May 26, 2009

Portland, Ore. — A whimsical, topsy-turvy cake will cue the celebration at this year’s Rose Festival PGE/SOLV Starlight Parade, as PGE helps Oregon celebrate its 150^th birthday with a Take Care of Oregon-themed float honoring volunteerism. Commemorative Oregon 150 birthday hats, designed just for this year’s Starlight Parade, will be tossed to parade-goers on SW Broadway near Pioneer Square.

The float will feature PGE’s 2009 Outstanding Volunteers — employees recognized for going above and beyond to serve their communities. The four employee volunteers will be featured on the float inside colorful birthday packages symbolizing their gift of service to the Oregon community.

“We value our rich history as an Oregon company, so it’s only natural that we’re supporting Oregon’s sesquicentennial celebration,” said Kregg Arntson, PGE community affairs manager. “Our employees and customers give their time and energy to make Oregon a better place to live and work and the Rose Festival is a wonderful place to recognize their efforts.”

Again this year, PGE employee volunteers will also take part with SOLV in the clean up of the streets and parks along the parade route, as they have done since 1996.

Walking with the float at the evening parade will be project coordinators who have lead some of the over 600 Take Care of Oregon Days projects around the state, the largest volunteer event in Oregon’s history, and part of the Oregon 150 celebration.

This year’s four Outstanding PGE Volunteers to be featured on the float, include:

Doug Plambeck: Plambeck, an internal audits specialist at PGE, serves as a volunteer for many PGE-sponsored events — including SOLV clean-ups and Friends of Trees plantings.  The Tualatin resident is a founding board member of Community Partners for Affordable Housing, which helps homeless families find transitional places to live to get them back on their feet. With the help of this Tigard-based organization, hundreds of families have been able to create better lives for themselves.

Cherie Hull: Hull, a technician with human resources communications, has been a volunteer with the Meals on Wheels program for more than 15 years. She began volunteering for Meals on Wheels by delivering meals to homebound seniors in Northeast Portland, and now coordinates all the volunteers for her route. She’s the driving force behind PGE’s connection with Meals on Wheels, making sure PGE has two volunteers each week to make the deliveries and ensure no senior goes hungry.

Chanly Bob: Bob’s volunteer work is rooted deep in his own personal history. After surviving the Khmer Rouge killing fields in Cambodia, he decided to make a lifelong commitment to give back to society because society was kind to him when he first arrived to the United States. As the board chairman for the Cambodian-American Community of Oregon, Bob, a specialist with IT, spends countless hours uniting Cambodian-Americans, preserving the rich Cambodian culture, heritage and traditions and empowering those who need guidance and direction to achieve their own greatness.

Stan Chiotti: For Chiotti, serving the community through volunteering is simply a way of life. As a PGE retiree, Chiotti’s daily routine revolves around one thing: helping others. Chiotti’s volunteer work extends through eight organizations. Whether he is hosting students and teachers from the Sichuan Province in China as part of the Northwest International Exchange Program, shoveling snow for the St. Frederic Catholic Church, preparing information packets for the MADD Minor in Possession program or planting daffodils for the St. Helens Woman’s Club, Chiotti is a non-stop volunteer.

Following the Starlight Parade, the float will make a second appearance, remade with fresh flowers and greenery, at the Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade on June 6. Three volunteers will ride the float, including a winning volunteer from the Take Care of Oregon Days sweepstakes, the 2009 Hands On Portland Youth Leadership Award winner, and the winner of PGE’s employee volunteer campaign: 150 Days of Service.