Honoring our ESOP journey, celebrating our employee owners, and recognizing the power of ownership.
Every May, KE&G celebrates one of the most important milestones in our company's history—our ESOP Independence Day.
It's a time to reflect on the journey that transformed KE&G into the company it is today and to celebrate the employee owners who continue building its future.
Our employee ownership story began in 2006 when KE&G established its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Then, in 2014, we achieved a major milestone by becoming 100% employee owned. This year marks 20 years of our ESOP journey, a milestone that reflects two decades of shared success, accountability, and ownership.
Bringing the Celebration to Our Crews
To celebrate, members of our leadership team visited jobsites across Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, spending time with employee owners where the work happens every day.
Each stop included lunch with the crews, conversations about the future of our ESOP, updates on company performance, and discussions about one of the most important parts of our culture—working safely.
These visits are more than a celebration. They're an opportunity to connect with employee owners, answer questions, and recognize the contributions each person makes to the success of KE&G.
Safety That Pays Back
One of the highlights of the day was distributing our Captive Insurance dividend checks.
KE&G participates in a captive insurance program, which means we fund our own insurance coverage rather than relying solely on a traditional insurance carrier. When we work safely, reduce incidents, and keep claims low, those savings remain within our program.
Each year, eligible employee owners who help make safety a priority receive a portion of those savings back through a dividend check.
It's a simple concept with a powerful message:
The safer we work, the more value we create—for ourselves, our company, and our fellow employee owners.
Safety isn't just a requirement at KE&G. It's one of the ways ownership comes to life.
Celebrating What Ownership Means
Employee ownership is about more than retirement benefits or shares in the company.
It's about taking pride in the work we do, looking out for one another, making decisions that strengthen the business, and understanding that our individual actions contribute to our collective success.
For 20 years, employee ownership has shaped our culture, strengthened our company, and helped position KE&G for long-term growth.
As we celebrate this milestone, we're grateful to every employee owner—past and present—who has helped build the legacy of KE&G.
Here's to the next chapter of ownership and the future we're building together.
