05/08/2008 - Governor names Work-Life Balance Award winners
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Geania Dickey, Program Coordinator
Governor’s Work-Life Balance Award
501-407-0720
Geaniadickey@aol.com
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – May 8, 2008 -- Winners of the Governor’s Work-Life Balance Awards were recognized at a luncheon yesterday at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock. Nineteen Arkansas employers received awards in the sixth annual ceremony, formerly named the Governor’s Family-Friendly Awards.
Allied Therapy and Consulting Services was named this year’s Ambassador Award. Ambassadors help other Arkansas employers to address work-life balance issues by sharing their expertise and success stories. Allied Therapy and Consulting Services joins Baptist Health, which was named the first Ambassador in 2006.
New this year is the Mature Worker Award, which recognized three companies for their ongoing efforts to provide a work environment friendly to mature workers. The winners were:
- Nabholz Construction Corporation, Conway
- Medic One Ambulance Service, Jonesboro
- Bank of the Ozarks, Little Rock
The awards are presented by the Governor’s Work-Life Initiative, whose mission is to recognize Arkansas employers for establishing and providing resources that support employees in balancing the needs of both work and family.
The winners, based on number of employees, were:
Large Companies:
- St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center, Hot Springs, Gold
- Nestlé Prepared Foods Company, Jonesboro, Silver
- White County Medical Center, Searcy, Bronze
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Bronze
Medium Companies:
- Arkansas Educational Television Network, Conway, Gold
- Benchmark Group, Rogers, Silver
- Delta Dental of Arkansas, Inc., Sherwood, Silver
- Transamerica Worksite Marketing, Little Rock, Bronze
Small Companies:
- Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus, P.C., Little Rock, Gold
- Konecny Insurance Service Inc., Stuttgart, Silver
- Bell and Company, North Little Rock, Silver
- Mainstream Technologies Inc., Little Rock, Bronze
The Work-Life Initiative also announced the Spotlight and Innovative Award winners, honoring three organizations that provided exemplary strategies that support a healthy work-life balance.
Spotlight Award Winners:
- Vestcom International, Inc. Little Rock
- Navigator Telecommunications, North Little Rock
- Fayetteville Public School District #1, Fayetteville
- Professional Counseling Associates, Little Rock
Innovative Award Winners:
- Professional Counseling Associates, Little Rock
- The Heritage Company, Sherwood
“With increased economic strains on many families, companies that help employees balance work and life issues are increasingly valuable,” Governor Mike Beebe said. “I hope that these winners will become role models for other business leaders who want to create programs that lead to happy employees and higher productivity.”
Companies that were nominated for the awards were asked to provide information regarding issues such as health benefits, work-time options and childcare assistance. If a company did not have formal work-life policies, informal ways of making the work environment as family-friendly as possible were taken into account.
Partners in the initiative are Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Arkansas Business Publication Group, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Arkansas, Arkansas State University, Child Care Resource and Referral Network, and the Society of Human Resource Managers. The following state offices and agencies are also partners in the initiative: the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the Department of Education, the Department of Workforce Education, the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services (DHS) Arkansas Early Childhood Commission, DHS Communications, DHS Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, DHS Division of County Operations, and the Office of the Governor.
