Exxon Mobil chief helps out Baton Rouge Scouts
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More than 500 captains of Baton Rouge industry convened Thursday to hear the chairman of America’s biggest corporation speak, and Rex Tillerson remained focused almost entirely on a single subject: Boy Scouts.
“It has always been a part of who I am,” said Tillerson, an Eagle Scout and — since 2006 — chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp. “I find I can test almost any decision against the (Boy) Scout oath.”
Tillerson faces dozens of decisions daily: running a company with more than $400 billion in annual sales, 81,000 employees and 3,400 employees at eight facilities in the Baton Rouge area, workers whom he saluted for their efforts to restore operations after Hurricane Gustav: “I’m extraordinarily proud of them.”
Tillerson speaks frequently on Scouting, by dint of his service on the Boy Scouts of America’s executive board. The Istrouma Area Council, which represents 20,000 youths in 13 parishes, recruited him to address the council’s first Business & Industry Leaders Lunch at the Holiday Inn Select on Constitution Avenue, said Harry “Skip” Philips, an organizer of the event and a partner at the Taylor Porter Brooks & Phillips law firm.
“We’re trying to get the business community focused on scouting programs. A lot of them know about scouting, but I think we just needed to re-energize them,” said Philips, who is not related to the law firm’s Phillips’ namesake.
The luncheon offered the opportunity for companies to make additional pledge commitments for the Istrouma council, whose $2.2 million annual budget is straining traditional fund sources in the face of expanding programs.
Philips estimated the Tillerson fundraiser could net $100,000 to $150,000 for the council.
“That would be a huge benefit,” he said. “The one thing we don’t want to do is cut programs.”
Tillerson saluted a host of Scouting units, including Troops 2, 97 and 458 in Louisiana, which served victims after hurricanes Katrina and Gustav.
“Often we can best cheer ourselves by cheering others,” he said, adding that the values engendered by scouting are the same values that spell success in the business world.
“It has always been a part of who I am,” said Tillerson, an Eagle Scout and — since 2006 — chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp. “I find I can test almost any decision against the (Boy) Scout oath.”
Tillerson faces dozens of decisions daily: running a company with more than $400 billion in annual sales, 81,000 employees and 3,400 employees at eight facilities in the Baton Rouge area, workers whom he saluted for their efforts to restore operations after Hurricane Gustav: “I’m extraordinarily proud of them.”
Tillerson speaks frequently on Scouting, by dint of his service on the Boy Scouts of America’s executive board. The Istrouma Area Council, which represents 20,000 youths in 13 parishes, recruited him to address the council’s first Business & Industry Leaders Lunch at the Holiday Inn Select on Constitution Avenue, said Harry “Skip” Philips, an organizer of the event and a partner at the Taylor Porter Brooks & Phillips law firm.
“We’re trying to get the business community focused on scouting programs. A lot of them know about scouting, but I think we just needed to re-energize them,” said Philips, who is not related to the law firm’s Phillips’ namesake.
The luncheon offered the opportunity for companies to make additional pledge commitments for the Istrouma council, whose $2.2 million annual budget is straining traditional fund sources in the face of expanding programs.
Philips estimated the Tillerson fundraiser could net $100,000 to $150,000 for the council.
“That would be a huge benefit,” he said. “The one thing we don’t want to do is cut programs.”
Tillerson saluted a host of Scouting units, including Troops 2, 97 and 458 in Louisiana, which served victims after hurricanes Katrina and Gustav.
“Often we can best cheer ourselves by cheering others,” he said, adding that the values engendered by scouting are the same values that spell success in the business world.
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