Team Kline Named a Finalist for the 2025 AACE Awards
- TierraHogan
- Oct 10, 2025
- 2 min read
We’re proud to share that Team Kline has been selected as a finalist for The ESOP Association’s Annual Awards for Communications Excellence (AACE) — one of the most prestigious recognitions in the world of employee ownership!
Our team earned finalist honors in two categories for ESOP companies with 250 employee-owners or more:
Community Engagement
Printed Materials
About the AACE Awards
The Annual Awards for Communications Excellence (AACE) recognize ESOP companies that set the standard for creative, impactful, and effective communication about employee ownership. Each year, The ESOP Association highlights organizations that excel at keeping employee-owners informed and inspired while also engaging their local communities in understanding the power of shared ownership.
Being named a finalist is a major achievement — it places Team Kline among the top ESOPs nationwide for how we tell our story, celebrate ownership, and connect our culture to the communities we serve.
Our Finalist Entries
Community Engagement – The Smoke Show
Our nomination featured the 2nd Annual Smoke Show, an event created and led entirely by employee-owners. What began as a car show and barbecue competition evolved into a full celebration of employee ownership in action — raising over $5,800 for VFW Post 9662 while bringing together a variety of attendees, including customers, vendors, friends, and family.
From live radio interviews and ESOP-branded tents to engaging social media coverage, every part of the event was designed to highlight how ownership drives pride, service, and connection at Team Kline.
Printed Materials – Powering Up Employee Ownership
Our submission in this category showcased a four-piece retro-inspired print campaign that brought our new POWER values — Pride, Own It, Wealth Creation, Embrace Change, and Respect — to life during ESOP Month.
From our in-house magazine Current Connection to a superhero-style comic book and even a custom ESOP board game, the campaign turned education into a creative, hands-on experience that united our multigenerational workforce and made complex ownership concepts fun and accessible.
The Celebration
Winners will be announced during the Celebration of Employee Ownership & AACE Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 2, from 6–11 p.m. at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas — hosted by comedian Kevin Pollack.
If Team Kline takes home the top prize in Community Engagement and Printed Materials, it will mark the second year in a row we’ve beaten out hundreds of companies with more than 350 employees — an especially impressive feat given that we’re one of the smaller companies in our category.
Why It Matters
These nominations represent more than awards — they reflect the creativity, collaboration, and pride that define who we are as employee-owners. Every campaign, event, and piece of communication we create is designed to strengthen our culture and share the story of what makes Team Kline different.
Congratulations to every employee-owner who helped bring these projects to life. This recognition belongs to all of us.
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