From the Trussville Tribune Staff Reports
BALTIMORE — This is one holiday season that employees of a Baltimore-based real estate company will never forget.
During a Dec. 7 holiday office party, St. John Properties founder Edward St. John gifted his 198 employees with a $10 million bonus to celebrate the company reaching a goal set in 2005. Each employee was given an envelope with a monetary amount that varied depending on how long they were at the company. Some bonuses were as much as $270,000.
“I remember opening the envelope, seeing the number, blinking my eyes a couple of times because I thought my vision was off and then hugging my coworkers,” Melissa Alleman, the company’s payroll and benefits administrator, told Good Morning America. “I think I said a few times, ‘I can’t breathe,’ I felt a little nauseous and then just celebrated.”
The $10 million was divided among the employees based on their years of service. Each employee got an average of $50,000, which is in addition to the company’s regular year-end bonus.
St. John wanted to celebrate his company developing 20-million square feet of office and warehouse space across eight states. He had been planning for months on how to reward his employees for reaching the goal that St. John had strived for since 2005. St. John thought the goal would be obtained in around 40 years, not 14.
“I wanted to celebrate it and make it meaningful for the people who did it,” St. John told The Baltimore Sun. “I steer the boat but they are the ones that run the boat.”
St. John Properties surprises employees with $10 million holiday bonus
WATCH | During the company's annual holiday party in Baltimore, St. John Properties founder and chairman Edward St. John shocked his employees with a $10 million bonus. STORY: https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/st-john-properties-surprises-employees-with-10-million-bonus
Posted by WBFF FOX 45 on Monday, December 9, 2019