ORAU Recognized as One of Tennessee’s Best Employers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 14, 2007
FY07-16

OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) was recently recognized as one of the Best Employers in Tennessee by Business Tennessee magazine in partnership with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) – Tennessee State Council, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Best Companies Group. The honor comes four months after the organization was named one of East Tennessee's "Best Companies" by the Knoxville Business Journal.

This third annual Best Employers in Tennessee survey and award program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Tennessee benefiting the state's economy, its workforce and businesses. The Best Employers in Tennessee program annually recognizes 25 companies which are split into two groups: 15 small/medium-sized companies (25-249 employees) and 10 large-sized companies (more than 250 employees). ORAU was selected as one of the Best Employers in Tennessee from the large-sized companies category.

"It is a tremendous honor for ORAU to be recognized as one of the state's best employers," said ORAU President Ron Townsend. "Our commitment to innovation and growth would not be possible without our employees, and this recognition will certainly help us attract and retain talented individuals who will continue to strengthen our ability to foster collaborative partnerships so essential to our success."

To be considered for participation, companies had to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:

• Be a for-profit or not-for-profit business;
• Be a publicly or privately held business;
• Have a facility in Tennessee;
• Have at least 25 employees in Tennessee.

Companies from across the state entered the two-part process to determine the Best Employers in Tennessee. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company's workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in Tennessee with assistance from ModernThink LLC, which analyzed the data and used its expertise to determine the final rankings.

Specific company rankings will be published in the May issue of Business Tennessee magazine. For more information on the Best Employers in Tennessee program, visit www.BestEmployersTN.com.

2007 Best Employers in Tennessee (alphabetical order, no ranking)

• Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC
• Bank of Ripley - Bank of Tipton, Branch of Bank of Ripley
• Beaman Automotive Group
• Coulter & Justus, P.C.
• Crowe Chizek and Company LLC
• CTMS, Inc.
• Duke Realty Corporation
• Edward Jones
• ENA
• First Tennessee, a subsidiary of First Horizon
• National Corporation
• Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner, P.C.
• Kramer Rayson LLP
• LifeWay Christian Resources
• Memorial Health Care System
• Mid-America Apartment Communities
• MidSouth Bank
• National Rental Alliance
• Oak Ridge Associated Universities
• Saratoga Technologies, Inc.
• State of Franklin Savings Bank
• The North Highland Company
• Thompson Dunavant PLC
• T-Mobile USA
• Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance Inc.
• Wirtgen America, Inc.