NAPA, Calif. -

Eight is sure great at AUL Corp. with regard to its work environment.

The full-service F&I provider announced this week that it has been voted one of the Best Places to Work in the North Bay for the eighth consecutive year in the North Bay Business Journal’s annual competition.

Now running for the past 16 years, the annual competition has recognized Northern San Francisco Bay Area companies that excel in quality, professionalism, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie, as voted on directly by their employees.

To ensure only the most qualified firms are represented, the North Bay Business Journal rules require that participating companies can only be nominated or voted on by their employees. Submissions then undergo a comprehensive review by the journal’s editorial staff to eliminate duplicate or fraudulent entries, ensuring the most genuine and equitable result.

“This year has been such a challenge from a personnel perspective, beginning the year with the ongoing work-from-home mandates, followed by a partial return to the office as vaccinations increased,” AUL Corp. president and chief executive officer Jimmy Atkinson said in a news release. “Now with the Delta variant cases increasing, workplace plans are having to be modified yet again.

But through it all, our employees have been champions, giving 110% from wherever they were asked to work. And to now be honored by them with this award is immensely gratifying. Our employees truly are our greatest asset,” Atkinson continued.

This year’s competition was co-hosted by Exchange Bank and underwritten by Kaiser Permanente and Trope Group, one of the Bay Area’s leading space planning and design firms.

Founded in 1987, the North Bay Business Journal’s coverage has expanded from Santa Rosa to the rest of the North Bay area, covering Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Solano, Mendocino and Lake Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.

AUL Corp. and the other 2021 winners will be honored at an awards celebration on Sept. 15 at the Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa, Calif., marking the publication’s first in-person ceremony since 2019.