Employee Volunteers Recognized for Nearly 6,000 hours of Community Service in 2005

St. Charles, LA - February 23, 2006

Employees at St. Charles Operations collectively contributed almost 6,000 hours in 2005 for community service efforts in St. Charles Parish. In addition, many personal hours of service were volunteered to help individuals affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Dow recently honored its more than 300 employee volunteers with a recognition breakfast.

Some of the activities in which Dow employees gave of their time and talents in 2005 included:
judging science fairs at local schools; teaching Junior Achievement classes; serving as volunteer instructors for the PTEC 101 program in St. Charles Parish high schools; various activities at Partner-In-Education schools; participating in clothes and food drives for needy families in the area; collecting and safely disposing of household waste at Household
Hazardous Materials Collection Days; donating time and financial support to United Way campaigns; going door-to-door to visit near neighbors and provide safety information; post Hurricane Katrina & Rita assistance.

St. Charles Operations Site Leader Nawzer Parakh said, “It takes a lot of personal commitment and time to be a volunteer, and our SCO volunteers have made an extraordinary sacrifice to contribute their time to the community. On top of that, the extra volunteer efforts during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were especially commendable.”

St. Charles Operations’ Community Relations Manager Stanley Roy Dufrene said, “Our employee volunteers are the heart of our community outreach efforts. Employees give their time, skills and talents to help meet individual and family needs here in our immediate communities."

Joining in the recognition breakfast to honor the volunteers were Denise Brodsky, United Way of St. Charles; Ray Poplus, St. Charles Parish Schools; Ronnie Musacchia, Junior Achievement; Jerry Darensbourg, Killona Civic Association.

Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of science and technology to improve living daily. The Company offers a broad range of innovative products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $46 billion and employs 42,000 people worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.  St. Charles Operations is owned by Union Carbide Corporation, which is a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.

	Dow employees were honored for volunteering nearly 6,000 hours of service to the St. Charles Parish community.

For Editorial Information:

Jolen T. Stein
St. Charles Operations
(985) 783-4990