Corporate News Archive

September 2010, Corporate News

1. Welcome Bob Ball, Exxon Mobil External Relations
Bob Ball recently took on public affairs and contributions responsibilities for ExxonMobil, succeeding Patrick Dexter, who retired after 20 years with the company. Because of ExxonMobil's leadership in the philanthropic and volunteer communities, this column is dedicated to introducing Bob to the Volunteer Fairfax family, and learning about the latest news from their Fairfax office. 

Where are you from? Where did you go to school? 
I was born and raised in New Jersey, and attended Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., located on the bank of the Hudson River overlooking Manhattan. I earned my Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Chemical Engineering.
 
How long have you been in the DC area?  Where do you live?  Family? 
I spent 12 years living in Texas before coming to Fairfax County after the Exxon/Mobil merger in January 2000. My wife, Prem, and I live in Fairfax Station. Our three children are grown; our son lives in Vermont, and our two daughters live in Brooklyn and Toronto.   
 
What is your title? 
I'm ExxonMobil's External Relations Manager for the Southeast U.S. We define external relations to include all key constituents, both public and government.   
 
How long have you been with the company? 
I've been with ExxonMobil 36 years, and still can't believe I've been here that long.
 
Can you tell us about your tenure with Exxon Mobil, places you've worked, projects you've led, etc.?
Exxon Mobil Corporation conducts business operations in about 200 countries around the world and I've had the opportunity to work in-country with many of our affiliates throughout Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. For example, these include refining and chemical projects in China and Thailand, environmental design projects in Scotland, Norway, and Italy, emergency response planning in Brazil and Argentina, and public health projects in Nigeria and Angola.
 
As the new External Relations Manager, what are your immediate goals?  What is your long-term vision? 
Short-term, I'm still very much on a steep learning curve, meeting all our many wonderful partners in the North Virginia/DC area. Long-term, my goal is to maintain ExxonMobil as one of the leaders in the Fairfax County philanthropic and volunteer communities. 
 
Since you've taken over public affairs, what's been your biggest surprise or discovery? 
After having worked on many public affairs issues with our affiliates worldwide, I'm convinced that the best decisions are those reached by multi-cultural teams.        
 
How will you balance both government relations and public affairs? 
Successful government relations and public affairs programs have a common goal: achieving a mutually acceptable outcome through effective communications. The subject matter and approaches may differ, but there's a great deal of synergy here. Also, both audiences tend to be interested in learning what the other thinks. Difficulties arise when the timing of each audience differs.        
 
What advice do you have for companies who are starting up employee volunteer or corporate giving programs?
I would advise that any new program be designed to capitalize on a core competency of the corporation, so that the corporation can contribute its expertise as well as money. For example, ExxonMobil focuses its educational philanthropic activities on improving science, technology, and mathematics education in the U.S. We employ a great many scientists and engineers in our company, and we actively work with the educational establishment to improve teaching standards and curricula based upon our experience. We also make our employees available to mentor students to help improve their grades.

2. VolunteerFest® Projects Available for Volunteer Fairfax Sponsors

The 16th annual VolunteerFest® will be held Saturday, Oct. 23, at more than a dozen agencies throughout Fairfax County. Volunteer Fairfax sponsors have the first opportunity to reserve projects for their employee groups. For a list of projects, locations and volunteer descriptions, please visit Volunteer Fairfax's website. To reserve a project, please email your desired activity and a potential second choice to Christine Coffey no later than Monday, Sept. 13. Please note that certain projects are scheduled for alternate dates, so be sure to check the project descriptions for these dates. Volunteer Fairfax can provide recruiting materials to assist in your outreach, and employee volunteer hours can be tracked when they register for the event on the Volunteer Fairfax website.

If you feel you might have difficulties filling all the volunteer slots for a project, companies can always encourage their employees to volunteer together at a project. Employees simply can sign up when general registration opens on Sept. 20. Again, so long as employees use their corporate email to register, VF can track your employees' hours. 

VolunteerFest® is used by many students to fulfill service-learning and community service requirements. Please encourage your employees and their family members to take part in VolunteerFest® to make a difference. 

3. Volunteer Fairfax Night at Baja Fresh!

Hang up the oven mitts and join Volunteer Fairfax at Baja Fresh in the Fairfax Towne Center on Tuesday, Sept. 7. The restaurant will donate 15 percent of all sales from 4 p.m. to close to the volunteer center. Bring your co-workers, treat the family to a night out, or pick up dinner on your way home from work. Information is posted on Volunteer Fairfax's home page, along with a link to a flyer that can be printed, emailed and shared. We'll see you next week for a night of good food for a great cause!

4. Volunteer Fairfax To Hold 5K, Sunday, Nov. 14

Join us on November 14, 2010, at 8:00 a.m., for the first annual Volunteer Fairfax VolRUNteer 5K and Fun Run. You can run, you can walk, or you can watch hundreds of volRUNteers take to the streets at George Mason University. Funds raised through the VolRUNteer 5K and Fun Run will be used to support the more than 41 programs and services that Volunteer Fairfax offers.The race will take place around Patriot Circle at George Mason University. 

Ample parking will be available for all registrants and volunteers. 
Registration is open and can be completed online. Sponsorships also are available - Tonya will follow up with all VF supporters to encourage their participation of this new event.

5. 9/11 Day of Service

Volunteer Fairfax will be helping Lockheed Martin with their Day of Service on Saturday, 9/11, at five different projects in the Washington, D.C., metro area. You can encourage your employees and their families to give back on this National Day of Service and Rememberance by pointing them to volunteer opportunities posted on the Volunteer Fairfax website.

6. Laptop Donation Requested

Volunteer Fairfax has a need for gently-used laptops that will be used as workstations for volunteers and for presentations to the community. If your organization is "cleaning house" and can assist with this donation, please contact Christine. For other donations, please see nonprofits' needs on Volunteer Fairfax's Donations Guide.