WASHINGTON -- Steve Earle of Mid South Building Supply, Inc., located in Springfield, Virginia, has been named the 2014 Employee Owner of the Year by The ESOP Association. The award was presented at the Association's 37th Annual Conference in Washington, DC. The ESOP Association is the national trade association for companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and the leading voice in America for employee ownership.

Mr. Earle is the Director of Installations – Cabinetry for Mid South Building Supply, Inc. He joined the company in 2002 and has been actively involved since he became an employee owner. Continually working to explain the concept of shared ownership to his fellow employee owners, he is a member of the company's Board of Directors and an ESOP Trustee. He ran for election to this position in 2006 and has been elected every year since. As stated by Mid South's President, Drew Tavss, "We not only found an ESOP cheerleader, but a true leader." Mr. Earle's ESOP involvement goes beyond Mid South: he's an active member of the Association's Mid-Atlantic Chapter, volunteering his time as Vice President of the Capital Region; a speaker on ESOP issues at both Chapter and National meetings; he participates in the Association's AACE Awards competition on a yearly basis; participates in Employee Ownership Month activities each October; and still finds time to mentor Mid South employees on ESOP issues. He understands what it means to be 100% employee owned and 100% customer committed.

Mid South Building Supply, Inc. is a wholesale distributor of residential building products. The company supplies remodeling contractors and residential home builders and specializes primarily in kitchen and bath cabinetry, exterior siding products, and new and replacement windows and doors. The company was founded in 1966 and remained family owned until 1985 when its founders sold the business to the Mid South Building Supply Employee Stock Ownership Trust. Mid South immediately became one of the first 100% employee-owned, 100% bank-financed transactions to occur in the ESOP community. More information about Mid South Building Supply: http://www.msbs.net/.

"Steve is a true ESOP leader, not only at his company, but in the ESOP community as well. I'm pleased to present him with the 2014 Employee Owner of the Year Award," said ESOP Association President, J. Michael Keeling. "Steve makes employee ownership real for his fellow employee owners at Mid South and he has carried that message to other companies and to members of Congress. The ESOP community could not ask for a better ambassador."

The ESOP Association is the national trade association for companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and the leading voice in America for employee ownership. The core cause of The ESOP Association is the belief that employee ownership will improve American competitiveness, increase productivity through greater employee participation, and strengthen our free enterprise economy. More information: website - www.esopassociation.org and blog – www.esopassociationblog.org.

SOURCE The ESOP Association