Great place to work

Umpqua Bank, the regional lender known for the Internet-café style of its “stores,” has been selected by Fortune magazine for the third year in a row as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

The bank, which has 150 branches in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, including one in Chico, was lauded in particular for its Connect Volunteer Network, which offers all associates 40 hours of paid time off annually to do community-service work. “All our employees are very involved in their community,” said Barbara Baker, Umpqua’s executive vice president for cultural enhancement.

Other businesses with Chico outlets on the list are Valero Energy, Edward Jones, Starbucks, Men’s Wearhouse, FedEx and T-Mobile. A company must have been in business seven years and have at least 1,000 employees to enter the contest.