The December EXPLORER, marks the end of an era.
Our final EXPLORER of the year is also the final issue for longtime managing editor Vern Stefanic.
After more than 32 years with AAPG at the helm of the EXPLORER – 394 editions – he’ll be shifting his focus to Monarch Productions, where he’ll be involved as a producer-writer-director of web-based broadcasts, documentaries and other film and media projects.
Stefanic joined AAPG after a 10-year career with the Tulsa World newspaper, where he covered a variety of subjects before being named the paper’s entertainment editor and film critic.
He is a graduate of the University of Tulsa, where he had two college careers – the first in journalism, the second in playwriting.
In addition to his EXPLORER duties, Stefanic has been involved since 1998 in helping to create the opening sessions and other production events for the AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition (ACE) and International Conference and Exhibition (ICE), and more recently in producing the IBA awards ceremony and the annual officer candidate videos.
Mostly, though, you know him for his leadership of the EXPLORER, for which I’ll be succeeding him as managing editor.
I’d be lying if I said replacing Vern isn’t a daunting prospect, but I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor in the two years I’ve worked under him. His encyclopedic knowledge of AAPG and of the industry, his journalistic instinct and insight, his talent for effective communication and dynamic writing, but most of all, his genuine affection and respect for people – whether they’re readers, members, sources or employees – have defined his impact on the EXPLORER and AAPG, and they’ll be qualities I’ll strive to emulate as I fill the role.
Godspeed, Vern. You’ll be greatly missed.