89 AN ENTERPRISE OF EXCELLENCE CHAPTER FOUR Bismarck-Mandan Young Professionals Network, and in 2016 it was hailed as one of the 50 top places to work in the Northern Plains states by Prairie Business magazine. Dosch personally meets with every new employee to welcome them to the organization, letting them know how important it is that they have joined the NISC family. “We are so grateful that you have chosen NISC to come to work and to be a part of our organization and the history and future of our organization,” he says in an introduction to their orientation. “When I think about the important life decisions that all of us make, no doubt deciding where to go to work is one of the most important and impactful decisions you will make. “We want you to feel comfortable and we want you to know the rest of the story of NISC, of how we became the organization we are today and the dreams and the visions that we have of the future. Today you are a part of that future, you are a part of those dreams.” NISC’s culture — the employee experience — is rated highly by virtually any metric or survey, and much of that is amplified through TAG (The Activities Group) team and other internal groups that arrange monthly meet-ups, charity walks, community service days, social events and other activities. “We call it ‘quality products at cooperative pricing,’” says NISC Chief Financial Officer Tracy Porter. In a wing of the Mandan office, iGEAR runs a commercial embroidery operation that generates $3.5 million in revenue a year. “If this was a standalone business, this would be big,” says Porter. But not nearly as big as Capturis, another NISC subsidiary that pays the multiple monthly utility bills for large, multisite corporations and helps them manage their energy consumption. Founded as Utility Bill Pay in 2000, Capturis now brings in about $9 million in annual revenue. Those ventures ultimately boost the margin that funds research and development, keeping NISC on the leading edge of technology. As CEO Vern Dosch likes to say, “There is no mission without margin.” He’s humbled by NISC’s success and the ability to return 30 percent of its overall margin to Members, payments known as capital credits, from 2014 through 2017. “Every year for the last five years I’ve been able to say, ‘This is our best year ever,’” says Porter. “I hope I can continue to do that for the next five years.”