The AAPG Feature Staffer
Editor's Note: There are two groups of people without whom AAPG would cease to exist; volunteers and AAPG staff. The first group are the key to making the Association the success that it is. However, it is the second group that facilitates the work of the volunteers.
The AAPG staff are the grease and oil that keeps the Association running. I choose that metaphor purposely, as the staff are the people who do the day to day dirty work that keep the Association running smoothly. All too often their work goes unappreciated by the membership, so, in an effort to help bring them the recognition they so richly deserve, I am introducing a new feature to The Delegates' Voice, the AAPG Feature Staffer.
The feature staffer of this issue is, of course, Donna Riggs. Now most of you will say that you know Donna, but do you really know her?
Introducing: Donna Riggs
Donna Riggs has worked with and for the House of Delegates almost its entire existence. She initially came to AAPG in the mid 1960s having just returned from Europe and Korea with her husband, Sam, who was in the military. This "overseas experience" was a factor in the job offer because one of the concerns of the Association at that time was outsourcing (a word we did not use back then) its membership mail list to a computer service using key punched cards and tape storage. There were questions about our many international addresses.
At that time the Executive Director and Office Manager were bringing into Headquarters Office several functions which had been carried out by committees. She was assigned to work on two of these, Distinguished Lecture and Short Courses which she did for the next three years.
Around 1969-70 Donna left AAPG to work with Sam in their own business and to care for their daughter, Poppy. It was during this time that the House of Delegates was formed replacing what was previously the Business Committee. Returning to AAPG in 1973 to work for Maxine Phillips in the Membership Department placed her in the department with staff support responsibility for the House of Delegates. She assisted Ms. Phillips several years in all aspects of the department but more and more of the HoD work fell to Donna. Don O'Nesky replaced Maxine Phillips in late 1978 with Donna continuing as the HoD liaison. In 1980 she became manager of the department with full responsibility for supporting the HoD.
She has attended most of the 35 meetings of the House having missed only a few of the very first ones. She says that working with the delegates from around the world is always interesting and having a new Chairman of the House each year is refreshing because you never know exactly what to expect.
We all know that taking care of the HoD is not a one-person job. It requires contributions from many on the staff, all of whom offer Donna their assistance and expertise when called upon to "help with the HOUSEwork"!