For the past 20 years, the AAPG Foundation has continued to be an active and often dynamic factor in Association activities.
Some of the historical landmarks include:
♦ In 1991, the Foundation Trustees expressed a desire to support the AAPG Distinguished Lecture and Visiting Petroleum Geologists programs; corporate support was received for the Treatise Fund; and additional solicitations were made for AAPG’s 75th anniversary of the Association.
♦ Don O’Nesky was appointed the Foundation’s deputy executive director in March 1992, and the main focus turned toward increasing the operating fund through fund raising, with the Association approached for financial assistance; the AAPG Executive Committee voted to contribute to the Foundation’s Operating Fund 85 percent of the proceeds received from the Offshore Technology Conference for the period 1993-97, a move that could be ratified on an annual basis by succeeding Executive Committees.
♦ The first AAPG Foundation Chairman’s Reception was hosted at the 1994 Houston annual convention.
♦ Lyle Baie was appointed Foundation executive director in May 1996; the University Subscription program was born when Datapages went to CD-ROM. Trustee Associates could now purchase the new CD-ROM library and donate to university libraries for $10,000.
♦ A voluntary contribution was added to AAPG dues statements ($1 per year of membership) in 1997. In the same year, O’Nesky became the new executive director and the L. Austin Weeks Undergraduate Grant program was initiated. A $1 million gift from L. Austin Weeks meant that now an annual grant for $1,000 would be given to each chapter, with $500 of the $1,000 going directly to the student and $500 to the geology department.
Some very significant funds were established soon thereafter. The Halbouty Named Grant was created, and Daniel Busch provided $25,000 to the AAPG Foundation in the form of a gift annuity to establish the Daniel A. Busch Library Fund.
♦ The late 1990s were a time of recognition for AAPG donors. The Founder’s Award (now renamed the Chairman’s Award) was established to recognize Foundation donors, and the first honoree was Michel T. Halbouty in 1999; the Trustee Affiliates were created for spouses of deceased Trustee Associates, and the name was soon changed to Honorary Trustee Associates; the Teacher of the Year Award was established, and L. Austin Weeks was voted the second recipient of the Chairman’s Award.
♦ Rick Fritz was ratified as Foundation executive director and Don O’Nesky became deputy executive director in 1999.
♦ Carolyn Shoemaker gave the first Michel T. Halbouty lecture at the 2001 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in Denver; that same year James E. Wilson was approved for the Chairman’s Award.
♦ More funds were established as the years went by, such as the Chairman’s Named Grant, the Named Public Service Endowment, the E.F. Reid Scouting Endowment Fund, the Special Publications Fund and the Holland Professorship Fund, as more individuals came to value the services that the Foundation provides to the community.
♦ Trustee Associate Membership steadily climbed since its inception. The entry fee went from $7,500 to $10,000 to $12,500, and is presently at $15,000. Membership is now 275.
♦ A multi-year capital campaign began in 2005 under the leadership of Jack C. Threet and Larry Funkhouser, co-chairs of the Financial Campaign committee. The goal began at $25 million and was increased to $35 million in 2008. (Both gentlemen were later named recipients of the Weeks Medal.)
♦ In 2008, Marta Weeks-Wulf became the first recipient of the Weeks Medal for her significant contributions to the Foundation. T. Boone Pickens receiveed the Weeks Medal the following year for the same reason. Together, these two individuals gave nearly $20 million to the Foundation.
♦ The establishment of a Canadian AAPG Foundation office was approved in 2008. That project is still in process. Also that year, the Legacy Society concept was introduced to recognize those who have expressed an interest in leaving a bequest to the AAPG Foundation.
♦ Following the resignation of Rick Fritz from the Association and the Foundation in 2011, David Curtiss was hired as the new executive director and David Lange assumed the new title of deputy executive director.
Finally, the Foundation Trustees are grateful for those who have served and continue to serve in various capacities. New campaigns will commence, new funds will open and more students and geologists will reap the harvest, as evidenced in the more than 30 existing programs maintained by the Foundation.