Editor's note: Candidates for AAPG office have been given the opportunity to respond briefly to the subject: "Why I Accepted the Invitation to be a Candidate for AAPG Office." Their responses -- and biographical information provided by each candidate and edited only for grammar and spelling, including the biography -- will be published in the EXPLORER beginning here and continuing through the next two issues. Responses will be available throughout the election on the AAPG Web site. Ballots will be mailed in the spring.
Here are the responses from vice president candidates Ben D. Hare and Neil F. Hurley. Candidates were asked to limit their responses to 500 words.
By Ben D. Hare
I
am honored to be a candidate for AAPG vice president
and have the opportunity to further serve the premier
professional society for petroleum geologists.
I have been fortunate to work on three vital committees
for AAPG — Education, Resource Evaluation (as chairman
and member) and, most recently, the Government Affairs
Committee for the DPA. Service on these committees
has allowed me to interact with many members of AAPG,
especially with past and present officers. Many of
these officers (perhaps unknowingly) have been great
mentors and have provided models to emulate as I observed
the time and energy they expended on behalf of AAPG.
My committee participation has been a source of personal
professional growth and, I hope, benefited the AAPG
organization. As an officer I would look forward to
membership on a team steering AAPG into the future.
Recent Executive Committee teams have made great strides
to put AAPG on a sounder financial footing, to better
serve the members, to re-energize the standing committees
and to present sound scientific data to policy makers
regarding energy issues. We must continue to pursue
those initiatives.
AAPG must be financially strong to continue services
to the membership, such as hosting the APPEX meeting,
continuing education and upgrading online services.
Equally important, AAPG cannot exist in a vacuum;
policy decisions made daily affect the careers of
our members. AAPG can play an important role in providing
solid, scientific facts to policy makers without taking
political positions. AAPG also can provide energy
information and guidance to its members so they may
better inform the general public about key issues.
Much of the AAPG work is done within the various committees,
with broad oversight and direction by the Executive
Committee. Keeping the committees active and productive
must continue to be a goal.
Recent initiatives have defined terms for committee
members and chairs, ensuring change in the make-up
of the committees. We must strive to involve more
members in committee participation, especially newer
members. Currently, committees report their activities
annually in the December BULLETIN. Perhaps more members
would be encouraged to volunteer if committee activities
could be occasionally spotlighted in the EXPLORER.
Soliciting suggestions and comments from members on
issues through EXPLORER columns also might present
new ideas to the committees.
My career has been mainly as an explorationist and
manager in both public and private companies involved
primarily in new field wildcat and frontier exploration.
This has given me a lot of insight on the data and
knowledge issues facing explorationists. As a manager,
director of a public company, and now a partner in
a start-up venture, I know how to set goals and execute
actions to achieve those goals.
If elected to vice president, my priorities will be:
- Be
an active and productive member of the Executive Committee
team.
- Identify and adopt
policies that keep AAPG financially sound.
- Promote broadening
of member participation on committees.
- Encourage AAPG
participation in state and national policy decisions.
- Advocate improvements
in member services, especially online data.
This nomination is an honor, and if elected I will
strive to devote the time and energy necessary for
the benefit of AAPG and its membership.
By Neil F. Hurley
I accepted
the invitation to be a candidate for vice president
of AAPG because I am proud of our society and I would
like to help maintain its leadership role in the petroleum
industry. As AAPG's Editor, I served on the Executive
Committee from 1997-2001, and I truly appreciate this
chance to once again serve the membership.
To describe
myself in a professional way, I would say that I strive
for technical excellence in wide-ranging interdisciplinary
studies. I interact on a daily basis with geologists,
geophysicists and petroleum engineers, and I appreciate
all of the various facets of our industry. On the personal
side, I bring common sense, respect, patience and a
good sense of humor to an organization. In addition,
I am a team worker with many creative ideas.
In recent
years, the vice president has provided assistance to
the president on various ad hoc assignments, and has
focused on continuing education, student affairs and
international relations. If elected, I will provide
strong leadership in each of those areas. In addition,
I would like to work to improve cooperation with our
various sister societies.
Although
most of my career — 14 years — has been spent in the
oil industry, I was honored in 1996 to receive the Charles
Boettcher Distinguished Chair in Petroleum Geology at
the Colorado School of Mines. Since then, my focus has
been largely on educating and mentoring both current
and future generations of petroleum geologists. Because
of this background, I believe that I am well prepared
to enhance continuing education and student-related
activities as vice president of AAPG.
I recognize
and respect the growing importance of the international
regions to AAPG. I have a strong international orientation,
as I have lived and worked in the United States, Australia,
Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Argentina, Tunisia, Egypt and
Scotland. My master's and doctoral students have come
from the United States, Turkey, Egypt, Venezuela, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Thailand, Spain, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and
Mexico. I see the need to make AAPG membership more
available to international petroleum geologists. As
one approach, I would like to pursue corporate sponsorships
of AAPG memberships, such as those that have been arranged
for students and members of other societies in recent
years.
I firmly
believe that the greatest advances in science are to
be made at the interfaces between the various disciplines.
The same is true about inter-society cooperation. My
membership, diverse background and strong record of
activities with SPE, SEG, SEPM, SPWLA and EAGE motivate
me to work with our sister societies. Specific areas
of interest are joint publications, continuing education,
lecture programs and meetings.
In summary,
I look forward to the opportunity to serve as vice president
of AAPG, and I promise to work hard on the various initiatives
that come before us. Whatever the results of this election
may be, I am confident that the membership will be well
served by any of the candidates who are currently standing
for office.
Read Vice President-Elect Candidate Biographies