Chad Gross gave employees such as Lorie Jenkins $250 and asked them to spend it at a small business.
After the first few tense weeks of the coronavirus passed, Chad Gross gave each of his employees $250.
The owner of Layton Flower Technologies in Council Bluffs just asked his staff to consider spending the money with other small businesses like their own.
“It was so generous and made me feel really glad about where I worked,’’ said Lorie Jenkins, a service manager for the IT firm. “We work with and for a lot of small businesses. He takes supporting them very seriously.’’
Gross said the bonus was a sign of appreciation and a way to demonstrate his faith that the firm would survive any blows created by the pandemic.
“It might be painful, it might be difficult, but I was confident we were going to be OK at the end of the day,’’ Gross said.
As an owner of a company, though, he said he’s keenly aware of how quickly that can change. Many small businesses are struggling, and he wanted to help some if he could.
Jenkins said she’s followed through, spending some of her money on local eateries and coffee places. She plans to use some to shop locally for Christmas presents for family members.
She says she and her other employees were blown away by the gesture.
“I wouldn’t say it to his face because I don’t want him to get a big head,’’ she said. “He knows how much we all appreciate him. He deserves that. He does.’’
