![\"photo](\"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/jul-03-people.03.Judy-Spackman1-from-JS.jpg\")
<\/a>At Cando, she started out as a receptionist before moving into the accounts payable and receivables section. She later moved to the company\u2019s offices in downtown Brandon. Today, she works for the abandonment department as their administrative assistant for trucking and rail logistics.<\/p>\n
\u201cCando Rail is a railway associated company,\u201d said Spackman. \u201cAnything that they do has got to do with a railroad in one way or another, from tearing up abandoned tracks and building new tracks to selling components of the track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seven years after she joined the company, Cando\u2019s owner introduced Judy SpackmanJudy Spackmanan employee share ownership plan (ESOP). Unsure at first if she wanted to opt in, Spackman changed her mind when she saw the returns some of her colleagues were taking home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt happened in 1996,\u201d said Spackman about the ESOP. \u201cIt was something that Gord Peters, the owner, knew about. He understood the process of employee ownership and thought it would be a good fit for Cando employees.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some employees went into it right away. \u201cBy year two, you could see what those people got, the share payout \u2013 putting their money into the company, they shared its profit,\u201d she said. \u201cThat got me thinking that it was a good idea, so I started working the second year, trying to make sure I had enough matching funds to be able to participate in the program.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1996, shares in Cando were worth $2.74. They are now worth more than $40.<\/p>\n
The ESOP is set up as a retirement savings plan, wherein employees can make monthly contributions. \u201cThey helped us set something up within the company to be able to contribute to an RSP through payroll deduction,\u201d explained Spackman.<\/p>\n
Everybody qualifies to buy a block of shares, according to a formula based on a percentage of their T4 or total earnings. Also, employees are given a $100 bonus for every year they have been with the company. \u201cSay they made $50,000, that\u2019s times four percent, so they would get $2,000 of a match there,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd, for me, I\u2019ve been with the company for 25 years, so I get $100 for every year I\u2019ve worked. So, I get a $2,500 match…. I\u2019d qualify for a $4,500 match.\u2026 If I bought $4,500 worth of Cando shares, they\u2019ll match those funds and give me $4,500.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, now I have $9,000 worth of Cando shares…. The formula and the calculation is the fairest way to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to do that match if you choose not to. You could only put in $2,000, then they will only match you the $2,000. If you don\u2019t match your true potential, you don\u2019t get that potential match. So, it gives you the initiative to make sure you put away enough to cover your match.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spackman\u2019s first-year share block investment is now worth more than $25,000. She has created a spreadsheet to keep track of her shares and their growth and, as she is nearing retirement, she has made a second spreadsheet called, \u201cRetirement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing the difference between RSP and non-RSP, and knowing the best way to have a mix of both and how to be diversified is key,\u201d said Spackman. \u201cYou don\u2019t want all eggs in one basket.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does make you learn a lot about finances and projections, and looking past today and into the future \u2013 doing calculations to make sure you have enough in your retirement fund.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is no pension offered at Cando. Instead, by creating this program, Peters gave his employees a way of creating their own pension plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an individual choice of how much you want to go in,\u201d explained Spackman. \u201cYou can max everything into this and make it grow. Some are uncomfortable going in very much, [but] when they learn the system and see and do calculations, they realize the potential of growth is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peters\u2019 philosophy is that employees work hard to make a company successful and that they should share in the success; shares in ownership give employees a more vested interest in the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe takes great pride in people who learn the program and understand the financial and growth side of the program,\u201d said Spackman of Peters. \u201cI think it\u2019s a viable program for any company and is feasible and acceptable for companies to run a program like this and be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ESOP has helped Cando\u2019s performance because employees who are also shareholders benefit directly when the company does well. There are \u201cquarterly reports on how the company is doing, so we know throughout the year what\u2019s going on and it tells us [about] new business, what\u2019s coming up, giving us an idea of what the company is doing and how it is growing,\u201d explained Spackman.<\/p>\n
Every May, the projection\/payout conversation starts, and the employees go back to work for another year. It\u2019s like playing the lottery except in this case they are guaranteed to win as long as the company grows and they have some shares.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a possibility that some years we may not get a payout or a big growth in the company, like this year,\u201d said Spackman. \u201cWorst-case scenario, it may stay the same one year. But, that\u2019s OK, because we retain … our shares.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be in the real world. There is potential for this to go down. In 18 years, I haven\u2019t seen it go down, but you have to keep that in mind. You have to have other investments.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a Cando shareholder gives me pride, being an employee-owner. It\u2019s an avenue for a comfortable retirement and a financial education that benefits my personal financial practices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebeca Kuropatwa<\/strong> is a Winnipeg freelance writer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Judy Spackman, 61, started working as a receptionist at Cando Rail Services Ltd. in Brandon 25 years ago, she felt it was a good starting place and the people were nice. Little did she know that, one day, she\u2019d be an owner. Born and raised in Neepawa, Man., Spackman moved to Brandon in 1987 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[4112,4113,4115,4114,4111],"class_list":["post-13527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national","tag-cando-rail","tag-employee-share-program","tag-esop","tag-gord-peters","tag-judy-spackman"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13527\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}