T&H Celebrates ESOP Month

There’s more to celebrate during the month of October than pumpkin spice lattes and leaf peeping…it’s ESOP Month!

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) are more than just a financial arrangement. They represent a unique and modern take on retirement plans through a highly tax-advantaged plan in which employees own shares through a trust funded by the company. Studies have shown that companies with ESOPs grow almost three times as fast as non-ESOP companies and are able to provide employees with approximately two times the retirement assets.

Beyond the financial aspect, ESOPs promote a rich culture of collaboration and commitment, where employees have a genuine interest in the company’s success, driving them to contribute their best efforts and feel empowered by their commitment.

ESOPs have been an integral part of the Tata & Howard journey as we have been 100% employee-owned since 2014. Since doing so, we have created four dedicated ESOP committees: the ESOP Communications Committee, the Green Committee, the Wellness Committee, and the Philanthropy Committee. Together, these committees work tirelessly, both independently and together, to bring team building and bonding, a sense of community, lighthearted entertainment, and a positive change to the T&H environment.

This month, we want to take this opportunity to recognize their significance and the wonderful people who make them work – our amazing team!

How does T&H embrace ESOP culture?

For starters, outside of ESOP Month, we have monthly planned team activities that focus heavily on philanthropic initiatives and client-centric special events, including a time capsule planting, an annual scholarship, and other team-bonding focused activities like poker nights, and more — all thanks to our ESOP committees!

This month, we have a multitude of fun-packed events that have been perfectly curated for our ESOP family, all based on at least one of our core values.

Month-Long Food Drive

The first week of the month saw the start of our month-long food drive to the Worcester County Food Bank (WCFB). The WCFB is one of only three Feeding America member food banks in the entire state of Massachusetts, providing food to tens of thousands of people every year. At the end of the month, we will weigh the collected donations to see just how much our team was able to rally together for the members of our local community that are experiencing food shortages, all the while demonstrating T&H’s commitment to social responsibility.

Family Feud Competition and Level 99 Adventure

Every Tuesday this October, the T&H crew will break out into teams for the month-long Family Feud competition. We even have our very own Steve Harvey! (pictured below). Not only will the weekly competition serve as a sure-fire cure for any lingering post-Monday blues, it will also foster friendly competition, a sense of togetherness, communication, and of course, a lot of laughter and light hearted entertainment! The competition started on October 3 and the final round will be held on October 24.

As we cannot seem to get enough friendly competition, our team brought their A-game at October 12’s Level 99 event. Level 99 is a one-of-a-kind destination where patrons have access to over 40 themed challenge rooms that are designed to test both their physical and mental capabilities in an effort to win challenges and collect rewards. (Again, have we mentioned just how much the T&H team loves some friendly competition?)

Anniversary Lunch and Website/Movie Premiere

On October 19, 2023, T&H turned 31 years old, so cue the “happy birthday” song! We were founded on October 19, 1992 by Donald J. Tata and Paul B. Howard. This exciting anniversary was celebrated by a company-wide catered lunch where we also discussed important company initiatives. Once the business portion of the day was completed, it was time for the party to start. The company hosted a premiere of both our new website (click around and check it out!) and new corporate video, both in-person and virtual for our team.

Other Planned ESOP Month Events

• Represent Your Alma Mater Day where our team is encouraged to don a shirt or item of clothing representing their colleges.
• An Owners Meeting followed by a suspenseful, immersive, and exciting Murder Mystery party.
• A Halloween-themed party, and more!

This ESOP Month, let’s celebrate the power of shared ownership, dedication, and teamwork. Thank you for being part of our journey and for helping make our company the success that it is today.