Yesterday afternoon, Intel welcomed the President of the United States, Barack Obama, to our Ocotillo campus in Arizona – future home of the FAB 42 manufacturing plant. Several thousand Intel employees and guests attended the event, which was covered by both local and national media outlets.As I supported the core planning team for the President’s visit, I have first-hand knowledge of all the early mornings and late evenings that this event required. If you’re wondering how we were able to pull this together in such a short time, look no further than our very own employees. Intel volunteers stepped up to make this event happen, pitching in just as they do with their service in our communities and schools. Last year, Intel employees logged more than 1 million hours of volunteer service in their schools and communities through our Intel Involved volunteer program – more information is available in our 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report.
Renee Levin, our local Community Engagement Manager, writes:
“We had over 240 volunteers that supported President Obama’s visit. They were enthusiastic, resourceful, and organized and did it all with a smile on their face. It took all of them to pull off this amazing event in just three days! Teams supported getting people to/from the parking lots, getting through security, making sure people had water, helping the visitors get back to their cars via a bus or a scenic walk next to the big crane. As always, Intel volunteers came through! Intel volunteers ROCK!”
Some of the volunteers who donated their time yesterday shared their opinions as well.
Deron Simmons noted, “It was an honor to volunteer for such a legendary invite here at Intel and it was amazing to see the President grace our stage.”
Kat Djordjevic added, “When Obama came on stage, it was nice to see that he really does exist! Sometimes you feel so disconnected from what is shown on TV but it was unreal to me that he came to Intel to let us know that the speech he gave the night before was a call to Intel.”
As a recent college graduate, and a relative newbie here at Intel (8.5 months), it was awesome to see so many of my colleagues step up and contribute their time to this amazing event. Intel employee and volunteer Jason Solomon and his son were both able to shake the President’s hand. Jason rightly exclaimed, “What an experience!”
Check out the @Intelinvolved Twitter handle to see live tweets from the event, and visit the Intel Google+ picture album for some great event shots.
Linda is passionate about sustainability and corporate responsibility. She manages communications for Intel's Public Affairs and Sustainability organization. She graduated from the UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources with a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies.