First and foremost, Green Lantern managers are valued and respected. Being part of Green Lantern is like being part of a family. As a small company, we can provide a personal touch to our management team members. In fact, during the recruiting process, every general manager is interviewed by the company president or senior vice-president. Likewise, no management personnel can be terminated without the knowledge and permission of the company president. This allows us to ensure that everything possible is done to help managers succeed.

The personal touch extends to the company's open door policy that allows any team player, regardless of their position, to go directly to an officer of the company if necessary. In addition, managers are on a first-name basis with company officers. We take pride in the fact that several company officers, including the president, worked their way up through the ranks, giving them hands-on experience and allowing them to understand and appreciate each manager's point of view.

Green Lantern's compensation program rewards management team members who demonstrate the ability to get results. The compensation for Green Lantern managers significantly exceeds that for comparable positions in most other companies. Green Lantern also offers an attractive benefits package which includes vacation, health insurance, cafeteria plan, and a 401(k) plan that features a 100% match of up to 3% of pay. Unlike many 401(k) plans, ours is vested immediately.

Each year, all Green Lantern general managers, and their spouses, attend the company's Annual Managers' Meeting and Appreciation Banquet at the company's expense. Green Lantern uses this meeting to thank all its managers and their spouses, to recognize the top performers, and to focus on the challenges of the coming year. These meetings alternate each year between Salina, Kansas (our hometown) and other location cities. Previous sites have included Kansas City's Country Club Plaza and Wichita's Old Town. During these meetings, awards are presented to recognize outstanding performance and operational results. Many award recipients receive an all-expense-paid trip for two with the "Circle of Excellence" winners from Blue Beacon. Past destinations include places such as Branson, Missouri; Acapulco, Mexico; Sanibel Island, Florida; and Caribbean cruises.

Green Lantern allows and encourages managers to balance work and family time. Green Lantern managers have flexibility in setting their own schedules. While we do have some minimum requirements, managers are free to make adjustments as needed. We also encourage our managers to take an active role in their communities. Green Lantern managers can often be seen coaching their kids' athletic teams, serving on school committees, working in their churches, and participating in community organizations.

We always ask management their relocation preferences. We would never move people to somewhere they do not want to live. And we never hold a relocation decision against them. We've learned that when management team members live where they are happiest, they perform better.

Green Lantern has numerous support systems to help our managers be successful. At some companies, the home office is viewed as the "ivory tower" where decisions are made that make no sense in the real world. At Green Lantern, we work very hard to make sure that isn't the case. At the home office in Salina, there are over 130 team players who are dedicated to helping all our companies be successful. Departments such as operations, human resources, accounting, sales and support, real estate and development, information technology, and administration develop support systems to make our managers' jobs easier.

Whether at the home office or in the field, the Green Lantern family strives to reach the Mission goals to our customers, team players, and company.