiar with techniques for ESOP education, effective communications, open-book management, and encouraging employee involvement.

What Makes This Conference Different?

This interactive working conference features presentations by experienced trainers, organizational development experts, and insiders from successful companies. Each day also integrates structured activity sessions in small groups and unstructured opportunities to network with fellow ESOP companies struggling with similar issues. This unique combination of expert input, examples from model companies, and structured peer-to-peer problem solving allows participants to create their own concrete (and unique) solutions.

Who Should Attend?

Anyone involved with building the effectiveness of an ESOP should attend, including those working with ESOP communications, human resource development, training or organizational change, as well as senior management, ESOP committee members, steering committee members, team leaders, and active front-line employees.

Praise from Past Participants

"As an established ESOP company, this event really helped to revive ideas and created great networking opportunities. "

"Very informative for new ESOPs! Met all my expectations"

"I really enjoyed having presenters join in table talks. They helped facilitate and added value to conversations"

Program

Day One: Monday, October 27
8:30 am	Continental Breakfast, Registration
9:00 am	Introduction: Get the Most Out of This Meeting Corey Rosen, NCEO
9:30 am	An Interactive Approach to Understanding ESOPs (the ESOP Game) Alex Moss, Praxis Consulting Group (15 minute internal break)
12:45 pm	Luncheon Meet other attendees in small informal discussion groups Sponsored by Principal Financial Group
2:00 pm	Creating and Improving ESOP Communications Kellee Kroll, Principal Financial Group
2:45 pm	Table Talks for Creating and Improving ESOP Communications Kellee Kroll, Principal Financial Group
3:30 pm	Break
3:45 pm	Question and Answer Panel on ESOP Technical and Legal Issues Moderator: Corey Rosen, NCEO Panelists: Neil Brozen (BNC Bank), Paul Halverson (Chartwell Financial), Richard Joseph (Alerus Financial), Jude Anne Carluccio (Parsinen Kaplan)
4:45 pm	Day One Adjourns
5:30-7:00 pm	Opening Cocktail Reception Sponsored by Parsinen Kaplan Rosberg & Gotlieb, P.A., at their nearby offices, 100 South 5th Street, Ste. 1100
	Dinner on Your Own
Day Two: Tuesday, October 28
8:30 am	Continental Breakfast
9:00 am	Incentive Plans That Work and Interactive Table Talks Brad Hams, Ownership Thinking
10:30 am	Break
10:45 am	Creating Communication Materials Corey Rosen, NCEO
11:15 am	Open Space-Discussions on Topics Selected by Participants Corey Rosen, NCEO
12:15 pm	Luncheon and Case Study Presentation Ken Ritterspach, Stylmark, Inc. Sponsored by Alerus Financial
1:30 pm	Creating and Sustaining ESOP Committees Alex Moss, Praxis Consulting Group
2:15 pm	Table Talks for Creating and Sustaining ESOP Committees Alex Moss, Praxis Consulting Group
3:00 pm	Break
3:15 pm	Business and Financial Literacy Ron Maurer, ZingTrain (Zingerman's Community of Business)
4:30 pm	Company Case Study Rob Tautges, HLB Tautges Redpath, Ltd.
5:00 pm	Day Two Adjourns
	Evening free or optional planned group activity
Day Three: Wednesday, October 29
8:00 am	Continental Breakfast
8:30 am	Getting Employees to Understand and Act on the Critical Numbers of Your Business Rich Armstrong, The Great Game of Business
10:00 am	Break
10:15 am	Participation Tools and Strategies Corey Rosen, NCEO
11:00 am	Table Talks for Participation Tools and Strategies Corey Rosen, NCEO
11:45 am	Wrap Up, Evaluation and Review Corey Rosen, NCEO, and panel of presenters
12 noon	Conference Adjourns

All registrants will receive a complimentary copy of the NCEO publication An Introduction to ESOPs, courtesy of Chartwell Capital Solutions. The printed on-site program book is courtesy of BNC Bank.

Conference Presenters

Rich Armstrong is the president of The Great Game of Business, Inc. He has over 17 years of experience in open-book management, employee ownership and business and financial literacy training with service as a consultant and as an executive at SRC Holdings Corporation (an employee-owned company for 25 years). Mr. Armstrong is also a member of the board of directors of the National Center for Employee Ownership.

Brad Hams, founder and president of Ownership Thinking, LLC, has been consulting, training, and speaking on improving business performance through employee education and involvement for over a dozen years. Previously, he served as president of Mrs. Fields Cookies for Mexico, and held other senior level finance and operations positions. Mr. Hams serves as a director of the NCEO and is a nationally known public speaker. He is a top rated resource for Vistage, the world's largest membership organization of CEOs.

Kellee Kroll is a consultant for the ESOP education and communication team of Principal Financial Group. She has been assisting ESOP plan sponsors nationwide for twelve years, with an emphasis in ESOP communication for the past nine years. She specializes in designing customized communication strategies, using clear and concise language and materials. She also helps ESOP companies implement and develop ESOP advisory committees. Ms. Kroll is an active member of The ESOP Association and the NCEO.

Alexander P. Moss is a principal with Praxis Consulting Group and advises corporate, employee-owned, and non-profit clients about a broad range of organizational performance improvements. He is a nationally recognized leader in designing business and ownership training, communications, employee participation, and incentive systems, and in building tools that enable employees to solve production, quality, and client service challenges. He is a former board member of the NCEO and current board member of the ESOP Association.

Ron Maurer is vice president of administration at Zingerman's Community of Business and is in charge of accounting, finance, legal and administrative matters, human resources, information technology, and marketing. He has developed and regularly teaches a number of internal finance classes for the company's staff and is a highly rated presenter to for-profit and non-profit organizations that contract with ZingTrain, one of the Zingerman's Community of Business training units (ZCoB). ZCoB consists of seven specialty food-related businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan with annual sales in excess of $34 million, and currently employing over 500 people.

Ken Ritterspach is the president and CEO of Stylmark, Inc., a 100% employee-owned business in Minneapolis. Stylmark is a premier manufacturer of aluminum, steel, and lighting products for retail, hospitality, entertainment and other commercial environments. He has more than 30 years of experience in both manufacturing and service businesses, primarily middle-market, privately held companies. He received his BA from Yale University and MBA/PhD from Stanford University.

Corey Rosen is the executive director and cofounder of the NCEO. He was a professional staff member in the U.S. Senate, where he helped draft legislation on employee ownership plans, and a professor of political science at Ripon College. Mr. Rosen is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles and over the years has spoken about employee ownership at conferences and companies all across the globe.

Rob Tautges, CPA, is an officer of HLB Tautges Redpath, Ltd., a 100-percent employee-owned accounting firm in Minnesota. He was one of the leading forces in bringing an ESOP to the firm in 2003. Rob is a speaker for both U.S. and international groups on accounting industry issues and practice management topics and is the current Chairman of HLB International, the 14th largest accounting organization in the world.

Conference Site

Crowne Plaza Northstar Hotel
618 Second Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Call 612-338-2288 or 1-800-556-7827 to make sleeping room reservations for this conference. Reservations must be made on or before October 3, 2008 to take advantage of the special conference sleeping room rate of $169 for a single or double or $184 for a "king featured preferred view" room (sleeping rooms are subject to state and local taxes). After this date, the hotel may continue to accept reservations, but on a space and rate available basis, subject to increase. To get this special rate, you must mention the Group Name: NCEO-National Center for Employee Ownership Meeting.

The Crowne Plaza Northstar is conveniently located in downtown Minneapolis within two blocks of the Nicollet Mall Station of the Hiawatha Line(light rail). This light rail line can take you to and from the airport from between $1.75 to $2.75 each way, depending on the time of day. The hotel is located in the heart of downtown near many shops and restaurants.

Hotel Parking:
Day parking for guests not staying at the hotel is currently $15 for self parking (no in and out privileges), Overnight parking for guests, with in and out privileges, is $20.

Registration

Fee Information

NCEO members: $395 1st registrant, $360 for each additional registrant from the same company. If you are not an NCEO member but join now ($90 for 1 year), you will receive the member rates.

Nonmembers: $495 1st registrant, $460 for each additional registrant from the same company.

Cancellation policy: : A full refund will be issued, less a $50 administrative fee, if the request is received by the close of business on Thursday, October 9, 2008. Cancellations made after that date and by the close of business on Thursday, October 23, 2008 will be eligible for credit towards another program, minus a $50 administrative fee. Those canceling after the guarantee date of October 23, 2008 will not receive a credit or a refund.

Late fee: If you do not register online, a late fee of $35 per attendee will apply after the close of business on Friday, October 3, 2008.

How to Register

Register online (recommended), or
If you have the printed brochure, fax it with your credit card information or mail it with your credit card information or check, or
Telephone us at 510-208-1300 with your credit card in hand.

CPE Credit for Accountants

The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37219-2417. Web site: www.nasba.org

This conference is a "Group-Live" offering and provides 16.5 hours of CPE credit in the area of specialized knowledge and applications. The material is basic level. No prerequisites or advanced preparation is required.

For more information regarding administrative policies such as complaint and refund, please contact the NCEO offices at 510-208-1300.

HRCI Recertification Credit

HRCI Recertification Credit: This program has been approved for 16.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI home page at www.hrci.org.