WALLA WALLA -- Baker Boyer Bank was honored for the sixth consecutive year as one of the "2010 Best Companies to Work For" in the state by Seattle Business magazine.

Baker Boyer Bank was ranked sixth out of the 26 organizations honored in the medium size category, 100-499 employees, in the June 17 edition.

Hundreds of companies were nominated in this category, which received the largest number of nominations in the annual contest.

A confidential employee survey is used for the competition. Companies were judged on their hiring and retention, communication, benefits, work environment, rewards and recognition, leadership, training and education, performance standards and corporate culture.

The contest required at least half of the firm's 175 Washington employees to fill out an anonymous survey rating the bank in all nine areas.

The employee survey primarily accounts for the final score in this competition.

Headquartered in Walla Walla, Baker Boyer Bank is the oldest independently owned community bank in the state with nine branches and wealth management and business banking offices in Yakima and the Tri-Cities.