"Strength lies in differences, not similarities." – STEPHEN R. COVEY
Membership Trends
Since 2014, we’ve experienced a steady drop in our membership every year. A few years ago, our combined professional and student membership was around 20,000; presently, it’s around 15,000. About 6,000 professional and student members allowed their memberships to lapse after the end of 2018. I’m assuming this is an oversight from these members and I’m hopeful many of them will renew in the coming months. With that said, the historic downturn and volatile oil prices have left a mark on our membership levels, and it’s indeed a big concern that we’re trying to address.
In an effort to educate industry professionals across the Gulf Coast Section about the SPE and the benefits of membership in the society, the Membership Committee is relaunching our Ambassador Program. The SPE-GCS board is in the process of identifying SPE ambassadors – some of our most active and dedicated volunteers – across several companies in our industry. Ambassadors will conduct SPE information sessions to connect with professionals in their respective companies and answer questions about SPE, explain the benefits of membership, discuss potential volunteer opportunities and more. The committee will have a full-fledged plan in the coming weeks to launch this program. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact me directly.
Women in Energy (WIN)
The inaugural SPE Gulf Coast Section WIN Congress was held January 18, 2019. Women are a minority in our industry and addressing gender gap challenges is essential. Until mid-2018, the Gulf Coast Section didn’t have a dedicated team or committee to organize events to address these issues. As the world’s largest SPE section, I admit that we were late to this game, considering smaller sections have already initiated activities and events on the topic.
The newly formed WIN committee launched their congress in grand style with a unique event that drew a sell-out crowd. Several executives from various segments of our industry spoke about diversity in leadership roles, best practices for encouraging diversity, and the steps needed to overcome gender biases in the workplace.
Please join me in congratulating the WIN committee for introducing this event and topic so successfully. We expect the committee to grow in the coming years.
A&D Symposium
The third annual A&D Symposium organized by the Business Development study group took place on January 31st. The event was a huge success, with a packed crowd of more than 250 professionals from various organizations in attendance. The symposium provided a combination of basin-focused presentations and A&D reviews that were well-received by the audience. The Business Development study group has been one of our highest performing study groups for several years. Please join me in congratulating them on holding such a successful event for the third year in a row!
All the best!