By Shay Hughes

I am honored and downright floored to announce that Hughes Marino made Entrepreneur’s inaugural Top Company Cultures List – #2 in the nation for small companies! Our close-knit, family-like culture is central to our success as a company, and to have it be recognized by a national publication is an honor for all of us here at Hughes Marino.

“Creating an entrepreneurial culture is a key priority for business leaders, yet no one until now has really assessed the role culture plays in success,” says Ray Hennessey, editorial director of Entrepreneur.com. “This ranking celebrates the dedication that all teams, from entry-level to the C-suite, have in ensuring they are creating vibrant, healthy and sustainable work environments. That’s good for employees, investors and customers.”

Often I am asked what our company’s secret is, to which my reply is always the same. Our combination of truly amazing team members and the 10 core values that guide everything we do has always been the root of our success. In a highly competitive industry, we take great pride in the extremely supportive team we have built, and we intentionally work to create a culture that attracts exceptional people. I have always been a firm believer in the family business model, and love knowing that our team members think of Hughes Marino as a home away from home, where we embrace the family spirit (HM core value #4) and inspire one another to succeed.

We are honored to be in the company of so many other amazing businesses who value the importance of culture as much as we do. You can view Entrepreneur’s full list—presenting a total of 75 companies categorized as small, medium or large enterprises—here.