by Cristy Thayne

Relationship Manager & Vice President, Chase Business Banking

Young Leader Member, Guest Blogger

As a Young Leader I have the opportunity to attend Lunch with a Leader, which is held monthly.  For those of you who are not familiar with this event or know about it but have yet to sign up for it, it is something that you should not miss.  A small group of around 12-15 Young Leaders are invited to have lunch with a local leader in our community.  This is a great setting to learn from those who have paved the way in their industries and businesses within the community.

In March, Young Leader’s met with Dan Cameron, the Vice President of the Tesoro Salt Lake City Refinery. We enjoyed lunch together while learning more about the Refinery which has been located in Salt Lake for the past 103 years.  I learned that not only is it the largest refinery in Utah, with a total crude-oil capacity of 58,000 barrels per day, but it also processes crude oil from Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Canada–many of those big tanker trucks you see on the highways are heading for Tesoro.  This crude oil is refined into gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel. After we finished lunch we were able to tour the control room and got a firsthand look at how controlling a refinery works.

Dan Cameron, in addition to managing the refinery, also believes in corporate and individual good will. Tesoro is actively involved with United Way of Salt Lake and encourages employees to give money, volunteer time, and advocate.  Dan has been a personal supporter of United Way of Salt Lake for many years after seeing how the organization helps those in need while he was living in Washington.

As a Young Leader, I learn a lot from meeting with the Leader’s in our community like Dan, who have chosen to share their work-life experiences and passion for improving the world around us and giving back what they have earned and learned.  It is also great to learn more about companies that operate here in Salt Lake that we would otherwise not have the chance for the inside peak that this lunch provides.

I encourage those of you who are Young Leaders to sign up for and attend Lunch with a Leader to share in this opportunity and continue to learn more about being involved on all levels of our community.

**To learn more about Young Leaders, visit our website or contact Megan Jones at megan@uw.org.**