Enron Corp.’s downfall will reach much further than the energy trading world it once controlled. Among other devastating losses, downtown Houston will lose 3% of its workforce; but even more important, the city and the visible venues Enron reigned over will lose a prestigious and generous partner in philanthropic and worthy causes.

For Houston, the loss of Enron will deal the city another blow, coming on the heels of cutbacks at two other Houston institutions and major employers, Continental Airlines and Compaq Computer Corp. Continental saw its fortunes fall following Sept. 11, and Compaq, set to merge with Hewlett-Packard, has slowly cut back its workforce, as have other computer employers in the past two years. However, Enron’s fall came so quickly, and was so completely unexpected, that its full impact will not be felt for months, say city officials. Newly re-elected mayor Lee Brown said this week he expects a “minimal” impact from Enron’s loss, but behind the scenes, the city faces a major public relations problem as it attempts to keep its reputation as the nation’s energy capital.

With a sign boasting that it is the “World’s Best Company to Work For” inside its front lobby, Enron actually earned that title last year in a ranking as one of the 100 best by Forbes Magazine, and for good reason. Among other perks, Enron employees enjoyed entry-level salaries of $36,600 for production jobs and $47,000 for entry-level specialist positions; a week of paid paternity leave for new fathers, up to 60 hours of paid college tuition credit a year, as well as a first-class health spa and dining room that opened at 6:30 a.m. When Enron’s stock price rose to hit $50, the company gave 50 stock options to every employee.

On Monday, those 50 stock options were worth about $9, and for some of the traders, the full impact of what was happening hit late last week when they were told Enron could no longer pay for lunches they ate as they worked on deals. But it won’t just be lunches that go unpaid once the final tally is completed. While Enron’s business partners have announced their exposure to the company in recent days, those expected to suffer much more will be many of Enron’s smaller vendors and its numerous charitable and nonprofit organizations its name had become synonymous with.

Typical of its generosity was its response following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Enron donated $1 million to support the relief and recovery efforts, sending $500,000 million to the American Red Cross and $500,000 to organizations set up by the City of New York. It encouraged its global employees to “make personal donations up to $15,000, which Enron will match and double.” It also held blood drives and collected supplies and children’s books for those affected New York and Washington, DC.

Enron also maintained a Matching Gifts Program for its employees for certain educational, cultural, health and community organizations. Almost $1 million a year in matching gifts are sent to organizations that its employees have cared about, with Enron matching dollar-for-dollar contributions from $20 to $15,000. Through the Matching Gifts, the company and its employees pledge more than $3 million annually to the United Way and 82 member agencies in the Houston area. Each year, Enron employees have adopted a United Way agency in a relationship based on volunteerism, not dollars. Recent benefactors have included Houston’s Ripley House, Boys & Girls Clubs and Search Homeless Project.

Educational programs that Enron has been part of include its support for promoting literacy in the Houston area, technology access, Rise Schools of Texas for children with Downs Syndrome, and higher education. The company has contributed more than $2.7 million annually for scholarships, grants and other gifts nationwide.

Still not estimated at this point are Enron’s generous contributions to Houston’s medical community. It has been a leading donor for many of the city’s research and teaching hospitals, but a full tally of what a loss would entail if Enron’s corporate donations were to end — estimated in the many millions — is not complete.

Whether the corporate giving continues — or is reduced as expected, Enron has done much more for the city and the communities it serves than by simply dropping money into projects, It has taken an active role in improving the Houston community and other locations where it had employees. Houston’s Earth Day celebrations were renamed Enron Earth Day three years ago, and the company also is a major sponsor of similar events in Portland, OR and California. Many of Houston’s cultural events carry an “Enron” logo as sponsor, with thousands of dollars each year contributed to Houston’s Alley Theatre, Wortham Center and the Museum of Fine Arts among others.

Besides carrying the corporate name on its entrance, the Houston Astros’ Enron Field also sees other benefits from Enron’s participation. To benefit The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, for four years Enron has contributed $1,000 to the clubs for every home run hit by an Astros player as part of its Enron Power Blast program For every grand slam, the contribution is $5,000. In the first three years, Enron donated almost $310,000, and in 2000 alone, it contributed $90,000.

To accompany all of Enron’s good deeds, it also has a roomful of awards attesting to its strength, innovation and prowess in business. Take, for example, a partial list of awards received in just the past two years:

Smart Business 50: This year, Enron was ranked No. 1 on the list of companies that have “embraced the web to enhance their businesses,” beating out United Parcel Service, General Electric, American Express, Schwab, Dell Computer and IBM Corp. It was No. 12 in 2000.

Most Innovative Company 1996-2001: For six consecutive years, Enron was named “America’s Most Innovative Company” by Fortune in its annual survey. Enron placed No. 18 overall on the list of the nation’s 535 “Most Admired Companies” and ranked among the top five in “Quality of Management,” “Quality of Products/Services” and “Employee Talent.”

“Ten Stocks to Last the Decade”: Ironically, Enron was listed as one of the 10 growth stocks “you might want to add to and hold in your investment portfolio,” according to the August 14 issue of Fortune magazine. The magazine said Enron and the nine other companies had this in common: “They all share exceptional management and an ability to execute no matter what happens in the macro-economy…The success of EnronOnline and the company’s potential in broadband services make Enron a winning stock wager in the long term.”

And what about Enron’s leader, Kenneth Lay, who had been touted as a possible appointee to President Bush’s cabinet or even a future mayor of Houston? As chairman and founder of Enron, Lay had turned the company over to men he believed were able managers, appointing his long-time second-in-command, Jeffrey Skilling, as CEO in January. Lay had been moving more into the political arena before and after George W. Bush’s election, and had become one of the Republican Party’s go-to fundraisers. Enron led the way in corporate donations for Bush, and Lay was spending more time in Washington, DC and less overseeing his company as the new president put together his energy policy.

Enron’s chairman has long led an aggressive campaign first to free up the natural gas market, and more recently to restructure the power market. As a manager, Lay’s philosophy has been to hire the best and the brightest and follow where they lead. That strategy boosted the company to the forefront of the energy market, but it backfired in other areas, notably broadband, water, and its Indian power generation plant. One laid-off employee leaving Enron’s headquarters this week said he would follow Lay anywhere, calling him an innovative leader.

Enron’s website gives an historical snapshot of the company’s goals:

“1986 to become the premier natural gas pipeline
1990 to become the world’s first natural gas major
1995 to become the world’s leading energy company

Possibly that should have been enough.

As for Houston — in 1888, poet Ernest Lawrence Thayer said it best in “Casey at the Bat”:

“Oh! somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Mudville — Mighty Casey has struck out.”


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