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1999                         2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  1992    1993 19





        that the office in San Jose needed an upgrade. The      Diversification                                                    presence in the area since the early 80’s; however,     Every person’s dream is to own their own company
        decision was made to demolish and rebuild the office    “In 2002, I became personally                                      there were not any strategic initiatives in place       and being an employee owner is as close as you can
        on Mabury Road.                                         aware of the impact being an                                       and Rosendin did not have an identity in the area.      get. Our Los Angeles team began recruiting people
                                                                ESOP was making on people. This                                    In 2005, the Los Angeles office shifted when Jon        we knew from other contractors. Faced with the
        “The old Mabury office was unique.                      was the year that our first group                                  “Woody” Woodworth, Senior Vice President, and           challenge of being a “no name” company in the area,
        The ceilings were so low upstairs                       of employee owners had been in                                     Cliff Thompson, Senior Vice President of Field          it was tough getting key players to leave their current
        that I had to duck under the beams                      the plan for 10 years, were age 55,                                Operations, joined the company.                         position and come work with Rosendin.
        to get to my desk.”                                     and could diversify. I walked out     Lorne Rundquist
                                                                of my office and handed each of        Chief Financial                             “The biggest challenge we faced         While Los Angeles was working through challenges,
                                                Angie Hart                                                Officer                                  in Los Angeles was starting from        Rosendin’s growth continued and the office in Las
        100% Employee Owned                    Vice President   them a check. Many had worked                                                      ground zero. “We spent a lot of time    Vegas opened in 2006. Ryan Gill, Division Manager,
        In 1999, Rosendin Electric celebrated 80 years in       at other companies and the first thing they said                                   meeting people, shaking hands, and      had similar experiences to the Los Angeles team.
                                                                was ‘you said you were going to do this and I never
        a newly built Mabury office building. Soon after, the   believed it was going to happen.’ The best thing was                               introducing them to Rosendin. The
        company was positioned to purchase the balance of       when the employees started telling other employees.                                first office started in Woody’s [Jon                    “The challenge we faced in Vegas
        the Rosendin holdings.                                  The mindset went from thinking this ESOP is nice,                                  Woodworth] garage with a folding                        was being perceived as an out of
                                                                to this is real! This was the turning point when                                   table and a couple of chairs. From                      town contractor. The hometown
        “We had two evaluations done in 2000 to make            our employee owners became Rosendin Electric                       Cliff Thompson  there we moved to a 2,000 square                        team was not excited about a big
                                                                                                                                     Senior Vice
        sure we were doing right by the Rosendin family,”       cheerleaders!”                                                      President Field   foot building, which was a big step.                 contractor from California coming
        said Sorley. “The Board of Directors approved the                                                                             Operations   There were times we wondered if                         in.”
        evaluation, the Rosendin family approved it, and        Southern California and Las Vegas                                                  we would be able to pay the rent.”         Ryan Gill
        in the latter part of the year we became 100%           For many years, Rosendin’s office in Los Angeles                                                                           Division Manager
        employee owned!”
                                                                had been a simple project office. Rosendin had a



             1992      1993 - 1994                                                                                                  1995                                                               1996






          •  Rosendin transitions ownership of                                                                                   •  Tom Sorley becomes President.
            the company to the employees.                                                                                        •  Arizona office opens.






                                                                                                                                                             South Court Tower  Hayden Ferry Lakeside             AT&T Park
                                                                                                                                                               Phoenix, AZ      Phoenix, AZ                     San Francisco, CA

                                                       San Jose Arena   Franklin Templeton   VA Hospital
                                                        San Jose, CA   Redwood City, CA   Palo Alto, CA                                                                                                                         SFO Boarding Area A
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               South San Francisco, CA




                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The Gap HQ
                ‘‘     higher than they ever expected – that is ownership.  Protecting your retirement is an honor                                           Wells Fargo Arena  AZ Western College              San Francisco, CA
                                                                                                                                                               Phoenix, AZ
                                                                                                                                                                                Phoenix, AZ
                      Doing everything in your power to ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to learn and soar

                                    that has been bestowed to us as trustees – that is ownership.”




        6    The Feeder | Q4 2017   ~ David Elkins, Vice President of Field Operations and ESOP Trustee                                                                                                                   Q4 2017 | The Feeder    7
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