When Jeff Immelt became the ninth GE Chairman on September 7, 2001, no one could foresee the momentous events that would affect the entire world during the next year - the terrorist attack on September 11, and corporate scandals bringing down once top-ranked companies such as Enron and Tyco. As Immelt said on his first anniversary as CEO, during the entire year he "never had an ordinary day."

But Immelt kept the company focused on its historic strengths:

• Technology, with increased investment in research and product development;
• Customers, putting greater emphasis on sales leadership and meeting customer needs; and
• Citizenship, making it clear that a "great" company in a business sense can also be a "good" company in the eyes of the public and our communities.

And Elfun is an integral part of what makes GE a "good company." As Immelt put it, "GE is a more than 120 year-old company, and we've been able to stay on top for so long for many reasons. We've always been committed to our investors. We've always been committed to change. We've always made a tremendous commitment to be competitive... not just in the US but also around the world. But another thing that has allowed us to stay on top has been that we've given back to our communities. And that is where Elfun comes in. Elfun is the public face of GE. It represents the tremendous energy we have to give back to our communities."

With the start of a new century, Elfuns looked for new ways to fund the energy and enthusiasm of an ever-growing army of worldwide volunteers. The Elfun Community Foundation was launched in 2001 to provide a tax-deductible vehicle for Elfuns to support thousands of volunteer efforts around the world.