I’ve always loved to hear and tell stories.
I come from a family of story tellers and
musicians. Not a lot of it transferred to
me but I inherited a few slices of it from my
Oklahoma and Arkansas roots.
In the early 1900s my great grandfather
and grandmother on my dad’s maternal
side lived in northern Arkansas along the
scenic Buffalo River. It was difficult to
make a living in these rocky hills composed
mostly of Mississippian limestone cliffs.
There were timber and sawmills, plus
a little low-grade silver mining. Good
farmland was at a premium, but my great
grandparents were fortunate to have about
20 good acres that formed a bar along the
Buffalo River. They also owned a small ferry
at the only river crossing for miles. Between
the land, ferry and local work they made
just enough to raise their ten children.
Those were still hard times and there were
storms on the horizon.
Around 1917, just at the start of World
War II and the so-called Spanish flu
pandemic, my grandparents decided on a
plan to migrate into Oklahoma to find better
land and opportunity. It was a bold move
– to pull up roots while the world was in
turmoil.
But off they went. They moved 100
miles west to a town called Skiatook due
north of Tulsa in Osage County, Okla. They
were able to lease and farm good land.
In addition, they found new income by
pooling their mules and using them to skid
heavy oil-field equipment. Because of their
decision to move and innovate their work
they were able to buy their farmland and
build successful lives in farming and in the
oil fields.
Good Stories
It is sometimes said that every good
idea and every innovation needs a good
story. After 2020 we are now re-writing
our individual and collective stories.
Post COVID-19 reality has allowed AAPG
members to reach beyond their normal
geographical areas of influence. It is
said that “necessity is the mother of all
invention.” If that’s the case, then as a
corollary I say that “failure is the father of
most innovation.”
When AAPG’s face-to-face meetings
failed, we looked for members and staff
to develop new ideas. The first programs
impacted were AAPG’s Distinguished
Lecturer and Visiting Geoscientists.
Through new virtual technologies, staff
took these popular face-to-face lectures
worldwide and more than doubled
participation. It should be noted that both
programs are supported by the AAPG
Foundation.
The ability to change direction is at the
heart of innovation. When the economy and
pandemic began hurting programs in the
AAPG regions, they pivoted and developed
new fascinating programs to attract young
people and reach a broader audience
worldwide. For example, the Latin America
and Caribbean Region has developed
business programs and essentially mini-Hedberg conferences with participation
from top leaders and scientists. The Europe
Region developed several alternate-energy
forums and now many of their virtual
programs are reaching new scientists in
eastern Europe. Some of the face-to-face
luncheon programs in the Southeast Asia
Region went virtual and viral to attract
as many as 900 registrants worldwide.
You can see many of these programs on
AAPG’s calendar at AAPG.org/events/
calendar.
Don’t Get Stuck!
Innovators are rarely stuck in a rut,
they are always willing to change and
if the opportunity arises, change again.
Bob Merrill, AAPG’s editor, is one of those
innovators. He redefined the editor’s
position to have oversight over most of
AAPG’s science output. He added special
issues for the Bulletin and developed new
emphasis on alternate energy and carbon
capture, storage and utilization articles in
the EXPLORER.
Some of the Bulletin special issues
are focused on “super basins” based on a
new idea by Bob Fryklund and Pete Stark
with IHS. Charles Sternbach, Bob Merrill
and others have further developed this
concept into forums and papers. This
innovation has provided us with new ways
to understand the most productive basins
in the world.
Speaking of Charles, I would be remiss
if I did not note that another innovation,
“Discovery Thinking,” is about to have its
25-year anniversary at the next annual
meeting. Congratulations to Charles and all
those who have made Discovery Thinking
a great program for us to look forward to
every year!
Latest Innovation Thinking
This year AAPG, under the leadership of
past AAPG President Mike Party, Autumn
Haagsma and Jack Pashin, developed a
major CCUS conference with an incredible
list of speakers. It attracted significant
industry attention and sponsorship plus
more than 500 participants from around
the world. This CCUS program also
provided AAPG with the first significant
revenue from a conference in 2021.
AAPG’s Director of Innovation and
Emerging Science and Technology Susan
Nash’s “Pivoting” series has attracted
numerous members and non-members
to think about new opportunities,
especially in the energy transition and in
new technologies that can be applied to
traditional and transitional activities. In
addition, Susan worked with Doug Cook,
Bill Ambrose and Bruce Cutright of the
Astrogeology Committee to develop the
very popular Mars programs with Kirsten
Siebach and Michael Thorpe. Our last
program, called “My Favorite Martian
Outcrop” on April 22, had more than 600
participants.
Right now, AAPG’s Executive Director
David Curtiss and Managing Director of
Global Business Alan Wegener are putting
the final touch on the memorandum of
understanding to define the joint AAPG-Society
of Exploration Geophysicists joint
annual meeting. A lot of hard work and
innovation went in to building this joint
venture agreement. Soon, AAPG and SEG
volunteers will be working together to
develop new ideas and programs to bring
to the geologic community and beyond.
What’s the Point?
I could keep going, but I hope you see
my point. A lot of these innovations may
have never happened without significant
change and even failure of the systems we
relied on to provide our normal programs.
No thing – nothing is normal now.
Like my great grandparents, sometimes
you just have to make a move! Your AAPG
leadership is working hard to find the best
moves for AAPG into the future. Please
keep an open mind as we discuss new
opportunities. Some of these may only be
available during this time of upheaval and
reorganization.
The good thing is that geoscientists
tend to be optimistic and flexible. Thanks
to all the innovators who recognize
opportunities and bring them forward
to make our professional lives more
rewarding and productive.