Six new Regular Members have been elected to the AAPG Foundation’s Members of the Corporation.
Elected in Houston during a Members of the Corporation meeting were:
- Robbie Gries, Denver.
- Don O’Nesky, Venice, Fla.
- John Shelton, Tulsa.
- Ray Thomasson, Denver.
- Marta Weeks, Miami, Fla.
- Mike Wisda, Houston.
Weeks was elected to replace Marlan Downey, who was elected as a member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
The election of Gries, O’Nesky, Shelton, Thomasson and Wisda expands Regular Member membership to 20, which is intended to broaden and diversify the membership base and provide additional positions for recognizing persons who demonstrate a continuing, significant interest in the Foundation.
The role of the Foundation Corporation is broadly to influence the direction and activities of the Foundation. As such, the Members of the Corporation elect members from their ranks to be Trustees of the Foundation.
While not a requirement, all 20 members of the corporation also are Trustee Associates.
Downey was elected Foundation Trustee to fill the unexpired term of Eugene “Bud” Reid, who died last October. Bill Gipson was elected Foundation Trustee to replace Jack Threet, who is not seeking re-election. His term expires July 1.
Threet said that the combination of his age plus the available pool of highly talented Trustees helped him decide to not seek re-election for another three years.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed being a Trustee of the Foundation for the past 12 years and being chairman for the past five years,” Threet said. “The support I received from my fellow Trustees, the staff and all our generous friends of the Foundation was always most welcomed and allowed us to pursue proudly, generously and successfully the mission of the Foundation and assure even more success for the future.
“I truly look forward to continuing my service to the Foundation as Trustee Emeritus, particularly in the upcoming financial campaign,” he said.
New officers for the Board of Trustees will be announced in the July EXPLORER.
The AAPG Foundation recently received funding for two new Digital Product University subscriptions.
Funding for a Texas Tech University subscription was endowed by member Michael R. Wisda, of Houston, and funding for Texas A&M University was endowed by Will Green, Midland, Texas. Each university will benefit in perpetuity of this gift, which provides over 450,000 pages of AAPG’s digital library.
In other Foundation news:
- William and Jean Crain, of Danville, Calif., have provided funding for an annual $1,000 grant in their names for a geoscience graduate student at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
- AAPG President-elect Lee Billingsley, of San Antonio, has accepted an invitation for membership to the Foundation Trustee Associates.
- Also joining the group is Thomas J. Schull, of Danville, Calif.
The group currently has 265 members.