Exelon Honors 18 Exceptional Employee Volunteers Nationwide, Donates $140,000 to the Nonprofits They Serve

For most people, one full-time job is enough, but a leading national energy company is honoring a select group of its employees for their dedication to their second jobs — as volunteers in their communities.

Exelon today presented Energy for the Community Employee Volunteer Awards to six central Maryland employees at a ceremony in Baltimore. Six outstanding employee volunteers in northern Illinois and southeastern Pennsylvania were recognized at similar ceremonies last week in Chicago and Philadelphia, respectively. In honor of all 18 employees’ commitment to volunteer service, Exelon donated a total of $140,000 in cash grants to the local nonprofit organizations they serve.

The honorees were chosen by an outside selection committee of nonprofit community leaders.

“On behalf of all Exelon employees companywide, I am honored to share in the celebration of our volunteer award winners and their accomplishments,” said Christopher M. Crane, Exelon’s president and CEO. “Their dedicated commitment to their organizations exemplifies how our employees make meaningful impacts on the communities they serve, not only through their jobs, but also through their volunteer service.”

The awards were open to all eligible employees of Exelon who volunteered at least 50 hours of community service in 2012. Last year, 3,800 Exelon employee volunteers gave nearly 105,000 hours of their time to community nonprofit organizations. The donated hours are equivalent to more than 2,600 workweeks or nearly 50 years of full-time service.

The awards are part of Exelon’s Energy for the Community corporate citizenship program, which encourages employee volunteerism to support environmental stewardship, education, arts and culture, neighborhood enhancement, and diversity and inclusion in the communities the Exelon family of companies serve.

2013 Energy for the Community Award Winners

There are three award categories: the Excellence Award, Achievement Awards and Merit Awards. Award recipients receive $20,000, $10,000 and $5,000, respectively, for their nonprofit organizations.

Illinois

Justin Bedi, a staff auditor at Exelon, received Exelon’s top prize, the Excellence Award, for his service with Open Heart Magic, which uses magic and laughter to energize and aid in the healing of seriously ill children in Chicago hospitals. As Exelon’s top honoree, Bedi will represent the company at the National Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C., later this year. The Jefferson Awards are an annual celebration of volunteerism hosted by the American Institute for Public Service.

Vito Martino, director of transmission at Exelon subsidiary ComEd, received an Achievement Award for his service to Special Olympics Chicago, including organizing golf events that have raised $50,000 for the nonprofit.

Audrey Todd, manager of IT training and communications at Exelon, received an Achievement Award for her volunteer service to Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, where she helps provide hunger relief assistance and leads the Saturday morning food distribution shift.

Thomas Parcher, a security lead at Exelon Generation’s LaSalle County Generating Station in Marseilles, Ill., received a Merit Award for his volunteer service with Streator Township High School Future Farmers of America, for which he guides a student program that raises hogs for distribution to food banks.

Kelly Sanchez, a lead IT analyst at Exelon, received a Merit Award for her service with the Will County Humane Society, where she has served as a volunteer dog walker and plays a critical role in helping potential adopters find a pet that is the perfect match.

Nicole Tresnak, a lead crew leader at ComEd, received a Merit Award for her volunteer activity with Cornerstone Services, where she has assisted adults with disabilities for the last 10 years and raised unprecedented funds for the organization.

Pennsylvania

Tumeka Flanigan, project manager at Exelon Generation’s Limerick Generating Station, received an Achievement Award for educating and empowering women through the YWCA Tri-County Area, where she helped create a program to educate young women on generation gaps, body image, cyber bullying, advocacy and non-traditional careers.

Brian Focht, senior training specialist at Exelon subsidiary PECO, received an Achievement Award for his more than 25 years of service to the Willow Grove Volunteer Fire Company, for which he responds to service fires, rescues and public assistance needs and oversees a staff of 12 volunteers.

Brandon DiZebba, armed security officer at Exelon Generation’s Three Mile Island, received a Merit Award for his mentorship work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region, where he currently serves as a “big brother” to two young males.

Mike Foley, gas work planner at PECO, received a Merit Award for his service to Livengrin Foundation for Recovery, where he volunteers several days a week and assists patients in their recovery from alcohol and drug addiction.

A team led by Jack Gamble, procurement engineer at Exelon, received a Merit Award for creating a modular, high-tech, free-standing haunted house for Halloween that grossed just under $25,000 for the Southern Ocean Rotary Club.

Mark M. Green, senior methods specialist at PECO, received a Merit Award for volunteering with Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley, where he is responsible for the financial security of the organization, including securing contributions and sponsorships from individuals and Delaware Valley businesses through the annual Golf Classic event.

Maryland

Barbara Palmer, business account representative at Exelon subsidiary BGE, received an Achievement Award for counseling patients at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, a residence for out-of-town patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Catherine Schreiner, principal information management analyst at BGE, received an Achievement Award for her 22 years of service to the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Festival of Trees, a family-oriented holiday festival and raises more than $1 million annually to benefit more than 18,000 children with disorders of the brain, spinal cord and musculoskeletal system.

Ed Wilson, executive director of association sales at Exelon business unit Constellation, received an Achievement Award for his service to The Arc of Howard County, where he works to raise awareness of the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Bruce Gibbons, senior manager of IT Commercial and Generation Client Services at Exelon, received a Merit Award for leading a charity golf tournament that raised almost $50,000 to enhance care for the Greater Baltimore Medical Center’s neonatal intensive care unit.

Michelle Swanson, commercial project manager at Constellation, received a Merit Award for her service to Back on My Feet, where she engages homeless and underserved populations in a running program to encourage confidence and self-sufficiency.

Matthew Wade, associate with Constellation, received a Merit Award for his service to Blue Water Baltimore, for which he participates in cleanup and restoration efforts to improve the quality of the community’s water and teaches children with disabilities the importance of protecting local waterways.

Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) is the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with 2012 revenues of approximately $23.5 billion. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon has operations and business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Exelon is one of the largest competitive U.S. power generators, with approximately 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. The company’s Constellation business unit provides energy products and services to approximately 100,000 business and public sector customers and approximately 1 million residential customers. Exelon’s utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to more than 6.6 million customers in central Maryland (BGE), northern Illinois (ComEd) and southeastern Pennsylvania (PECO).