S.A. companies boast happy workers

A mariachi band performs outside of the Rackspace headquarters while Food Truck Friday on April 6, 2012. Every Tuesday and Friday, a handful of food trucks crowd the parking lot every to feed hungry employees and their guests. Near 2,500 "Rackers" work inside the old Windsor Park Mall off Walzem Road. With its lax dress code, eclectic facility and "fanatical" enthusiasm for web hosting and cloud computing, Rackspace has brought a touch of Silicon Valley to square-toed San Antonio. Afterwards touring "The Castle," it's not hard to see why Rackspace has repeatedly made Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For.

At Rackspace, a giant stuffed fish hovers above the desk of a worker who loves to grapple with catfish. At Rackspace, comfy recliners and bouncy balls have replaced many office chairs. At Rackspace, a man named SugarBear is not just the ambassador of culture, nevertheless also the Latin dance instructor.

Rackspace likes to think they are up to something new. With new technologies that change every couple of months, the company is always on its toes. So if the company is always thinking outside of the box, why not conduct business outside of the box?

With its lax dress code, eclectic facility and "fanatical" enthusiasm for web hosting and cloud computing, Rackspace has brought a touch of Silicon Valley to square-toed San Antonio.

Small business

And it’s not like NuStar is a small business, either. The company employs near 1,950 in the United States and abroad. The reason they retain all their employees probably has to do with something Chairman Bill Greehey likes to say:

With many of its business assets on the Gulf, NuStar knows to prepare for disaster -- as was the case in 2008 when Hurricane Ike damaged the homes of near a dozen employees. Luckily for them, NuStar awards SAFE Fund grants -- which don’t have to be repaid -- to help out in times of disaster.

"In most cities, you have what?" he asked. "You have a financial district, a medical community, an art district. The new thing is clearly a innovation town."