Location Root Tag

Activity to relieve stress/promote fun: When temperatures exceeded 108 degrees during a heat wave last year, Veritex hired a Kona Shaved Ice truck to visit all offices and give employees free icy treats.

Fitness/wellness program: Machias Savings hosts several different types of exercise classes that are free to employees, including yoga, aerobics and cardio kickboxing. Classes typically take place on site after work and occasionally during lunch hours.

Popular with employees: Employees dress up for the Halloween costume contest, and children of employees and customers trick-or-treat at the bank during business hours.

Popular with employees: The "Give a Wow" program allows employees to recognize each other for going above and beyond. Points are awarded and can be used to purchase items from a designated website.

Fitness/wellness program: The "Biggest Loser" 10-week weight loss campaign awards teams and individuals for the most pounds and largest percentage of pounds lost. During the 2016 campaign, 189 employees lost 876 pounds and received prizes ranging from $600 to $1,000.

Amarillo National Bank, No. 12 in the overall ranking, is No. 3 in the category for banks with $3 billion to $10 billion of assets.

Popular with employees: On most Fridays, each office organizes free breakfast, such as donuts, bagels with cream cheese or homemade casseroles.

Career development/training program: Employees receive a gold coin each time Independences adds another $100 million in assets. Accumulating 10 coins gets an employee a chance to go to Disney World for three days of training in customer service excellence.

Popular with employees: Employees submit ideas to improve the bank through an intranet site. The reward for ideas that get implemented is a cash prize ranging from $25 to $1,000.

Popular with employees: Competition is fierce in the office door decoration contest at Christmastime.

Popular with employees: On-site childcare is available at the Brookings location, and the children sometimes come through the office to visit employees, which adds fun to the workday.

Popular with employees: Employees compete in roughly six cooking contests a year for the chance to win a $25 gift card and bragging rights. Each competition, which is judged by coworkers, has a theme, such as a pumpkin pie throw-down in the fall.

Popular with employees: Once a month United Community hosts a potluck to celebrate employees' birthdays.

Popular with employees: During the summer months, employees from the human resources department deliver fresh fruit and ice cream to employees working at the bank's 16 locations.

Popular among employees: "Power meetings" ensure that each week has a focus at Chesapeake Bank. Small gifts and prizes are given for winning ideas expressed at the meetings. In addition, employees share success stories to inspire one another.

Popular with employees: Fundraiser activities include a dunk tank where a $5 donation gives people a chance to send their favorite Choice employee into the water. Over the last two years, Choice has raised $38,654 for United Way of Cass-Clay.

Popular with employees: Ice breakers during meetings include employees submitting something about themselves in advance, like a favorite song or movie, and then guessing whose is whose.

Activity to relieve stress/promote fun: Employees participated in a six-week cooking class hosted at one Kentucky Farmers Bank location that has a full kitchen. The cost was minimal for employees to participate, and the instructor showed attendees how to prepare dishes in a healthier way.

Activity to relieve stress/promote fun: 1st National offers free 20-minute on-site chair massages every other week at its main location.

Popular among employees: Four times a year, 1st Summit hosts outings partly to recognize employees for jobs well done, but also to give them a chance to socialize with each other. The biggest of these events is a summer picnic, held every August. It includes a softball game and other outdoor activities and is followed by an awards ceremony.