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Officers Column
"Times, They Are A-Changin"
Look out; those pesky folks on the
RMAG Board of Directors are making
changes again. It does not seem like
anything stays the same anymore!
I can remember when the RMAG
had a luncheon talk every Friday. In
those days, I did not even have to look
up the talk. I would often just go down
to the old Petroleum Club Building or
the Denver Athletic Club Building and
get in line for the luncheon. We met
in the same place at the same time
every week.
Then the oil and gas industry went
through hard times, and attendance
at the luncheons dropped off. Folks
were too busy just trying to keep their
jobs to spend every Friday going to a
luncheon talk. The RMAG responded
by changing the luncheon meetings to
a bimonthly schedule. In response to
complaints about problems with the
meeting rooms, we have changed
where we meet. Today, we mainly
meet at the Marriot, but there are
occasions when we meet elsewhere.
You definitely have to check the RMAG
website or the Outcrop to make sure
you know where we are meeting these
days.
As tough as it is to keep up with
the luncheon meetings, we are
making some additional changes
that won’t help. One change that
the RMAG BOD is thinking about
is having some of the meetings on
a different day of the week. No,
we are not considering doing away
with the Friday meeting day. Rather,
we are considering supplementing
the Friday luncheon meetings with
an occasional meeting on another
day of the week. For example, we
recently had luncheon meetings on
Wednesday instead of our normal
Friday meeting times. This change
has been brought about by two main
considerations.
The main reason a couple of
meetings were recently moved to
Wednesday is because the Marriot
has no available meeting rooms on
a Friday for the next two months. I
looked at the schedule and called
Sandi to tell her that we were going
too long without a luncheon meeting.
One of the most important activities
we do as a society is to disseminate
the latest scientific advances in our
science to our membership, and
I consider the luncheons to be an
important avenue for this aspect of
our society. Sandi agreed that we were
going too long without a meeting, and
she quickly found alternate meeting
dates for us. We decided to have a
couple of meetings on Wednesday
as an experiment. One reason for
choosing Wednesday instead of trying
for a Friday meeting somewhere else
is that changing the meeting location
from the Marriot would involve added
cost. The Marriot gives us a discounted
price for the lunches because we hold
most of our large events with them.
We already get complaints about the
costs of the luncheons, so moving to
another venue is an option that we
hesitate to exercise.
The second reason we chose
Wednesday meeting dates is that we
have been getting increasing pressure
from many of our members to have
some of the luncheons on another
day of the week besides Friday. These
members work for companies that give
Fridays off. I was shocked at how many
Denver-based oil and gas companies
now use “flex” scheduling and give
Fridays off. The number includes most
of the major independents working in
Denver. Our members who work for
these companies are often committed
to family obligations on their Fridays
off, and cannot attend the RMAG
luncheon meetings. We therefore
decided to try a couple of meetings on
Wednesday to see what the response
will be.
Our current plan is to continue to
have the bulk of our meetings on Friday,
but to plan a few on Wednesdays so
we can include those folks who are
not downtown on Fridays. Most of the
Wednesday meetings will be booked
when we cannot get meeting rooms
on a Friday. So please check on not
only where we will be meeting for the
luncheons you want to attend, but
also when. We will have the meeting
time designated in the Outcrop, and
also on our website, and let us know
how you feel about the changing
meeting times.
I have one last word to say about
the luncheons. I know a lot of our
members feel that the lunches cost
too much. If I went to a restaurant for
a meal and had to pay that much for
what I got, I’d feel like I was not getting
my money’s worth either. However,
you have to keep in mind that the price
of the meal also includes the cost of
the meeting room and motel services.
Without the support of the folks buying
the lunches, we would not be able to
have the Friday luncheon talks. I have
bought my lunch at the RMAG talks for
years because I know that by doing
so, I am contributing to the RMAG
by providing the financial resources
necessary to allow the organization
to continue to host luncheon talks.
I know that the luncheons provide
me with the opportunities to network
with my fellow scientists and to learn
more about my science during an
interesting presentation. You won’t
hear me complain about the costs
of the lunches, nor will you hear
a complaint about the food being
served. I don’t go to the talks for the
meal.
One last change I need to mention
is that we are no longer printing an
RMAG membership directory. The
logistical problems with trying to
get the directory together every year
and the costs involved have become
prohibitive. Instead, we now have an
internet directory for our members.
It is easy to access through our
website (www.rmag.org). Just go to
the website, click on the membership
link, and request a log-on password.
We’ll email back a password for you,
and you can change the password
to anything you want once you’ve
logged on. You can also update your
membership information or look up
other members using their name
or employer once you’ve logged on.
We feel like this directory will stay
more up-to-date than the printed
version, and I’ve personally found
it to be a great resource for use in
finding contact information for our
members.