At a luncheon earlier this month at the Colstrip power plant, PPL Montana honored seven employees who joined the company’s “Circle of Champions” this year. They each pledged at least 2.5 percent of their pay to United Way to become a Champion giver.
Paul Farr, PPL Corporation’s senior vice president-Financial and the chairman of this year’s United Way campaign for the company, hosted the luncheon.
“We have a total of seven United Way Champions in Montana — one in Butte, one in Billings and five at the Colstrip plant,” Farr said. “Pledging at this level is an act of extreme generosity that goes a long way toward helping the needy in our communities.”
Around PPL Montana, the United Way campaign was a huge success. Employees pledged a total of $97,045, according to preliminary tallies — surpassing last year’s pledges by more than 11 percent, said Lisa Perry, community affairs manager.
“We’re very proud of all the employees throughout Montana who helped contribute to this tremendous increase,” she said.
“United Way helps people in all walks of life, including PPL employees and their families,” Farr said. “I’m honored to be part of a company with so many generous employees.”
“We have three active board members from PPL Montana, and they have been invaluable,” said Karen Shipley, executive director of United Way of Butte and Anaconda. “I really appreciate PPL’s corporate attitude of encouraging employees to participate and make their communities better for everyone.”
In addition to the employee donations, PPL Montana is contributing $42,340 to United Way organizations in Montana this year. The company also has contributed $400,000 since 2005 through its Community Fund to nonprofit organizations throughout the state for environmental, educational and economic development projects.
PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).