CELEBRATE
Best places to work
Nominations for 2023 are now closed. Winners will be announced October 4!
opportunity
About the Awards
The Best Places to Work awards happen across the nation every year. Here in Monroe County, Best Places to Work celebrates our community’s top employers. Anyone can nominate a company! We distribute surveys to nominated companies and compile weighted scores from employee (2/3) and employer (1/3) to determine the final rankings.
Results are announced at the Community Innovation Awards Gala at The Mill in October during Innovation Week, and promoted here and on social media.
Award Categories
Best Places to Work
Honorary Members (recognized in other state and national competitions)
Anyone can nominate a company, and it takes just a second! Nominee companies need to have at least six employees and be located in Monroe County. Send us contact info, and we’ll follow up with the nominee to administer employer and employee surveys! Category awards are determined during judging.
Evening Reception
The winners will be announced in October during Innovation Week at The Mill!
Best Places to Work
Open to any business with 6 full-time employees (or the equivalent) located within Monroe County
Winners are announced in October, at the Community Innovation Awards Gala at The Mill.

Timeline
July 5: Nominations open
August 11: Nominations close
Mid-late August: Company surveys
September: Winners notified
October 4: Awards gala and rankings announced
Celebrate with us!
Subscribe to get updates on nomination deadlines, winners, and the celebration reception at The Mill!
2022 Winners
Best Places to Work
2022 marked the fifth year for the Best Places to Work Bloomington awards. The winners were featured in a dedicated section of The Herald-Times and celebrated at a gala at The Mill on October 11.
- Ardeo Education Solutions—5th year on the list
- St. John Associates—3rd year on the list
- Hylant—5th year on the list
- Rock Paper Scissors—3rd year on the list
- German American Bank—3rd year on the list
- Bill C. Brown Associates—4th year on the list
- Loren Wood Builders—3rd year on the list
- Traduality—1st year on the list
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Cornerstone Information Systems—3rd year on the list
Richland–Bean Blossom Community School Corporation—1st year on the list
HONORARY MEMBERS
IU Credit Union—2022 Best Place to Work in Indiana
Weddle Bros. Construction—2022 Best Place to Work in Indiana
Past Winners
2022 Winners
- Ardeo Education Solutions—5th year on the list
- St. John Associates—3rd year on the list
- Hylant—5th year on the list
- Rock Paper Scissors–3rd year on the list
- German American Bank—3rd year on the list
- Bill C. Brown Associates—4th year on the list
- Loren Wood Builders–3rd year on the list
- Traduality–1st year on the list
HONORABLE MENTION
Cornerstone Information Systems—3rd year on the list
Richland–Bean Blossom Community School Corporation—1st year on the list
HONORARY MEMBERS
- IU Credit Union–2022 Best Places to Work Indiana
- Weddle Bros. Construction–2022 Best Places to Work Indiana
2021 Winners
- Ardeo Education Solutions—4th year on the list
- Hylant—4th year on the list
- St. John Associates—2nd year on the list
- German American Bank—2nd year on the list
- Bill C. Brown Associates—3rd year on the list
- Express Employment Professionals—2nd year on the list
- Weddle Bros. Construction—2nd year on the list
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington—1st year on the list
- Cardinal Spirits—2nd year on the list
HONORARY MEMBERS
- John Bethell Title Company—2021 Indiana Best Places to Work
2020 Winners
- Hylant—3rd year on the list and winner of Best Employee Recognition Program
- Rootworks—1st year on the list
- Loren Wood Builders—2nd year on the list
- Bailey & Weiler Design/Build—2nd year on the list and winner of Best Employee Development Program
- St. John Associates—1st year on the list
- Cornerstone Information Systems—2nd year on the list
- ISU The May Agency—3rd year on the list
- German American Bank—1st year on the list
- Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County—1st year on the list
- GP Strategies—2nd year on the list
- Ardeo Education Solutions (LRAP Association)—3rd year on the list
- Bill C. Brown Associates—2nd year on the list
- Rock Paper Scissors—2nd year on the list
- Electric Plus—2nd year on the list
- Cardinal Spirits—1st year on the list
HONORARY MEMBERS
- Cook Medical—2020 Forbes Best Place to Work
- Hanapin Marketing—2020 Fortune Best Place to Work
- IU Credit Union —2020 Indiana Best Place to Work
- Oliver Winery —2020 Indiana Best Place to Work
- Weddle Bros. Construction—2020 Indiana Best Place to Work
2019 Winners
- Hylant
- IU Credit Union
- Mutual Bank
- Bailey & Weiler
- ISU Insurance Services: The May Agency
- Loren Wood Builders
- Bill C. Brown Associates
- Hoosier Hills Food Bank
- Commercial Service
- Rock Paper Scissors
- John Bethell Title Company, Inc.
- Cornerstone Information Systems
- LRAP Association
HONORARY MEMBERS
COOK MEDICAL- Forbes: America’s Best Employers – #48
Best Employers For Diversity – #369 - Recognized for “My Cook Pathway’s High School Equivalency” program. More than 29,000 people in our region don’t have a high school diploma. This program incentivizes people to go back to school, tying education directly to a job.
- “The My Cook Pathway program is about removing barriers and providing the resources for people to take their education as far as they want – from HSE to Ph.D.” – Pete Yonkman, president of Cook Group and Cook Medical
HANAPIN MARKETING
- Indiana Best Places to Work #3
- Inc Best Workplaces list
- Has 89% retention rate of employees, well above the industry standard.
- Uses TINYpulse for leadership to engage with employees, and give employees a safe space to offer feedback.
- 2nd/2nd: Closes the office the 2nd Friday of the 2nd month of each quarter so their folks can rest, relax, and recharge. They give folks a day off so that* they can be productive, not to reward productivity. The latter doesn’t happen without the former.
OLIVER WINERY
- Indiana Best Places to Work #21
- Was founded in 1972 and is the oldest and largest winery in Indiana. They will celebrate 50 years of winemaking in 2022.
- Oliver hosts seven annual employee events, such as a family-friendly vineyard picnic, Harvest Hootenanny and Casino Night. They also have volunteer days, weekly Winery Lunch and team retreats.
- Will complete construction this summer on an expanded production facility on the winery campus that increases capacity and will allow for growth over the next decade.
WEDDLE BROS. CONSTRUCTION
- Indiana Best Places to Work #32
- 73 years in business, was founded in 1946.
- 100% employee-owned through the Weddle Bros. Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust.
- Weddle Bros. is focused on their employees, striving to create an environment where everyone knows that they matter and what they do every day directly contributes to overall success.
Best Employers For Diversity – #369
2018 Winners
In 2018, the inaugural year, the Best Places to Work committee reviewed more than 30 applications and published a full list of winners in a special business section of The Herald-Times.
- Cook Medical
- Weddle Bros. Construction
- Hanapin Marketing
- Hylant
- Old National Bank
- IU Credit Union
- ACUI
- Express Employment Professionals
- GP Strategies Corporation
- Electric Plus, Inc.
- LRAP Association
- ISU Insurance Services The May Agency
- John Bethell Title Company, Inc.
INNOVATION-DRIVEN COMPANIES
COOK MEDICAL
- Number of employees: 13,000
- Year founded: 1963
- Key customers: Hospitals, Healthcare Providers
- Top two reasons why they’re a BPTW:
- High employee commitment to company culture and quality of process
- Strong company commitment to safety and current good manufacturing practices
LRAP
- Number of employees: 10
- Year founded: 2008
- Key customers: College and University Students; Colleges and Universities
- Top two reasons why they’re one of Bloomington’s Best Places to Work:
- High confidence in organizational leadership
- A strong level of organizational pride
GP STRATEGIES
- Number of Employees: 3,300
- Year Founded: 1956
- Key customers: Business-to-business training materials and software services
- Top two reasons why they’re one of Bloomington’s Best Places to Work:
- High employee satisfaction for Work/Life Balance
- Overall high employee satisfaction with supervisors
HANAPIN MARKETING
- Number of Employees: 74
- Year Founded: 2004
- Key customers: Business to Business Pay-Per-Click Marketing; Digital Marketing
- Top two reasons why they’re one of Bloomington’s Best Places to Work:
- A robust employee onboarding and training process
- Strong level of flexibility for remote work options