Happy February! For this month’s recognitions, I would like to salute some of the volunteer committees working on internal processes and improvements.
First, a grateful shout-out to the Advisory Council led by past President Steven Goolsby. They delivered our slate of nominees to stand for president-elect, treasurer, and vice president– sections, 2024-25.
Is your contact information up to date in the AAPG membership directory, so that the ballot will reach you properly in the spring?
Second, a huge thank you to the delegates and other volunteers who personally contacted lapsed members to remind them about their 2023-24 dues. Quite a few said they simply had forgotten and promptly paid. It was quite a successful campaign.
Last but not least, the committee working on the IMAGE 2024 technical program is hard at work in both a proactive mode – inviting key speakers in specific subject areas, and also in an open mode – soliciting abstracts from all colleagues with interesting and relevant technical work to share. Please do send in your IMAGE abstracts for consideration as soon as able. The website is now open.
A Month for Coming Together
In some parts of the world, February brings a holiday to celebrate togetherness. St. Valentine was a priest of the early Christian church who was martyred under the Roman Emperor Claudius II for secretly marrying soldiers who were required to remain single. Sometime later in history, his feast day became a time to celebrate the value of love/marriage/partnership. No man is an island – life is better when you are connected to others.
“AAPG serves us best when we are aligned around our common interests, forming communities in which we learn from and share with each other for mutual benefit.”
It turns out that Valentine is also the patron saint of beekeepers. Bees of course are a prime example of social cooperation. While each individual has its own tasks, the overall success of the hive depends on the sum of those individual contributions. It isn’t too far of a leap to see why Valentine’s symbolism was extended from social bonds between two individuals, to the social bonds of an interdependent community.
While not a direct analogy, over the last month I have been thinking a lot about how AAPG serves us best when we belong to communities aligned around our common interests, learning from and sharing with each other for mutual benefit. Over the years, members have done exactly that, creating the Division of Environmental Geosciences, the Division of Professional Affairs, the Energy Minerals Division and the Petroleum Structure and Geomechanics Division. Each of these is a vehicle to cut across geographic boundaries and bring together members working on similar projects and problems. In addition to less-formal special interest groups and technical interest groups, members have also self-organized to form the Young Professionals Network and the Women’s Network. All of these are examples to demonstrate that, while local societies and meet-ups are and have always been key, our members also want to link to others with similar interests and/or demographics who could be anywhere in the AAPG world.
If you have been following the “Reimagine AAPG” restructuring proposal, you will recognize that enabling communities of common interest is the central organizing principle. Our members have spoken loudly and clearly that they want AAPG to:
- Advance the geoscience and technology of energy
- Enable career and professional growth
- Provide opportunities for networking and community.
An expanded leadership table will have places for elected leaders from a variety of technical and membership groupings. Each grouping is designed to better bring people together to achieve critical mass and deliver mutual benefits. If you have not already, I invite you to watch the webinar recording dated Jan. 8, 2024 explaining the Reimagine restructuring proposal and its benefits, as well as other improvement initiatives, at
Video link:https://vimeo.com/901295968
Password:Reimagine_AAPG
However, if you just want the “Cliff’s Notes” highlights of the restructuring proposal, you can read the accompanying sidebar to get the general drift. For a shorter video released last year as an introduction, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHMGwCHgVew
In closing, I wish you a short but happy month, perhaps celebrating the value of mutually supportive relationships both personal and communal. And as always, I invite your comments and suggestions on AAPG and its future at the mailbox [email protected].
Until next month,