Simeon Eburi - 2020-2021 SPE-GCS Chair
Thank you from The Virtual SPE-GCS Chair
It’s been a great pleasure serving you as SPE-GCS chair for the past twelve months! On August 1st, 2021 the new SPE Gulf Coast Section chair for the 2021-2022 fiscal year will be Nii Ahele Nunoo. He will lead the section and its members to new highs. The section is in great hands, and I wish Nii and the board continued success as they lead the section through the post-COVID environment and the previously announced intention to explore a merger with AAPG. In this final article, I will provide an update of some of the goals and accomplishments and share some final thoughts.
At the annual SPE-GCS kickoff meeting last year, I outlined some of the goals for the section with support from the board. Here’s an update:
- Deliver more virtual and hybrid (virtual and in- person) events for greater flexibility – The section offered many virtual and hybrid events throughout the pandemic for health, safety and flexibility.
- Enhance the online “On-Demand Content Library” and add more content with event recordings –
The On-demand Content Library was enhanced, and it now contains more than 50 recordings for both technical and soft skills topics available to all our members and affiliates.
- Advance digital efforts: evaluate and propose SPE- GCS Mobile App and deliver Podcast Initiative – The SPE-GCS Podcast launched successfully in June 2021. New podcast episodes will be released every two weeks. The SPE-GCS Mobile App was evaluated, proposed and approved by the GCS Board. The App will be developed as soon as enough sponsors are secured.
- Look for opportunities to collaborate with other SPE sections and external organizations – The SPE- GCS Data Analytics study group partnered with the SPE Calgary Section’s Data Science Engineering and Analytics group to organize a Geothermal Datathon (GTX 2021). The SPE-GCS Members-in-Transition (MiT) Committee organized a very successful Spring Hiring Event in collaboration with 46 professional societies.
The event had 37 employers and 429 job seekers.
- Deliver Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) soft skills sessions to our members – A new SPE-GCS Diversity and Inclusion Committee was created, and it was the first D&I committee created in an SPE section. The D&I Committee successfully organized its first webinar with an industry D&I expert to help increase awareness amongst
We accomplished many of the section goals. I’m also very pleased that with the help of an amazing group of SPE- GCS Board of Directors and section leaders, 1) we kept our members safe by introducing protocols for holding section events during the pandemic, following COVID-19 guidelines from local authorities and global health organizations; 2) we continued to raise money to support our scholarship program and the Scholarship Endowment Fund (SEF) and 3) we helped our MiT members through ongoing career transitions.
To engage members in a different way, I posted monthly discussion topics on LinkedIn under the hashtag #SPEGCSTalk to encourage collaboration and sharing of ideas and insights. I promised I would share some of the comments in the Connect newsletter so here it is – the most popular topic was the September 2020 topic with 3245 views, 8 comments and 24 likes: If you survived at least one energy industry downturn, what did you learn and what recommendations do you have for young professionals? Jeanne Perdue shared that “This industry is a roller coaster. In good times, you better sock away a big chunk of your salary to tide you over through the bad times.” The next popular topic with 569 views, 7 likes and 5 comments was the December 2020 topic: If you could describe the year 2020 with one word, what would the word be? Susan Howes said “Resilience”, Jeanne Perdue said “Stressful”, Amy Timmons said “Perseverance”, Joan Blackmon said “self-awareness” and Lindsey Ferrell said “Centrifuge”. To continue the conversation, here’s a link to a survey with all the topics posted so you can share more thoughts: forms.gle/MAFHqXy1CCQqcgDF9
Within SPE-GCS, here are a few events to highlight this month: The Data Analytics Study Group will host the 2021 Data Science Convention (hybrid event), the Membership Committee will host the SPE’s Great Talents talent show, the Innovate Committee will host the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit (in person) and the D&I Committee will host a webinar titled “Microaggressions: The What, the How and the Pitfalls.” Check the events calendar for more information and to register.
I consider myself the virtual SPE-GCS section chair because I started and just about completed my term during the COVID-19 pandemic and with virtual meetings. What I am most proud of is that as a section, we showed resilience and flexibility to adjust the way we network to overcome the challenges of the pandemic. We did not only survive together, but we rose to the challenge and succeeded. I look forward to seeing some of you in person at the 2021 SPE-GCS Awards and Scholarship Banquet (spegcs.org/events/6026/) on August 5th, 2021. Thank you for the opportunity to serve the SPE Gulf Coast Section!
Sincerely,
Simeon