Power Company Does ‘Whatever It Takes’ For Military Employees

American Forces Press Service ^ | Sara Moore

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2008 – Dominion Resources has a simple philosophy when it comes to supporting its employees who serve part-time in the military: “Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes.”

That philosophy has led to a companywide culture of support for the military and also earned Dominion the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Dominion, with headquarters in Richmond, Va., is one of 15 companies receiving the award, which recognizes employers who provide exceptional support to employees serving in the National Guard or Reserve.

Dominion has many programs to support its employees who are activated or deployed with the National Guard or Reserve, said Jim Eck, vice president of human resources. During an activation or deployment, Dominion provides a pay supplement and continues benefits for the employee for up to 60 months. In addition, the company has a designated “care package coordinator” who keeps in touch with the deployed employees and organizes care-package drives for the troops overseas, he said. All the updates from deployed employees are posted to an electronic employee forum that can be accessed companywide.

Dominion takes care of the families of deployed employees, keeping in touch with them and inviting them to company functions, Eck said. The company also sponsors send-off and welcome-home celebrations for deploying troops.

“These employees have served the company, and they are now asked to serve our country,” he said. “Dominion feels a partnership in serving the country, and this is the way that we can demonstrate our support for our country and these employees and their families.”

Dominion’s support for him and his family during a mobilization was what motivated Navy Cmdr. Michael Monfalcone to nominate the company for the Freedom Award. Monfalcone, executive officer of the U.S. Strategic Command Cruise Missile Support Activity, Atlantic Reserve Unit, in Norfolk, Va., was mobilized from October 2001 to August 2003 in support of Operation Noble Eagle. During that time, Dominion fully supported him and his family, he said, as the company does for all employees who serve in the military.

“Throughout the company, whenever a Guard or Reserve employee received orders to mobilize, their entire business location did everything possible to support that person and their family during the deployment,” Monfalcone, who now is deployed to Iraq, said. He added that he has seen this support in action because he works in Dominion’s human resources department, supporting labor relations initiatives.

Dominion has been recognized nationally for its support of military employees, Monfalcone noted. He has worked for Dominion for seven years, and said he plans to stay with the company when he returns from his current deployment. He noted that his 19 years of experience in the Navy have helped him develop critical leadership, team-building, communication, and problem-solving skills.

“My Navy experience has prepared me to be proactive, flexible, and adaptable and to continually seek opportunities to improve myself and my business environment,” he said.

Qualities like those are what make employees with military training and experience so valuable to Dominion, Eck said. The company actively recruits military veterans and reserve personnel, he said.

“What we find is that these candidates are focused, and are well organized to plan and deliver results,” he said. “So when we look at candidates that have demonstrated an aptitude for execution, men and women from the military rank very high based on what they have already trained to do and what they have already accomplished.”

Eck said that he and the rest of the leadership of Dominion are honored to be receiving the Freedom Award. The company plans to continue its support of military employees, he said, and will expand its long-term disability coverage to provide differential coverage for long-term disability in the event that an employee is disabled while on active duty.

“We cannot just rest on our laurels. We can continue to improve our service and support for our employees that serve in the Guard and reserve,” he said.

Dominion will receive the Freedom Award Sept. 18 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center here. The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve to recognize exceptional support from the employer community.

Related Sites:
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award

[Prophet in the wilderness]

This a breath of fresh air compared to the political correctness of Ford Motor company with it's support for gay things or Disney.

[tsmith130]

This is good to hear! It sickens me to hear what some companies do to their military employees.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

This a breath of fresh air compared to the political correctness of Ford Motor company with it's support for gay things or Disney.

[CitizenM]

My son works for Dominion at one of their offices and has often spearheaded collections for items to be sent to our troops in Iraq and Afghanastan. They just ended another one, in which churches and other businesses also participated with them. The support of the military is ever-present at this fine company.

[HarleyD]

There is more to this story than meets the eye. Dominion Power is run inefficiently. The Northern Virginia Electrical Coop (NOVEC) was forced by the legislature (under the current Democratic governor) to purchase power from Dominion, even though they are grossly inefficient, primarily to subsidize them. NOVEC took the matter to court but lost. The people who ended up paying for this is those who are part of the coop, which returns any money back to the people that is unspent.

This was an example of forcing a good, efficient coop (NOVEC) to subsidize an inefficient coop (Dominion) who, in typicial liberal fashion, is taking credit for giving away MORE money no matter how noble the cause.

One can read about it here as a starting point under Rising Wholesale Power Costs A Major Concern

[dickmc]

There is more to this story than meets the eye. Dominion Power is run inefficiently. The Northern Virginia Electrical Coop (NOVEC) was forced by the legislature (under the current Democratic governor) to purchase power from Dominion, even though they are grossly inefficient, primarily to subsidize them. NOVEC took the matter to court but lost. The people who ended up paying for this is those who are part of the coop, which returns any money back to the people that is unspent.

I think you have this article's company (Dominion Resources) [http://www.dom.com/about/companies/index.jsp] confused with your co-op's electric supplier which is Old Dominion Electric Cooperative [http://www.odec.com/about/letter.htm] which is an entirely different company.
Generally when co-ops band together to form a G&T (generation and transmission company as their supplier), the G&T agrees to supply all their power needs in return for a full requirements purchase contract. The distribution co-ops like yours then each have a seat on the Board of Directors of the G&T that is supplying your power.

[HarleyD]

Hmmm...in looking at your websites there appears to be some confusion on my part. You're right; Dominion Virginia Power is different than Old Dominion Electric Coop; the first being a company and the second being a supplier. I was confused by the similiarity of the names. Forcing us to buy electricity from Old Dominion was nothing more than a back handed subsidy. This was a very big issue here among the members of our NOVEC coop; one that still makes my blood boil.

Had I read the article more carefully and unemotionally, I would have seen electrical subsidies is not what the article is talking about. Rather Dominion Virginia Power (not to be confused with Old Dominion) is simply helping those employees who are deployed to Iraq with their electric-something that I do support and believe in. Thanks for the correction.