Leading Dickies Clothing Dealer Wins Gold Technology Award at 2006 BKD Indiana Excellence Ceremonies

Lakeville, IN – The Working Person’s Store, a leading dealer of Dickies Clothing based in Northern Indiana, is pleased to announce receiving the Gold Prize in Technology at the 2006 BKD Indiana Excellence Award ceremonies.

Indiana Business Magazine, and title sponsors BKD, LLP, National City Bank of Indiana and Bose McKinney & Evans LLP announced the winners for each category at an awards luncheon held in Indianapolis, on October 13. Gold, Silver and Bronze awards were presented in each of six industry categories.

To attract online shoppers, WorkingPerson.com has developed a number of proprietary systems and technologies increasing visibility on major search engines as well as providing a rewarding customer shopping experience.

The WorkingPerson.com site features advanced interactivity features designed to help shoppers seeking Dickies Clothing tooling to help them make the very best selections possible. Advanced technologies such as “Click to Call”, “Live Chat”, “Customer Feedback loops”, as well as “Customer Comments” and “Customer Product Reviews” all support a superior customer shopping experience.

Further enhancing each shoppers visit are custom site search engine tools, and a consistent Directory Navigation system available site wide. The WorkingPerson.com Web site also ranks among leading online retailers for availability and uptime, as well as well as overall speed, based upon the use of a distributed computing model designed to meet heavy customer traffic loads.

In its 11th year, the BKD Indiana Excellence Awards recognize outstanding achievements in business, rewarding organizations that have demonstrated a core commitment to business excellence through consistent improvement of a products, services and business practices. The program is founded on the concept that improving business improves Indiana, making it a better place to live, work and play.

The December 2006 issue of Indiana Business Magazine will profile each award-winning organization in its cover story on Indiana excellence.

About the Working Person’s Store

Founded in August 1995, The Working Person’s Store is a multi-channel specialty retailer of comfortable, durable and affordable, work clothing, footwear and accessories. An international leader in the “Rugged Apparel” category, The Working Person’s Store serves working people from its Flagship retail store operations, its Shoe Mobile Division, and its award winning website, WorkingPerson.com.

Supported by an array of customer centric programs and guarantees, The Working Person’s Store offers a comprehensive selection of Dickies workwear products, including Dickies Jeans, Dickies Shorts, Dickies Jackets, Medical Scrubs and other quality products within the Dickies product line up.

In addition, The Working Person;s Store also features rugged apparel brands like Carhartt, Columbia Sportswear, Red Kap Uniforms, Wrangler Jeans, Under Armour, Bulwark, Wigwam Socks, Thorlo Socks and many other clothing based lines.

The Company also maintains an intense focuses on a broad selection of leading work footwear brands such as Carolina Shoes, Wolverine Boots and Shoes, Bates Shoes and Boots, Harley Davidson Boots and Shoes, Chippewa Boots, Doc Martens Shoes and Boots, Danner Boots, Wesco Lineman Boots, Georgia Boots and many others.

Earlier this year, the WorkingPerson.com site was also recognized in the 2006 The Webby Awards, receiving a Top International Honoree Award for Achievements in Site Content, Structure, Navigation, Visual Design, Functionality, Interactivity and Overall User Experience.

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BKD, LLP (www.bkd.com) is the CPA and advisory firm of choice for growing companies and high net-worth individuals in Central Indiana. As one of the 10 largest such firms in the country, BKP helps clients go beyond their numbers by applying technical expertise, unmatched client service and disciplined delivery of solutions to their management and financial needs. BKD’s team of 1,600, including more than 220 partners based in 27 offices, within 11 states in the central United States. BKD serves clients worldwide as the largest member firm of Moores Rowland International (MRI), an association of independent accounting firms.

Indiana Business Magazine (www.indianabusiness.com) began publication in 1957, making it the country’s third-oldest state business magazine. Indiana Business Magazine profiles businesses and the personalities behind them. It focuses on industries and issues. Each issue reports on a different region of the state. And lists, surveys, and statistics are provided in a colorful and readable format. Indiana Business magazine also publishes guides, directories and community-profile magazines throughout the state.

National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC), headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the nation’s largest financial holding companies. The company operates through an extensive banking network primarily in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania, and also serves customers in selected markets nationally. Its core businesses include commercial and retail banking, mortgage and consumer financing, and asset management. For more information about National City, visit the company’s Web site at www.NationaICity.com.

Bose McKinney & Evans LLP (www.boselaw.com) focuses on clients need with sound legal advice, with attorneys who are approachable, responsive and attentive. Over 130-plus attorneys take the time to listen to clients and to learn about clients’ businesses, including their concerns, opportunities, and goals. Working from offices in downtown and northern Indianapolis, in Northern Indiana, in West Lafayette, Indiana and in Washington, D.C., Bose, McKinney and Evans provides a full range of legal services to the public sector and to the local, national, international, and high-tech business communities.

More About The Working Person’s Store:

Founded in Lakeville, Indiana in 1995, The Working Person’s Store rapidly grew to become a major destination for quality, name brand work apparel and footwear, while serving a wide spectrum of working people throughout the Midwest.

In 1998, we added an Industrial Shoe Mobile to better serve our industrial customers at their place of work.

By 2001, business continued to grow at a very rapid pace and we responded to the needs of our more distant customers, to provide a more convenient online catalog to serve repeat ordering needs. After the opening of WorkingPerson.com, we were very pleased to begin serving an even wider array of customers on both a national and international basis, with ever increasing demand for our goods and services.

In 2005, we continued our expansion with the acquisition of our new Technology Center from North Main Ventures, as well as a dramatic increase in the size and scope of our team. Since that time, the WorkingPerson.com site has become the number one, world-wide destination for work clothing, work footwear and safety gear, serving customers on five continents daily.

Philosophy

How did we do it? With a simple premise: You work hard, and so do we. (There are no slackers at WorkingPerson.com.) But it’s more than just hard work. Our growth has been guided by four key principles:

QUALITY AS A NECESSITY

We’re dedicated to the needs of working people everywhere, based on the proposition that quality isn’t a luxury, it’s an absolute necessity. Why? Because we’ve learned from experience that buying quality may cost a little more to start with, but it’s a bargain in the long-run. Thus, our customers shop with confidence knowing the brands and products found at WorkingPerson.com have passed stringent requirements for quality, durability, comfort and outstanding value.

LOW PRICES - ALL THE TIME

We firmly believe every working person deserves a fair deal each and every time they shop with us. But how do we make sure that our customers always get a fair deal? We start with fair pricing, backed by our exclusive 120% Price Protection Guarantee.

The Working Person’s Store 120% Price Protection Guarantee is your assurance that our net delivered price and value will always save you money. Unlike some companies, we don’t hide part of our price in the form of “shipping and handling” charges that mysteriously show up in your shopping cart at the last minute. (We hate when that happens.) That’s why we include fast, Free Shipping on any order of just $45 or more. No unpleasant surprises here!

HONESTY - IN ALL WE SAY AND DO

We don’t believe in the phony “blow out” sales offerings that you see at most stores. We think you’re smart enough to recognize real value, without resorting to these tactics. If you see something marked down at the WorkingPerson.com site, the savings are always genuine.

Our bottom line is this: There’s more to business than just the bottom line. It’s also about integrity and honesty. We treat people the way we would like to be treated. Nothing fancy here; just good common sense and respect for our customers. It works for us; we know it works for you too.

FANATICAL CUSTOMER SERVICE

While every business talks about great customer service, we’re fanatical about taking care of our customers’ needs. But don’t take our word for it, (talk is cheap), click here to see what our customers have to say about our service. Whether by telephone, email, or live chat, you’ll always enjoy honest and friendly service.

That’s the way we do business.

Contact Information

Jeffrey Antisdel

Chief Marketing Officer

The Working Persons Store

Contact via E-mail