Nothing quite compares to being among the best of the best.

That is exactly where several companies with local branches stand after being honored as part of the 13th annual “Best Places to Work In Kentucky” list.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management announced the list in late January and actual rankings will be announced at an awards ceremony in April.

Included among the honorees are Peoples Exchange Bank, Clark Regional Medical Center, KORT Physical Therapy, Kentucky Bank, Central Bank and Trust, and Edward Jones.

Efforts to create a positive work environment and a culture that drives success are invaluable and, although the impact can be difficult to truly measure, critical to a community’s prosperity.

One side effect is it challenges all employers to raise the bar in terms of their work environment, which in turn attracts better people to our businesses and our community.

Apathy and acceptance of mediocrity are among the greatest challenges facing our communities, our states and, ultimately, our country. The best way to overcome that is to create a shared vision of where we want to be and accept nothing short of excellence.

We applaud the businesses recognized for their efforts and also those who have worked toward this goal but maybe didn’t earn recognition this year. Keep striving!

All this works together to build community pride, an absolutely essential component to economic growth and a great quality of life.