Tommy Barreca is always prepared and ready for action. As far as he's concerned, however, he would rather not react. Like most firefighters and emergency responders, the Norco resident and Motiva employee prefers to train, practice, and prepare for the unexpected while hoping a need never arises.

"Responding to an emergency and assisting others is in my blood. My dad was a volunteer fire fighter. It's our way of giving back to the community, but I would prefer never to roll out. You never know what you will face when the call comes," says the Norco site Deputy Emergency Response Chief, who also serves as Assistant Chief for the town of Norco's Volunteer Fire Department. 

Barreca has 38 years experience as a community volunteer fire fighter and 27 years experience with Motiva and Shell's volunteer emergency response team. Logistics Operations Maintenance Lead, he is a third-generation Norco employee and life-long Norco resident.

While he recalls answering the call for a wide range of emergencies and fires over the years, his most memorable incidents include the Destrehan-Luling ferry disaster more than 30 years ago and the Norco Refinery explosion. "I pulled people I knew out of the Mississippi River when the ferry went down and I was working at Norco the night of that situation," he says. "Those are events that stay with you for a long time."

In recognition of his experience, performance and community commitment, Norco recently christened a new state-of-the-art emergency response boat in his honor. The "M.V. Barreca," a 25-foot Boston Whaler will be used for a variety of emergency and routine activities including spill containment, fire fighting, water rescues, and debris removal near the Norco dock. Featuring a 500-gallon per minute pump capacity, the vessel is also available for regional mutual aid situations as requested by area industries, the U.S. Coast Guard and the St. Charles Parish Department of Emergency Preparedness. 

According to Norco Emergency Response Coordinator Michael Mitchell, the fully equipped boat not only enhances Norco's ability for immediate response in the event of a dock fire or oil spill on the Mississippi River but also extends St. Charles Parish capabilities to address incidents on or near the waterway. "Industry and the Parish work together in emergencies," he states, noting a significant number of Norco employees, such as Barreca, are actively involved with community volunteer response groups.

"Hurricane Katrina destroyed our spill response boat," explains Motiva's Health, Safety, Security and Environmental Manager Allan Gallant. "The need to replace it created an opportunity to improve Norco's emergency tools. Now, Norco is leading the pack with a first-class vessel and an opportunity for a tribute to Tommy for his efforts over the years."

"I am honored to have a boat named after me," Barreca says. "But it's even more an honor to be associated with the emergency response team and the Norco site's commitment to protecting its employees and neighbors. Whenever Shell or Motiva has been called on to serve the Parish, we are there, just like others would be there to assist us."

Although Barreca takes pride in his volunteer contributions to his company and the community, he quickly acknowledges he doesn't have all the answers. "Emergency response is a continual learning and sharing experience," he emphasizes. "You learn something new every time you respond to a situation."

How many times a week do you think about Hurricane Katrina? Thousands who lost homes from flood and wind damage two years ago think about it every day and every hour as they continue to recover and rebuild.

Thanks to the contributions of Motiva Enterprises, the efforts of Motiva Norco volunteers, and Habitat for Humanity, some New Orleanians will soon have a new place to call home. Under the direction of Habitat for Humanity, 10 Motiva employees and several of their family members recently donated time, energy and skills to building a home on North Galvez Street in the Ninth Ward Musicians' Village. The Motiva crew joined with volunteers from around the country and future home-owners in activities such as framing, painting, roofing, siding, framing, hammering, nailing and sweeping.

"I enjoyed meeting the young AmeriCorps volunteers, the clients putting in their ‘sweat equity,' and others from around the country. By my recollection I met folks from Colorado, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia," comments volunteer Kirk Menard, who has recently been named to coordinate Motiva's commitment to support the rebuilding of New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana. "It was hot and the work challenging, but helping a devastated community is a gratifying experience."

Menard emphasizes Motiva's participation in rebuilding southeast Louisiana reflects the company's altruistic and business commitment to the area. "While St. Charles Parish was not affected to the same extent as other nearby areas, many of our employees felt the impact of the hurricane and many community members have strong ties to New Orleans," he says. "In addition to providing support for rebuilding and recovery efforts, we are looking to coordinate opportunities for employees to volunteer and assist non-profit organizations. Coastal restoration programs and projects will also be a prime area of our focus."

Participants in Motiva's recent Habitat for Humanity work included Liz Deroche, Lauren Deroche, Ray Ebersole, Faye Labiche, Kirk Menard, Charlie Newport, Mike Mire, Peggy Mire, Melissa Robert and Stan Robert.

Motiva Joins EPA Partnership

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), has recognized Motiva Norco Refinery as a member of the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP), a voluntary program focusing on waste minimization and the reduction of priority chemicals. According to Norco Waste Program Coordinator Fred Goodson, Motiva's entry into the NPEP program recognizes the site's reuse program for non-hazardous catalyst as well as a recovery process for specific chemicals.

"Using innovative approaches to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals is a good environmental strategy," says EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. 

"By joining this program, Motiva is not only protecting public health and the environment, but showing good economic and business sense." EPA and LDEQ officials presented a plaque to Motiva Norco Refinery, during Motiva's Health, Safety, Security, and Environmental (HSSE) Week, in recognition of its NPEP partnership. 

"Motiva is pleased to become a partner in the EPA National Partnership for Environmental Priorities program," comments Norco General Manager Anne-Marie Ainsworth. "We look forward to working together with the EPA and the LDEQ to reduce impact on the environment."

Goodson explains the refinery's NPEP goals and commitment includes the successful recovery of more than 6,000 pounds of naphthalene and 6,000 pounds of PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) compounds using the Norco Oil Recovery Facility. Last year, the facility recovered more than 25,000 barrels of oil.

Additionally, the site is recycling spent alumina catalyst that would otherwise be targeted for disposal. Last August, for example, 3,900 tons of the catalyst were sent as feedstock to a cement kiln, displacing other raw material sources of alumina and silica used in cement manufacturing, instead of a landfill.

The National Partnership for Environmental Priorities is a voluntary waste minimiza tion program that encourages public and private organizations to form voluntary partnerships with EPA to reduce the use or release of 31 priority chemicals beyond the requirements of environmental regulations. The Waste Minimization Program is placing the greatest emphasis on the reduction of chemicals in wastes, and products, that, due to their chemical properties, can be harmful to human health and the environment over long periods of time if released to the environment. The priority chemicals can be released in air emissions, wastewater discharges, or disposal of industrial wastes on the land.

More information about NPEP and waste minimization may be found at: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize/partnership.htm

Oh, The Places You'll Go!
Like The Louisiana Children's Museum

The charm and wisdom of Dr. Seuss is coming to life at the Louisiana Children's Museum (LCM) in New Orleans.  Thanks to a partnership with the Motiva Norco Refi nery, St. Charles Parish Public School students in grades pre-kindergarten through fourth grade have the opportunity to visit Oh, Seuss! Off to Great Places for free with their classes.

The Children's Museum sponsorship coincides with St. Charles Public Schools 2006-07 emphasis on literacy. Motiva Norco on  tributes more than $130,000 each year towards education in St. Charles Parish for hands-on activities, scholarships, service learning and a variety of other projects. The Dr. Seuss series has long been associated with early childhood education. "Motiva is strongly committed to education and we've demonstrated that through our long standing partnership with St. Charles Parish Public Schools," explained Motiva External Affairs Manager Kimberly Windon. "The exhibit is a natural fit with the schools' literacy focus and Motiva's commitment to the children of our community."

Currently on display throughout March 2007, the interactive exhibit is based on themes from Theodore S. Geisel's famed Oh the Places You'll Go and other Seuss classics with emphasis on freeing a child's imagination to explore new places. Developed by the Children's Museum of Manhattan, with the consent of Mrs. Audrey Geisel, Oh, Seuss is a celebration of the imagination, creativity and literary magic of Dr. Seuss. Kids and adults join Horton and the Cat in the Hat in a world where you can fly while standing still, catch falling words in your hands, teeter on a circus tightrope, unslump a mighty Borfin, navigate a hot air balloon and play with rhyme in the Green Eggs and Ham Train.

"The children were able to climb on and name Oh, The Places You'll Go! Like the Louisiana Children's Museum props from the story. It happened on Mulberry Street," commented New Sarpy Kindergarten teacher Pamela Shepard. "They climbed and slid down a slide from the story, Horton and Egg. They drove the vehicle featured in all Dr. Seuss' stories. When children act out stories, their literacy comprehension level increases tremendously." This type of interaction allowed the students to act out the stories."

A field trip to the exhibit also included a scavenger hunt, a visit to a Dr. Seuss themed art station, a parade to the LCM theater for an interactive literacy event and free play in other areas of the museum. Classes from Allemands Elementary, Luling Elementary, Mimosa Park Elementary, New Sarpy Elementary, New Sarpy Kindergarten Center, Norco Elementary K-3, and St. Rose Elementary are invited to visit the exhibit as the guests of Motiva Norco.

 A Christmas Parade in Norco

"Merry Christmas" and "Throw me something, please" were the sounds of the day as floats, marching bands, horseback riders and area festival queens rode through the streets of Norco in the Norco Civic Association's Annual Christmas Parade.  Motiva Norco was a major sponsor of the holiday event and some of Motiva's employees and their families took an active part by throwing out some great catches such as footballs, light-up bouncing balls, Frisbees, cups, and other goodies.  

Here are a few comments from some of the lucky employees who got to share in the experience of the parade:

"I feel our participation in Norco's community Holiday celebration shows that our family of coworkers (Motiva & Shell) reside here too. Norco for most of us is our home away from home!" (Lynn Trent, Quality Measurements)

"Thank you for allowing my family and me to participate in the Norco Christmas Parade. We had lots of fun." (Paul Shirer, Central Shop)

Employees who rode in the parade were Frank Abbate, Mike Abbate, Dan Ebbert, Lynn Trent, Melissa Robert and Ranshawa Dumas.

Next year will be the 200th birthday of St. Charles Parish and its expected to be a very celebrated year in 2007 with the Christmas parade being the closing celebration. Look forward to seeing Motiva representing again next year!

Motiva Hands Help Rebuild New Orleans

Tons of sweat and muscle power was produced as Motiva Norco Refinery volunteers donated time and energy to rebuild New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity this fall. Sponsored by Motiva's Network Next, a group group that supports the new generation of employees at Norco, the community service project included a day of new-home construction at the Musician's Village in the Upper Ninth Ward. This was one of the hardest-hit areas by Hurricane Katrina.

Network Next representatives Gabby Dipp and Mike Primeau, who coordinated the volunteer project, report that Motiva volunteers picked up hammers, saws, drills and paintbrushes for the cause. This was done according to Habitat for Humanity's coordinated plans to build new homes for those in need. "Bringing the New Orleans area back to life is important to everyone in Louisiana," stated Dipp. "Housing continues to be a major problem for thousands of displaced residents. Habitat for Humanity offers a fast-track method of providing quality shelter."

"Community involvement is a responsibility that Motiva takes seriously," Primeau added. "With Habitat, we helped those in need, working side by side with those who will soon have a new place to call home."

Habitat for Humanity beneficiaries are required to complete 350 hours of "Sweat Equity" in constructing other homes, as well as their own, over a period of six months. The hours are considered the down payment for the house. New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity houses are sold with no profit and house payments are recycled to build additional homes.

Motiva and Shell volunteers focused their efforts on the Musician's Village, a project conceived by musicians and New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr., Branford Marsalis and Ellis Marsalis. Located on eight acres in the Upper Ninth ward, the village will consist of 81 Habitat-constructed homes for displaced New Orleans musicians. Its centerpiece will be the Ellis Marsalis Center of Music, dedicated to the education and development of homeowners and others in the neighborhood. In addition, plans call for building at least 150 other homes in the surrounding neighborhood.  The Habitat project was the first large scale-rebuilding project in New Orleans following Katrina. 

Volunteers include: John Craven, Georgia Craven, Michael Primeau, Christina Barrett, Arenda Culver , Luke Haidorfer, Michelle Hallmark, Faye Labiche,  Eric Rodriguez, Ben White, Gabby Dipp, and Jeff Bazzi

United Way of St. Charles Welcomes Loaned Executive Clayton "Snookie" Faucheux

To meet the demands of a growing community, respond to the long-term rebuilding and recovery of this region, and  reach out to new participants, United Way of St. Charles has welcomed Clayton "Snookie" Faucheux of Motiva Enterprises as the first participant in their Loaned Executive program.   

"United Way of St. Charles is grateful to Motiva for designating one of their employees as the 2006-07 campaign Loaned Executive," said Denise Brodsky, Executive Director of United Way. "Mr. Faucheux began work with United Way October 3^rd and has already become an active team member." Brodsky considers Loaned Executives, with their unique and varied level of professional skills, essential to the success of the community campaign. 

Mr. Faucheux is a lifelong resident of Luling and currently is serving his second term on the St. Charles Parish Council.  He graduated from Hahnville High School in 1977 and attended Louisiana State University and the University of Southwestern Louisiana majoring in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Economics. He also attended the Texas A & M Total Quality Management Program and is certified by the American Society of Quality as a business systems consultant.  Mr. Faucheux joined Motiva in 1996 and has attained the position of Reliability Specialist.

In his role as the Loaned Executive, Mr. Faucheux will serve the United Way campaign 20 hours a week for 17 weeks.  He will assist in various aspects of operations working closely with campaign leadership, United Way staff and the Board of Directors to ensure a successful campaign.

"Motiva is pleased to support the St Charles Community United Way by making Mr. Faucheux available," stated Tom Purves, Vice President of Refining at Motiva Enterprises LLC.  "We support work of United Way groups around each of our facilities and are happy that our employees regularly volunteer for assignments such as this. It is a clear statement of support by our employees for the mission of the United Way."

United Way of St. Charles' mission is to lead and unite the community in providing a program of health and human services that is comprehensive, efficient and effective.  It meets this mission by focusing on four key areas:

• Helping Kids Succeed
• Strengthening the Community & Supporting Families
• Assisting with Basic & Emergency Needs
• Promoting Health, Wellness & Independence

United Way of St. Charles - initiating the right action, at the right time, for the right reason.  It's what matters.   It's that simple.

Motiva Educates at Ocean Commotion

What do environmental exhibits, 2,300 people and Motiva have in common? The answer is Ocean Commotion.

Nearly 2,300 visitors from Louisiana schools attended the 9th Annual Ocean Commotion at LSU on November 2nd. The event is hosted by the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program and is designed to educate students about environmental protection and preservation.

Exhibitors at the event offered more than 50 interactive displays that taught children about the resources of the sea and coast, in addition to encouraging them to become good stewards of Louisiana's unique ecology.

As the corporate sponsor of the event, the Motiva Norco Refinery set up a display to educate students, parents and teachers about how crude oil is made and how crude byproducts are used every day. Motiva Norco volunteers Snookie Faucheux, Troy Oncale and Tim Aymond explained how Motiva takes crude oil and turns it into fuel. Students were shown a demonstration of the site's Distillation Training Unit and were then asked questions about what they learned. They also explained that items people use everyday are made from crude oil. Some participants were surprised to learn that their cosmetics, sunglasses, and candle was were all crude oil byproducts.

To make sure the students learned something from the demonstration, they were asked questions about the refining process and crude byproducts. If they answered correctly, they were able to choose a giveaway items from our table. Some items that were given out were water bottles, sunglasses, pens and stress balls just to name a few.

Other volunteers who helped out with set-up and manning the giveaway table were Linda Scharwath, Kristi Gros, Sharon Zeno, Kimberly Windon and Melissa Robert.

Hot Jambalaya Feeds Holy Cross Students

The impacts of Hurricane Katrina are still being felt by local students, but one Motiva employee is volunteering his time to add a little Cajun flavor to their lives.

Students at Holy Cross School, which is the second oldest all boys Catholic School in the country, are tired of eating the same thing everyday for lunch.

The school was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The storm left more than eight feet of water throughout the school, cafeteria and gym. Currently classes are being held in mobile classrooms (Trailers) in the school parking lots. To make matters worse, when school started, the students didn't have any potable (drinking) water. A tanker truck brought water in for the bathrooms only and a local company sent several truckloads of bottled water for the boys to drink. Once the water issue was resolved, the principal had another issue. What to feed the boys? Each student was told to bring a lunch or they could order a sandwich from a local deli either Ham or Roast Beef ONLY.  

But as you could imagine, this got old very quick and the parents started organizing food days for the students.  That's when they turned to Motiva's own Charlie "Hoot" Houidobre, Training and Procedures Department, for help. Hoot was asked to cook jambalaya for the Senior class.

Hoot was happy to show off his culinary skills and help out. He says the jambalaya was very successful, and almost too successful!  "I started that day at 5am cutting the seasoning and meat to cook two 25 pound batches of jambalaya. I was planning on feeding approximately 300 students that day and boy it was close!" shared Hoot. "I only had about one and a half pounds left over!"

Hoot has personal ties to the school as well. His sons attend this school. "I was totally thrilled to do this for these boys and my sons school," explained Hoot. "Since then, I've had several students ask me when am I doing another lunch of jambalaya for them. I tell them as soon as I can raise the donations, I will do it again for them!"

The Motiva Norco Refinery sponsored this lunch by providing all the food and supplies needed for cooking the jambalaya.

As an added bonus for the Holy Cross students, the money that would have normally gone towards lunch was donated to help with senior events. Normally the senior class had a budget to work from, but with all monies used and needed just to open and run the school, these dollars were not available.

Pictured above from left to right are: are Dr. Joe Murray, Principal; Greg Battistella, Athletic Director; Charles DiGange, Headmaster; Charlie Houidobre, Ralph Hymel.

Blooming flowers, warm temperatures, and sunny skies are the perfect recipe for encouraging fun in the sun. But along with spring comes buzzing from bees nests.

Recently a large bees nest was discovered in the Diamond neighborhood in close proximity to residences while a contractor working for Motiva and Shell was removing brush and tree limbs. In order to eliminate community residents being injured by bee stings, Motiva employee Richard Green and his department took action and arranged for a beekeeper to remove the hive.

The beekeeper used a vacuum to remove the majority of the bees from the hive and captured the queen.  Using this special vacuum, the beekeeper was able to keep the bees safe, so they could be used in the future to harvest their honey.

After collecting the bees, the bees nest was treated with dusts of bendiocarb (Ficam D) or Delta Dust.