Top Workplaces: Brookfield-based Best Version Media might be the largest magazine publisher you've never heard of.

Best Version Media LLC might be the largest magazine publisher you've never heard of.

Founded in 2007 with six magazines in the Milwaukee area, Best Version's monthly publications have feature stories that focus on local communities.

Fifteen years later, Best Version distributes monthly magazines for more than 1,000 affluent communities throughout the United States and Canada, including more than 30 communities in Wisconsin. 

That includes such titles as Brookfield Neighbors, Franklin Neighbors and Germantown Richfield Neighbors — with a focus on what Best Version calls "positive, family-friendly stories."

Meanwhile, the Brookfield-based company has landed several awards for its workplace environment.

That includes a spot on this year's annual Milwaukee Journal Sentinel list of Top Workplaces in Southeastern Wisconsin.

“It’s so inspiring. It’s a tremendous recognition of our team and the leaders that we have within Best Version Media," said Chief Executive Officer Kevin O’Brien.

Best Version has 176 employees, including around 100 employees based at the home office.

The company has used a variety of approaches to create a strong workplace culture. 

That includes employees playing in a summer volleyball league, going to Brewers and Bucks games and planning volunteer activities with organizations such as United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County and Hunger Task Force, said Mitch Writt, public relations manager.

Best Version also conducts a weekly staff call to provide updates, celebrate birthdays and work anniversaries, and hear from leadership.

"This is a great way for us to come together while many of our people are still working remotely," Writt said.

Along with those team-building activities, Best Version features "a collaborative and close-knit administrative team who support one another and lend a helping hand when needed," he said.

Meanwhile, after Best Version's home office, at 19355 Janacek Court, shut down during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company adopted a new flex schedule for employees.

That includes offering people the ability to work remotely or in the Brookfield office.

"We’ve seen a tremendous response to this added flexibility and it has allowed us to continue building upon our award-winning company culture," Writt said.

Best Version's growth has come during a time when many print magazine publishers have seen declines in revenue as readers shift to digital coverage of news, sports and features.

But unlike such well-known titles as Time, Sports Illustrated and Better Homes and Gardens, Best Version's focus is intensely local.

Each monthly publication features a cover feature story about a family from the community.

The magazines also highlight such items as a community events calendar, youth sports and notices from the local library, school district and other institutions.

The print magazines are the foundation of the business, with Best Version continuing to open new publications throughout the country.

The magazines are mailed at no charge to community residents, with Best Version's revenue coming from ads purchased by small and midsize businesses.

Best Version also draws revenue through advertisements at a sports website, bvmsports.com, which the company launched in 2020.

It shares local, national and international sports headlines from the Associated Press while also producing staff-written and reader-submitted stories on "local athletes, coaches and teams that other media outlets often overlook," Writt said.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.