Cindy Turcot Elected Chair of The ESOP Association

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - May 01, 2015) - Cindy Turcot, Chief Operating Officer of Gardener's Supply Company located in Burlington, Vermont, has been elected to serve as Chair of The ESOP Association. 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.

Ms. Turcot is an active member of The ESOP Association and the Association's New England Chapter. She has served on The ESOP Association's Board as Vice Chair for the last two years. Her term as Chair begins May 1, 2015 and will continue until April 30, 2017.

"Cindy has been active in the ESOP community and with the Association for many years," said ESOP Association President, J. Michael Keeling. "Her contributions have increased the effectiveness of Association services and we are excited Cindy will be the Chief Elected Officer of the Association and the primary driver of the Association's mission to advocate and educate for employee ownership for the next two years."

In addition to Ms. Turcot's election to Chair: David Fitz-Gerald, Vice President & CFO, Carris Reels, Inc., Proctor, Vermont will become Vice Chair; Raman Venkat, Office of the CEO/CFO, LeFiell Manufacturing Company, Santa Fe Springs, California will become Secretary/Treasurer; David L. Kelly, Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Acadian Ambulance Service, Inc., Lafayette, Louisiana will become Immediate Past Chair. Mark R. Lomele, Senior VP & CFO, Recology, San Francisco, California will become Chair of the Employee Ownership Foundation. Joining the Association's Board as At-Large Board Members representing corporate members: Cindy Lewis, President/CEO, AirBorn, Inc., Georgetown, Texas and Michael Willard, CEO, Salem Distributing Company, Inc., Winston Salem, North Carolina. Joining the Board as an At-Large Board Member representing a professional member: Linshuang Lu, Consultant, Praxis Consulting Group, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Returning Board Members: Tony Lessmeister, Manager/Integration & Configuration Center, Forsythe Technology, Inc., Skokie, Illinois, Chair of the State and Chapter Regional Council; Peter J. Shuler, Manager, Crowe Horwath LLP, Columbus, Ohio, Chair of the Advisory Committees Chairs Council.

The Board of Directors is the premier governing body of The ESOP Association. Seven members of its ten person Board of Directors are elected by the Association's Board of Governors who are elected by Association members.

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.