Blue Ridge ESOP Associates Industry News

The Ohio Employee Ownership Center is hosting a series of webinars for ESOP companies. Blue Ridge ESOP Associates' professional, Kevin Rusch, will be presenting next Wednesday, August 23.

Salem Distributing Company, Inc. took initiative to meet with their Congressional representative last week. Below is an update from ESCA regarding their visit:

Last week, ESCA member company Salem Distributing Company, Inc. met with Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5) in her district office. Because Congresswoman Foxx chairs the Committee on Education and the Workforce, which has jurisdiction over Department of Labor issues, Salem Distributing CEO Mike Willard and Controller Gale Marett focused their discussion on the Department of Labor's approach to ESOPs. Our goal for this meeting was to encourage Congresswoman Foxx to convey her support for ESOPs and concerns about aggressive enforcement efforts to Secretary Alexander Acosta.  We appreciate her willingness to speak with Secretary Acosta on behalf of ESCA member companies and look forward to continuing to work with her on DOL and other issues in the future. 

What is an ESOP? Know a company owner looking for an exit strategy as they face retirement age? What kind of business is right for an ESOP? How does an employee benefit from an ESOP? These questions and many others are answered in Tom Roback's interview which is now available to listen to online. 

Find the information, ideas, and advice you need to make better ESOP decisions at The Fall ESOP Forum in Tampa, FL, this October 3-4, 2017. Both experienced attendees and newcomers will leave the Fall ESOP Forum better informed and better prepared to evaluate and implement the next steps for their companies. 

Blue Ridge ESOP Associates is proud to be sponsoring this conference with Renee Stadtmueller presenting in the following session.

“ESOP Distribution and Diversification Practices”

Distribution rules have more flexibility than many people think, and finding the right approach can help you make your plan more sustainable

Tuesday, October 3 - 9:30-10:15 a.m.

Renee Stadtmueller, CPA, QPA

Renee is a Director at Blue Ridge ESOP Associates. She has more than 19 years of experience providing administration and consulting advice to ESOP clients. She is a CPA and holds the QPA designation from ASPPA. She works closely with plan sponsors, accountants, advisors and legal counsel to provide guidance on plan design, compliance and operation. She is a member of the NCEO, The ESOP Association, and ASPPA. She has served as a chairperson for ASPPA's Education and Examination ESOP Certificate Subcommittee and as the vice president of programming for the Wisconsin Chapter of The ESOP Association. Renee received her bachelor of business administration in accounting and finance from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

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Michael Keeling, President of The ESOP Association, recently had an inquiry about what to do during a Congressional Site visit. His response was a 5 Step process:

1) A list of members of the House from your State that have co-sponsored HR 2092, the pro-ESOP bill, or the same bill in the last Congress, which was HR 2096. A member of Congress often looks to see what his or her colleagues are supporting and are influenced when those that they trust are behind a piece of legislation.

Tom Roback's interview about ESOPs. Listen here.