What's with that Subaru billboard in Camden?
CAMDEN – A billboard here has a simple message, but one still likely to perplex passing motorists.
“Tom, thanks for 41 years of LOVE,” it declares from high above eastbound Admiral Wilson Boulevard.
And surely that heartfelt expression stirs a common response for many drivers speeding by: “Who’s Tom?”
One clue comes from the Subaru logo positioned next to the message, the only splash of color on an otherwise black-and-white presentation.
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Another hint’s offered by the billboard’s location — next to the boulevard at South 11th Street, just across from Subaru of America’s headquarters.
“Tom” is Subaru’s recently retired president, CEO and 41-year-employee Thomas Doll.
He left his executive posts on April 1, but thanks in part to the billboard, Doll’s experiencing a long goodbye.
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The farewell message went up one day before an Aug. 29 retirement party at Subaru’s headquarters, and is expected to remain into November, said company spokeswoman Jenna Moore.
“We wanted to use the billboard near the Subaru office to display a positive message of gratitude to Tom,” said Moore, who noted the sign frequently displays “encouraging Love Promise messages” that promote the company’s values.
Doll, a 68-year-old Pennsylvanian, saw the sign for the first time when he arrived for his party.
“I was absolutely blown away by the thoughtfulness of my Subaru colleagues,” he said in an email Monday.
“The billboard, and its meaning, made me cry,” Doll continued. “All the words in the world would be inadequate to express my feelings.”
Subaru's website credits Doll, now a corporate advisor to the Japanese-owned firm, with developing the annual Subaru Share the Love Event and the Subaru Love Promise, among other accomplishments.
Doll, who joined Subaru in 1983 as manager of operating procedures, became the firm’s president in 2013 and CEO in 2018.
Thomas Doll worked at three Subaru headquarters
Motor Trend named him its Person of the Year for 2016 in recognition of Subaru’s gains under his leadership.
“Doll helped the once quirky brand go mainstream by making Subaru a lifestyle choice instead of merely a vehicle to purchase,” the magazine said in announcing the award.
He worked at Subaru headquarters buildings in Pennsauken and Cherry Hill before overseeing the company's move to a $118 million Camden campus in 2018.
Doll also coined a word — starfull — based on the six stars in Subaru's logo. (Those stars represent a cluster named the Pleiades, known in the Japanese language as the Subaru, the website notes.)
Starfull "boils down to always being the best version of yourself," explained Moore.
Or, as Doll used it in his email, "I've spent 41 starfull years at Subaru and to see how our company has progressed has been rewarding. Our future is bright given how we have built the company.”
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Subaru of America says goodbye to Thomas Doll with billboard in Camden
