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🦃 THANKFUL

for what shared ownership makes possible

The day before Thanksgiving feels like the right moment to look at one simple decision that changed a company, and the lives within it.

This month we’re sharing the story of CK Supply in Missouri. CK is a family-founded welding and industrial gas company whose owner was fascinated with the concept of employee ownership. Rather than stepping away and selling his business to an outside buyer, he instead handed the future to the people who helped build the business.

In the video, you hear from CK’s CEO and real employee-owners about the legacy that going ESOP created for CK Supply. It's a powerful moment to hear him say “It’s not just a job. This is your company.” It’s not theoretical. It’s day-to-day decisions, job security, and long-term wealth for people who used to just be “employees.”

This is exactly the kind of story we hoped State Centers would capture when we launched EOX’s storytelling grants → as part of our larger State Center Grant Program, funded through the State by State Capacity Building campaign. Over the past year, that campaign has helped State Centers hire staff, run projects, and create stories like this one so more business owners can see what’s possible.

In a few days, on Giving Tuesday — December 2 — we’ll invite our community to help us cross the finish line on that capacity campaign. Not because we need another “day of giving,” but because this quiet, behind-the-scenes work matters. It’s how we get from one CK Supply to the next, in more states and more communities.

Today, though, our message is simple: THANK YOU.

To the business owners who consider employee ownership. To the State Centers doing the patient work of outreach and education. And to the employee-owners who open their doors and their stories so the rest of us can learn.

EOX EIN: 83-2849677

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER GREAT STORIES FROM ACROSS THE EOX NETWORK, brought to you by the EOX Storytelling Grants →

EOX ON THE MOVE

Taking EO to the ATL
Steve shares the power of employee ownership with two different, yet important audiences

Our first stop was Atlanta, where Marie Davis of the GACEO and Dave Elder with Merit Financial Advisors partnered to host an ExitPro 101 seminar. In collaboration with Project Equity, the session helped CPAs and CFPs explore how employee ownership can fit into real-world succession and advisory work. From there, Steve headed to Morehouse College for the Vision and Victory - Expanding Black Ownership conference, joining Zen Trenholm, Julian M. Hill, and Kim Schofield on a panel about how EO can build generational wealth and create better opportunities for workers and communities.
READ HERE →

Momentum Continues in Rochester
EOX makes a quick stop in NYC before closing out 2025 travels with the Global Entrepreneur Week

Steve started in New York City working with an ESOP company (with a required slice of pizza), then headed to Rochester for Global Entrepreneurship Week, where Bruce Peters and Chloe Handelman helped put employee ownership front and center. It was a great chance to connect with EO colleagues like Rob Hilton, Paul Fusco, and Joe Marraffino before wrapping up this season of travel and recharging for what’s ahead in 2026.
READ HERE →

NEWS ACROSS THE EOX NETWORK

SPOTLIGHT: ALCEO named a recipient of Birmingham City Council's BOLD Grants

Join us in congratulating the Alabama Center for Employee Ownership for being included in this year's list of BOLD (Building Opportunities and Lasting Development) Grant Recipients. They are among 12 organizations creating solutions to meet community challenges. The ALCEO's campaign will help Birmingham workers build millions in generational wealth while preserving legacy businesses in two of the city's historic neighborhoods.
READ HERE →

ALCEO debuts their short documentary highlighting the incredible story of AL's largest employee-owned company →

GWCEO has extended the deadline for their D.C. Co-op Impact Grants (application due 12/09) →

IACEO hosts another incredible EO Annual Conference, sharing energy, collaboration, and support from their EO community →

ILCEO welcomes World's Finest® Chocolate to the employee ownership community as IL's newest ESOP →

MNCEO kicks off their Give to the Max celebration at Matchbox Coffee in Minneapolis→

MOCEO new E.D., Julie Leonhardt, plans to create the Kansas City Citywide Task Force on EO with Kauffman Foundation grant →

NCEOC hires new Director of Programs, Luke Hoffman, a longtime advocate for EO across North Carolina →

OEOC hosts ESOP Retreat, giving employee owners a chance to network and learn about the "ABCs" of ESOPs →

TXCEO shares with the Public News Service the tremendous opportunity to keep businesses locally rooted with through EO →

UPCOMING EVENTS

🗓️ Check out the EOX Events Calendar!

WEBINAR — Avoiding the Landmines: Common Pitfalls in ESOP Transactions

hosted by Prairie Capital Advisors

December 03, 2025 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM CT
REGISTER →

EVENT — Washington Employee Ownership Stories: A1DesignBuild, a Worker Cooperative

hosted by the Washington Center for Employee Ownership & A1DesignBuild

December 05, 2025 | Bellingham, WA
REGISTER →

WEBINAR — Employee Ownership Trusts: Policy Needs, Implementation, and Opportunities

hosted by the Rocky Mountain Center for Employee Ownership

January 07, 2025 | 11:00 am MT

REGISTER →

CONFERENCE — NCEO Women's Summit

hosted by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)

February 02 - 03, 2026 | Fort Lauderdale, FL

REGISTER →

CONFERENCE — 2026 Purpose Trust Ownership Conference

hosted by the Texas Center for Employee Ownership & the Purpose Trust Ownership Network

February 25-27, 2026 | Austin, TX

REGISTER →

EO IN THE NEWS

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! EOX encourages all of our readers to subscribe to The Stakehold — a weekly newsletter on all things employee ownership (and then some), including purpose trust ownership, steward ownership, workplace democracy, and the ownership economy.

This is the best way to stay up-to-date in real time while you wait for EOX's monthly publications.

POLICY CORNER

WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Committee on Small Business unanimously approved H.R. 5778

The "Improving SBA Engagement on Employee Ownership Act (H.R. 5778) was unanimously approved on 11/18, sending it to the full House. The bipartisan bill, led by Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) would require the SBA to more actively engage on EO.
READ MORE →

EO RESOURCES

📑 RESEARCH - The Retirement Savings Crisis and the Role of ESOPs
Presented by the National Center for Employee Ownership
READ →

🎥 VIDEO SERIES - For the EO Curious
Presented by Good Future (and TNCEO's own, Rachel Eva Merfalen)
WATCH →

SUPPORT EOX

Want to get more involved in a State Center near you or at the national level? Please email Steve Storkan at [email protected].

If you're interested in donating to support our work to expand employee ownership across the United States, please click the button below to make a tax-deductible gift to the Employee Ownership Expansion Network!

EOX EIN: 83-2849677

Copyright (C) 2025 Employee Ownership Expansion Network. All rights reserved.
1405 S Fern St., Box 534, Arlington, VA 22202

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