5. OPEN FORUM HANDOUT 10-20-2014

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Connections between community and mill start early. Every first grade class at Becker elementary school has toured the plant since it opened -- an estimated 2,500 students. In fact, some of those who toured as first graders now work at the mill, Swanson noted with a laugh. Newell explains LPI's commitment to the tours including sponsoring the buses—as "a way to create a lifelong relationship with the next generation of Becker residents, show what we do, and demonstrate our commitment to making our hometown a great place to live and work." LPI is a leading sponsor of Becker school district's Environment Reading Program. Middle school stu- dents who read and give a talk on at least one of the hundreds of books the school district purchased with a grant from LPI have a chance to win prizes. In 2011, for the first time in program every student participated. (Pizza lunch for the class was the incentive!) Students who read three books and write an essay are invited for a tour of the mill and pizza lunch and compete for top -three essay honors. In 2011, LPI provided the financial support needed for Becker High's marching band, slated for elimina- tion for budgetary reasons, to continue for four years. A new LPI sponsorship activity in 2013 was the Becker High School robotics team. LPI engineers successfully mentored team members to a regional championship at Mariucci Arena at the University of Minnesota, besting 60 other teams from across the state. Since 2001, a team of LPI employees, representing all areas of plant, selects the majority of LPI's com- munity initiatives financial and participatory. When asked to describe them, Erica Naughton, human resources specialist, said, "I don't know where to start, there are so many!" Not surprising (though of course she was soon able), as a list of these activities, ranging from Adopt -a- Family, Habitat for Humanity, Becker Food Shelf, and contributions to the police and fire departments and civic festivals, takes up multiple pages. From 2010 through 2012, 100 percent of LPI employees contributed to the United Way, and in 2013 they were on their way to a fourth perfect record. "We are part of the United Way St. Cloud group and compa- nies there ask me all the time how we get the participation rate we do," Newell said. "Other companies are giving, but this one is like no other," Naughton said. "We never have any real challenge to get people to participate and give," Wander concurred, as did Newell. "The number one thing that I tell people about where I work is how proud I am at the amount of giving these people give back to the commu- nity, both monetarily and in -kind. I've never seen an organization that is that way. It's not an arm - twisting cam- paign, it comes from the heart." For all these reasons, LDI was recognized as a National Standard Top Workplace in the Star Tribune Top Workplaces list for 2013, meaning it scored above average when benchmarked against manufacturing facili- ties similar size. 11