The Greenery wins best ESOP company award in Carolinas

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The Greenery was named the 2018 Employee Owned Company of the Year by the Carolinas Chapter of the national Employee Stock Ownership Plan Association for meeting the award's criteria.

Among other assessments, The Greenery won for effectively communicating the benefits of employee ownership as it relates to the success of the company. An employee stock ownership plan is an employee-owner program that provides a company's workforce with an ownership interest in the company. There are approximately 100 ESOP companies that comprise the Carolinas Chapter in South Carolina and North Carolina. It is part of the national ESOP Association, based in Washington, D.C.

Lee Edwards, The Greenery’s CEO, stated, “We were honored to be recognized within our ESOP Chapter for both South Carolina and North Carolina for our efforts to educate and encourage our employees about the values and benefits of employee ownership," said Lee Edwards, The Greenery's CEO. "We believe that every employee owner can contribute to the actual success of their company.”

"The hard work throughout the year really paid off," said Chief Financial Officer Scott Slawson, who oversees the internal committee responsible for communications about the employee stock ownership plan. “The Carolinas Chapter award put us in contention for a national award, and although we did not win it, it was an honor for the whole company to be among the top ESOP groups in the nation.”

The company celebrates this achievement while also celebrating its 46^th anniversary in February and their 11^th anniversary as an employee-owned company.