MEDIA

Marketplace Chaplains’ Client Companies Honored for Unique National Chaplain Offerings

December 20, 2015  |   tagMarketplace Matters

PLANO, Texas – Marketplace Chaplains client companies both locally and nationally were recently honored in a variety of prestigious business publications for their innovative and effective company benefit programs, which includes the usage of Marketplace Chaplains, America’s original, and largest workplace chaplaincy organization.

For the seventh year in a row, Houston-based David Weekley Homes was nominated as one of the “Top 100 Places in America to Work,” and was ranked No. 14 for 2015 by Fortune Magazine. Hilcorp Energy Company, another Marketplace Chaplains’ client company in Houston, earned it’s first-ever top 20 ranking.

“At Hilcorp, we look for three things in our employees – energy, intellect and ethics. We are very fortunate to have chaplains to care for our employees and their family members,” Chairman & CEO Jeff Hildebrand said. “They [chaplains] are a wonderful way for us to help and care for our employees, and a meaningful way to help each other.”

Hilcorp, one of the largest privately held Houston-based oil exploration companies, has provided chaplains through Marketplace Chaplains for 13 years. David Weekley Homes, a large national home builder was one of the first Houston companies to provide chaplains to their hundreds of employees, and has done so for nearly 13 years. “It’s a wise investment for our employee partners,” Chairman and CEO David Weekley said.

In Atlanta, McLane Food Service was ranked as one of the best mid-size companies to work for by the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper. “Having a chaplain in your company is one of the best, most impactful and significant business decisions a company leader can make,” said namesake company chairman Drayton McLane.

The Dallas Morning News recently released its “Top 100 Places to Work” list, and longtime Marketplace client company Pioneer Natural Resources was ranked No. 2 in the large-company category.  “Marketplace Chaplains is a perfect fit for Pioneer because it backs up our culture –  that our employees come first, even ahead of our shareholders. If we have fully engaged employees, our shareholders are the winners,” said Pioneer’s Larry Paulson, Vice President Administration and Risk Management. “By providing a resource like Marketplace Chaplains to our employees, they have someone they can confidentially share problems, vent, get solid advice and know that Pioneer cares enough about them to provide help, when talking to their boss is not an option.

“The significance of Marketplace Chaplains is we are taking an extra step in telling people we care about them (by using the chaplains), and that transcends winning a nice trip,” continued Pioneer Vice President Paul McDonald.

The Huffines Auto Dealerships, which has used Marketplace Chaplains for more than a decade, was ranked as the 21st “Best Large Company to Work For,” by The Dallas Morning News as well.  “The Chaplains have ministered to our team members in numerous ways and those team members have been blessed. I believe by having the Chaplain program it has helped to attract the team members that are a good fit for our organization.  It sets us apart from our competition,” Huffines said.

Marketplace Chaplains began in Dallas in 1984. Today, Marketplace Chaplains serves over 712 client companies at 3,693 service locations, in 6 foreign countries and 1 commonwealth, caring for over half a million employees and their family members in today’s workplace.

“I’m grateful to see these innovative companies honored and recognized for their exemplary care of their employees, and I am even more grateful they choose Marketplace Chaplains as a means in which to care and support their employees and their family members,” said Marketplace Executive President and CEO Doug Fagerstrom.

For more information on this unique employee benefit which has been featured with Marketplace Chaplains on CNN, NBC Nightly News, and in the Washington Post, the New York Times and Bloomberg BusinessWeek, visit https://mchapusa.com.

About Marketplace Chaplains

To arrange an interview with a Marketplace Chaplain contact Art Stricklin, Vice President Public Relations, at artstricklin@mchapusa.com or call 1-800-775-7657.