Pennsylvania State Rep. Greg Rothman (www.reprothman.com) is emerging as a champion of employee ownership. If you could suggest legislation to support employee ownership, what would it be? In today’s episode, you’ll hear how you can help Rep. Rothman and PA lead the way in creating an EO-friendly environment.

Contact info for Rep. Rothman appears in the show notes on our website, along with a full transcript of the mini-cast: https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/mini-cast-65-help-pa-state-rep-greg-rothman-help-eo

Greg Zimmerman, Vice President of the Premium Cigar Association (premiumcigars.org), President of the Pennsylvania Premium Cigar Retailers Association (PAPCRA) and co-owner of The Tobacco Company cigar stores (www.tobaccocompany.com) in Central Pennsylvania, discusses the regulatory, legislative, and judicial challenges to the premium cigar industry, and how EO faces the same challenges.

The full, linked transcript of this episode is available on our website, here: https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/95-greg-zimmerman-eo-premium-cigars-and-advocacy

This week, FiftybyFifty.org published “Last Call: A Forum on the End of Employee Ownership at New Belgium,” featuring 14 perspectives from across EO. As ESOP repurchase obligations figure prominently in the forum, we turn to our archives for an explanation of repurchase obligations from Joe Marx, Vice President, Consulting at the Principal Financial Group (www.principal.com).

You can read all the perspectives in the Fifty by Fifty forum here: https://www.fiftybyfifty.org/2019/12/last-call-a-forum-on-the-end-of-employee-ownership-at-new-belgium/

Links to past episodes with Joe Marx and a fully-linked transcript of today's episode are available on our website at: https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/mini-cast-64-repurchase-obligations-a-quick-look-with-joe-marx-of-principal-financial

With the pending sale of New Belgium Brewery, we turn to our archives to highlight another great employee-owned company, Mass Bay Brewing Company, known for Harpoon Brewery [www.harpoonbrewery.com] , UFO Beer, and Clown Shoes Beer. Aaron Moberger, an amazing employee-owner and dedicated EO advocate is our guest.

You can hear the original October 30th, 2018 release of this episode in "Episode 49" of our archives. You can find the full linked transcript of today's episode on our website: https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/94-craft-beer-employee-ownership-with-aaron-moberger-of-harpoon-brewery

Vince Kruse, an employee owner at 100% ESOP USA Mortgage [https://www.usa-mortgage.com/], discusses the importance and benefits of interacting with other local employee-owned companies, including co-sponsored ESOP "Lunch and Learns".

The full transcript of this podcast is available on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/mini-cast-63-usa-mortgage-working-with-local-esops

BerryDunn’s Seth Webber discusses how and when to start the process of selling a business, the importance of seller due diligence, and how BerryDunn’s Value Acceleration program helps address these questions.

Read more about BerryDunn's Value Acceleration Program here: https://www.berrydunn.com/blog/value-accelerationthe-gas-pedal-for-the-value-of-your-business

You can read the full transcript of this podcast, plus see the photo of the coveted 5-timer jacket, on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/93-seth-webber-and-the-process-of-selling-your-business

With climate change and environmental issues making headlines this week, we look back to Episode 67 of the ESOP Podcast for a brief discussion about the effects of environmental issues on ESOP valuations and transactions.

You can view the full linked transcript of this episode on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/mini-cast-62-environmental-issues-esop-valuations-and-transactions

We start by going to the archives for an excerpt of our conversation with Ramona Rodriguez-Brooks, Membership Director of the National Center for Employee Ownership (www.nceo.org).

We then shine our #EOSpotlight on Will Rodriguez of Vision Point Capital (www.visionpointcapital.com), who describes his efforts to raise ESOP awareness by educating CPAs, lawyers, and bankers about EO.

A full transcript of this episode, with links to references, is available on our website: https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/92-eo-spotlights-will-rodriguez-at-vision-point-capital-ramona-rodriguez-brooks-at-nceo

New Belgium Brewing made headlines when it announced its sale and ESOP termination. Regular contributor Jennifer Krieger of Weaver CPAs [weaver.com] joins Bret Keisling to discuss ESOP terminations, how and why they happen, and how employee owners are protected.

Articles referenced in this podcast:

Jennifer Briggs: "When An ESOP is Sold" www.alifeinmosaic.com/when-an-esop-is-sold/

The Good Beer Hunting podcast and website: "Examining the Pros and Cons of Employee Ownership Beyond the Headlines" https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/sightlines/2018/10/25/the-dl-on-esop-pt-2-examining-the-pros-and-cons-of-employee-ownership-beyond-the-headlines

Further links, and the full transcript for this podcast, can be found on our website at: https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/mini-cast-61-is-it-ok-to-celebrate-esop-terminations-explained

Steve Storkan, executive director of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network, EOX (www.eoxnetwork.org), describes a state by state approach to growing EO. With PaCEO (www.ownershippennsylvania.org) as one of its models. EOX has opened State Centers in North Carolina (www.nceoc.org) and Georgia.

You can read the full transcript of this podcast on our website: https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/91-steve-storkan-and-the-eox-the-states-of-eo