Proud to be 100% Employee-Owned
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What Is An ESOP and Why Is It Important?
For Our Employee-Owners
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Money in your pocket
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Better prepared for financial security at the end of your career
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100% of contributions are made by the company - it's free money for you!
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True sense of pride and ownership in the work you accomplish
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Long-term peace of mind for you and your family
For Our Customers
Because of our ESOP, our amazing team members finish the job on-time and on-budget. This saves our customers:
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Time
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Money
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Hassle
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Reputation
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Brand image
For Whitaker Holdings
An ESOP benefits our company in numerous ways. As a result, our ESOP:
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Reduces turnover
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Increases productivity
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Puts our money back into our employee-owner's pockets
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Nurtures loyalty
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Builds morale
Our
ESOP
Story
The Whitaker Way
Jim Whitaker, the founder of Whitaker Construction, always wanted his company to be different in the way it treated its employees. He valued the meaning of a team, and he knew that if people are treated fairly and given opportunities to shine, they work harder and have more pride in their work.
A TRUE WEALTH-BUILDING OPPORTUNITY
Last Statement: Enter your most recent ESOP balance.
Statement Date: Enter the date of your most recent statement.
Years Until Retirement: Enter how many years until your anticipated retirement date.
Rate of Return: 18
HOW TO USE THE CALCULATOR
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The Numbers Don't Lie
92%
The median household net worth is 92% higher for employee-owners.
33%
Employee-owners have 33% higher median income from wages.
53%
Median job tenure for employee-owners is 53% higher.
2.6x
Employee-owners are more than twice as likely to receive tuition benefits.
50%
50% of the working population is at risk of retiring without enough money to maintain their current standard of living.
We Sweat The Small Stuff
For more than 70 years, we've honored Jim Whitaker's vision to keep Whitaker Holdings' focus on our most valuable assets -- our people. By functioning as an ESOP, our employee-owners are able to benefit directly as a result of their hard work and are able to truly own a part of this company built on the ethics that Jim held so dear.
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We sweat the small stuff, because the small stuff allows us to do the big stuff. We work hard, keep our equipment clean and in good repair, smile when others walk by, and create an atmosphere that encourages collaboration and communication. It's all part of The Whitaker Way.
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Our ESOP, unlike a publicly-traded company, is evaluated and appraised each year by an independent firm that works closely with our ESOP manager. Each employee-owner has access to view their account via mobile app whenever they would like, although the balance only updates once per year. Click on the image or scan below to get the Principal app:
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Each year, we hand out ESOP statements for each employee-owner to review and keep for their own records. Over time, our ESOP outperforms the stock market by a large margin. See the proof below!
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All contributions are entirely made by Whitaker Holdings and begin after you have worked for four months. You never have to contribute a single penny...it's on us!
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An ESOP is intended to be a long-term benefit. By operating as a 100% ESOP, we are putting our money where our mouth is and proving to each of our employee-owners that we care about you, both now and in the future. After all, we do Build the Best: People, Communities, Future!
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Jan. 1st
or
Jul. 1st
After working for four months, employee-owners will be added to the ESOP at either of these dates, depending on when they were hired.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Work hard and earn your paycheck...plus $1,000,000.
With our ESOP, our goal is to make every employee-owner that stays with us for 25 years a millionaire. Of course, this is a goal and not a guarantee, but so far we have been able to see our employee-owners ESOP balances skyrocket. This is due to the pride of ownership and hardwork that is put in on a daily basis. When each one of us succeed, the entire company succeeds, which helps each one of us succeed! It's the ESOP cycle of success!
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One challenge that we face in this industry is retaining skilled employee-owners because a different employer or industry may offer an extra dollar or two per hour. It pains us to see these talented and ambitious workers leave, not understanding what they're giving up because of our ESOP structure. Look at it this way:
$1,000,000 Over 25 Years Is Like Making...
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Understanding Your Annual Statement
The ESOP is a separate trust with its own Balance Sheet and Income Statement. The Company makes Cash Contributions to the ESOP annually. These Contributions are allocated to participants that had at least 1000 hours during the year based on their percentage of total compensation for the year. The Cash Contributions are used primarily to make loan payments on the ESOP share purchases.
When the Cash Contributions are used to make loan payments, shares are moved from an unallocated pool to participant accounts. Participants also gain shares when past participants leave the ESOP. As people leave, they sell their shares to existing participants accounts. When people leave the ESOP before being fully vested their unvested balance is split among the existing participants based on percentage of compensation.
We rebalance every year. This means that the total ratio of shares to cash in participant accounts is calculated. Then every participant sells or buys shares with the other accounts until everyone has a ratio of shares to cash equal to the total shares to cash ratio. Participants that have been with the company longer will have larger balances.
Participant account balances also grow as the value of the shares in their accounts grow. There are a lot of things that impact the share value such as projected Net Income, comparable sales, and Book Value. Book value has the strongest correlation to share price. As we generate Income it increases the book value and increases the share price.
THE MINUTIAE
Meet Your ESOP Committee Members
Our ESOP Committee remains dedicated to helping spread the awareness and benefits of our Employee Stock Ownership Plan! They love to help teach and show how our ESOP is an incredible wealth-building opportunity for you!
Steve Gibbons
Chair
Serving as the Committee Chair, Steve's 28-year background in the industry guides his leadership. He is a key advocate and plays a pivotal role in fostering ownership and engagement. He firmly believes in the power of employee-ownership and the positive impact it can have, and he'll continue to inspire his colleagues to take an active role in shaping the future of our company!
Cory Thompson
Member
Meet Cory Thompson, our seasoned W/WW Superintendent with an impressive 30-year tenure within our company. With a passionate commitment to "Building a Better Future," Cory embodies the belief that our actions today shape tomorrow's success. As a trusted mentor, he shares his wealth of knowledge, guiding employee owners towards excellence and growth. Cory's contributions drive our ESOP committee towards collective empowerment and lasting impact.
Dave Putnam
Member
I feel incredibly lucky to have spent the last 25 years working with cool people building cool things! I currently hold the position of CFO of our Holding company. I believe our ESOP is an unmatchable competitive advantage.
Dallas Moulton
Member
I have been in the construction industry my entire life, have worked for my family’s excavation company to large excavation companies throughout my career. But my time with Whitaker has been the most rewarding and challenging. I spend my time away from work in the Island Park Area with friends and family flyfishing, but most importantly I enjoy spending as much time as possible with my two grandchildren. In the past 10 years working at Whitaker Construction, it is very evident that the ESOP will outperform anything out there.
Jackson Laub
Member
I've been part of the Whitakers team for over a decade, starting from the ground up as a laborer and progressing to Foreman within four years. The ESOP holds significance for me because it directly ties my hard work today to a quicker retirement in the future.
Jason Stewart
Member
Jason Stewart, Co-President of Operations at Advanced Cable Technology for the past 24 years. We are proud to be a part of Whitaker Holdings since March 2021. We are excited to be a part of the ESOP. We are always striving to Be the Best in the fiber optic industry.
Austin Myers
Member
I'm Austin, and I have been with Das-Co of Idaho for 11 years. The ESOP means a lot to me because it brings everyone together helping each other working for the same goal in the end.
Holly Gibbons
Member
Holly, a seasoned professional with over 25 years at Whitaker Construction, is passionate about the ESOP committee, with a mission to educate employee owners about the long-term and short-term benefits of the ESOP. She believes in our collective ability to shape the future of our company and secure a prosperous retirement for our dedicated employee owners.
Lucas Hitchcock
Member
I have been at Das-Co of Idaho for 6 years and entered the ESOP 4 years ago. I am excited to have the opportunity to participate in this wealth-building opportunity and look forward to working with fellow employee-owners who have real reasons to commit themselves.
Kaden Williams
Member
I am Kaden Williams, an equipment operator for Whitaker in Southern Utah. I've been with Whitaker for 3.5 years. The ESOP is important to me because it helps me build generational wealth for me and my family.
Chris Dixon
Member
I’ve worked in underground utility construction for 8 years now, one of those years I was gone for deployment when I was with the Oregon Army National Guard. I started out as a laborer for a small “ma and pa” company in Oregon. In my first year in this trade, I took every opportunity to learn as much as possible about the industry I was in, how the facilities that we were installing worked and how to operate the various equipment required to do our job. Through this work and dedication, I moved my way to operator and eventually foreman. Since then, I have ran dig crews and bore crews installing gas, power conduit and fiber ducts. After moving to Idaho from Klamath Falls, OR to be closer to my hometown, I was fortunate enough to be hired on by Das-Co and return to doing gas work. I started back at the bottom as a laborer and proved my skills, dedication and willingness to continue learning and soon began running a crew again and eventually moving up to superintendent for natural gas.
ESOP is important to me because it helps to secure the future of me and my family.
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Caleb Oyler
Member
My career has always been centered around mechanics, I always enjoyed taking things apart to see how they were built and how they functioned. I was raised on a small family farm and at an early age I learned how to weld and started out repairing lawnmowers, chainsaws and other small engines. Hands on learning was huge for me, having a mentor throughout my life to teach me is what really made me successful in my career today. I started with Whitaker Construction in 2015 as a field mechanic and it was one of the best career decisions I have ever made. I was born and raised in Box Elder County, the starting place of Whitaker Construction, and know many people throughout the area. Multiple times I have been stopped by friends or total strangers who see my Whitaker hat or T-shirt, they always mention how Whitaker has grown and what a good company they are. I feel this truly speaks volumes for what we do and what we are working to accomplish. The work we do often goes unnoticed but is truly the backbone of the area. Regarding the ESOP I have been able to talk with career Employee-Owners that have been able to reap the benefits of the ESOP and see in real time the difference it makes in their life. I wanted to be a part of the ESOP committee to help others understand the value it brings and what a difference it can make in a person's life.
Candy Hunter
Member
My name is Candy Hunter, I am Bighorns Supervisor/Engineer. I was born in Washington State Spokane Fairchild AF Base. Im a military Brat, Grew up in England. My school was Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham Suffolk. My Personal goals would be to buy a house that I can call my own. That I can have Chickens and a Garden to tinker in. Professional Goal: The sky is the limit in Traffic Control, I draw plans now looking into the logistics of becoming a professional engineer. I really do not know what is next… I didn’t know I could do this until I started! Achievement I am proud of is being nominated to doing the PC class. Being able to better communicate. Accomplishment would be ITD ROW, County Agencies send Customers my way for Traffic Control Plans. I love to Draw or Paint, anything creative. Spending time with the family. And baking! My best skills would be customer service and having the knowledge that I do to teach, advise the best I can in the field I fell in love with.
Don't just take our word for it. Take our employee-owner's words!