Even with a year of preparation as president-elect, I find myself stepping into the role of Energy Minerals Division (EMD) president with some trepidation.
This concern is not about the people in the Division, nor the importance of the efforts EMD exerts on behalf of the technical missions of AAPG.
My concern is about finding the right avenues to direct the energy I see available in EMD – and finding the way to communicate that makes sure that it gets harnessed to strengthen the technical and scientific foundation of our Division and Association.
To do that, I think I have found some themes that can help focus our efforts – but they are neither glamorous new initiatives nor creative insights about petroleum geology or AAPG. I hope my time as president can be dedicated to hard work and open communication (especially with my fellow Division presidents), to:
♦ Define how Divisions new and old can best enhance AAPG’s technical mission.
♦ Decide how Division budgets can be structured to support that technical role.
♦ Upgrade and rejuvenate our communications tools (starting at websites, but looking beyond) to encourage participation based on recognized value.
♦ Expand the appeal and recognition of the Division and the Association to make it an even more visible voice for our industry.
I am excited to welcome and congratulate a team of elected officers I have come to know as talented, knowledgeable, energetic and dedicated.
With Fran Hein as president-elect, Jim Clough as vice president, Charles Boyer as treasurer, Bruce Handley as secretary and Andrea Reynolds as past-president, I know we have a strong Executive Committee ready to work together to address the challenges that our Division faces this year, and to provide effective and relevant support as the Association works through some exciting changes.
I also am pleased to serve an AAPG president, Lee Krystinik, whom I have appreciated as cheerful, thoughtful, insightful and fun for close to 30 years – and to make some new friends among the current leadership team as well.
I am likewise looking forward to the opportunity to work with – and continue to learn from – our Commodity and Supporting committee chairs and their vice chairs.
Whether you have just switched to a new resource area or are interested in what is going on in your area or other parts of the energy extraction business, look at some of the annual reports posted at the EMD website (login required) to see what a valuable information source these committees are.
EMD has a strong and still-growing membership interested in the resources and issues those committees address, from shale gas and liquids – what we now might call “mainstream unconventional” parts of the petroleum industry – to uranium, coal and oil sands, long-standing resource fields that always have been allied to the oil industry, to oil shale and gas hydrates, the unconventional resources of the future.
Our Energy Economics and Technology Supporting Committee puts together exciting reports on the common and crosscutting themes of the whole energy landscape.
EMD offers personal contacts and relevant information to any professional interested in the technical direction of the industry. Visit our website, contact our team and ask for help, offer a hand on EMD sessions or publications – or just give us some feedback.
I would be pleased to hear where you think EMD should go in the next year and beyond.