Msec Co Az Final

1799 Pennsylvania Street  P.O. Box 539 Denver, Colorado 80201-0539 303.839.5177 (main) ■ 800.884.1328 (toll free) 303.863.8956 (fax) ■ www.msec.org

CONTACT: Michael Severns (303) 839-5177

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/18/09

Mountain States Employers Council Announces Expansion to Arizona; Acquires Phoenix-based Arizona Employers Council DENVER--Mountain States Employers Council announced today the acquisition of Phoenixbased Arizona Employers Council, creating the largest employer association in the nation, with more than 3,500 member employers who employ nearly 800,000 employees. With 2009 marking its 70th anniversary, for the first time in its history MSEC will have an office outside Colorado. MSEC will open its Phoenix office as Mountain States Employers Council/Arizona. Headquartered in Denver, MSEC also has offices in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins. As a membership organization, MSEC helps employers manage the human resource and employment law issues they face daily. In addition, MSEC provides management/leadership training and compensation/benefit surveys to its members. “We are a cooperative association of employers, driven by our own members to provide services they need and desire in an economical, high-quality fashion,” said Michael Severns, MSEC president and CEO. “This business model has proven successful in Colorado and the Mountain West, and we look forward to working with the Arizona business community to develop the same value proposition for employers in Phoenix and greater Arizona.” (more)

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MSEC/2-2-2-2 MSEC is well known and highly respected in the Mountain West business community for its employment law and human resource consulting, training and surveys. Severns said, “We want to develop in Arizona the same sort of relationship with the business community. Our goal is to assist every member in becoming an effective, successful employer.” Severns explained that MSEC has been interested in expanding its geographical footprint for a number of years. He noted the organization’s membership historically has included employers with Arizona operations. Expansion into the state is a natural progression, and a good business move, for both MSEC and AEC, and their respective members. “The costs of providing services become more and more expensive all the time. To the extent we can spread our many fixed costs across a larger membership base, we can keep our membership fees more economical,” he said. “Our current strategic plan calls for the investigation of new markets and expanding our geographic reach as opportunities are identified that meet our overall objectives. We believe expanding into Arizona by acquiring AEC is a tremendous benefit and perfect fit for both organizations.” AEC, a nonprofit association, was founded in 1942, then as the Industrial Council, to assist Arizona employers gather wage data and provide labor law guidance. Founders of the Council included A. J. Bayless, Robert W. Goldwater, and Frank Snell, all well known within the Phoenix and Arizona business communities. With their leadership, the Council grew and expanded services. In 1967, the name was changed to Arizona Employers Council to better reflect the services provided by the association. (more)

MSEC/3-3-3-3 Amy Greathouse, AEC president, added that her organization has been focused on ways to continue to expand services to its 600 plus Arizona member employers, especially as employers there, and across the nation, seek better business value during the economic downturn. “MSEC is able to provide many services that our members are interested in, including affirmative action plans, on-site HR flex-staff, immigration services, labor relations representation, wage and hour audits, survey data and more,” she said. “This opportunity with MSEC offers our members more than we’ve traditionally been able to provide largely because of MSEC’s vast resources.” Severns explained that the Arizona expansion will complement services already provided by AEC, and provide new services and benefits of membership offered by MSEC to current and future Arizona member employers. “We are excited to take this opportunity to add to the good services already provided by our colleagues in Arizona and expand the breadth and penetration of those services through this acquisition,” he said. “The timing is good and we are poised to help employers grow as our economy begins to rebound.” MSEC, with a staff of more than 180, including 40 staff attorneys, provides its services to a membership that represents a wide cross-section of industries and both large and small employers, public and private. The MSEC Arizona office will be directed by Ken Pinnock, currently MSEC Director of Human Resource Services in Denver. ####