Realty firm gives $10 million in bonuses as early Christmas gift to its 198 employees
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: Employees at a Baltimore-based commercial real estate firm celebrated an early Christmas after receiving a heartwarming surprise.
At a recent holiday party, St. John Properties announced that it is handing out a staggering $10 million in bonuses to its 198 employees. A new video released by the company shows employees unable to believe their eyes, crying and embracing each other following the announcement.
The amount each employee will receive depends on their tenure with the company, founder and chairman Edward St. John said, which comes to an average bonus of $50,000.
Meanwhile, some veteran employees are set to receive at least $2,50,000, the New York Post reports.
“I wanted to celebrate it and make it meaningful for the people who did it,” St. John said, per The Baltimore Sun. “I steer the boat but they are the ones that run the boat.”
"They are the ones who make the boat go. Without the team we are nothing, we are absolutely nothing," he continued. "To celebrate we wanted to reward our employees in a big way that would make a significant impact on their lives."
"I am thankful for every one of our employees, for their hard work and dedication. I couldn't think of a better way to show it," St. John added.
The bonuses come in celebration of a stunning milestone for the firm, after they successfully developed more than 20 million square feet of office space, retail and warehouses.
That said, the company's real estate spans across Virginia, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wisconsin.
"We were just elated with the response we had from everyone," company president Lawrence Maykrantz recalled. "It was bringing me to tears."
“I still haven’t absorbed it,” Nikki Goode, director of taxation, said in the promotional video. “I’m shocked, very thankful.”
Danielle Valenzia, a 19-year company veteran who works as an accounts payable specialist, was clearly emotional when she learned about the bonuses. “What happened tonight was magical,” she is heard saying in the video. “This is huge.”
"I'm very excited, I've worked here for a long time and he didn't have to do what he did," one male employee said of St. John. "We can't thank him enough."