Since 2010, TVF has been 100% employee owned. The transition transformed our company and instilled a more personal connection to our mission to deliver the highest degree of service for our customers and our business. It also means we know how to celebrate and honor our successes!
During the month of October, our offices and warehouses in Carmel and Lebanon, Indiana and Carson, California hosted Employee Ownership Month events designed to bring our team closer together and remind them of the many benefits of employee ownership. The fun includes:
- Kick-Off Breakfast with Leadership where our executive team serves breakfast to team members in Carson, Carmel, and Lebanon.
- TVF Connection Challenge where employee-owners are randomly paired on a 15-minute Team call to get to know each other better.
- Virtual Happy Hour for employee-owners spread throughout the country to share a beverage together.
- The annual TVF Fall Festival at our warehouses in Carson and Lebanon featuring games and food to toast the month.
- “OWNER” Bingo with the Bingo Boyz.
Why is celebrating employee ownership so worthy of devoting a month to it? Some TVF employee-owners weigh in on what employee ownership means to them:
“Employee ownership, to me, means family. It’s kind of a higher meaning when we come to work,” says Fulfillment Associate and Outbound Lead. “We understand more of the business, what it needs to be, and the future of it.” He adds that being vested in our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) creates an additional level of financial security for retirement. “Everything we do affects the share price… A big thing for me is (saving for) retirement. Back in the day, you would think ‘I’ve got to work until I’m 80-years-old,’ but we can build up a nice nest egg to where we could retire earlier.”
Mauricio Martinez, a fulfillment associate in Carson, agrees that employee ownership is a long-term advantage, adding that it means more than simply clocking in and out and getting paid: “it’s about the future.”
Marketing Operations Specialist Kristi Tucker describes employee ownership as “an extra step of pride in what you do,” giving everyone an opportunity to simultaneously work for her team, the company, customers, AND herself.
Senior Staff Accountant Dwight Wyatt embraced the employee ownership mindset from the very start and sees it baked into everyday processes. “Everybody’s kind of an open door… willing to let me ask any type of questions. TVF is definitely a breath of fresh air.”
Customer Support Specialist Dawn Dilts says employee ownership is special. “I think ownership means having real control over your future and how you define that. If you want an amazing future, you put in the work, and see how that connects with everyone else.”
Learn more about our employee ownership journey at TVFinc.com.
