ELECT YOUR NEXT BOARD MEMBERS
April has arrived in Houston, Texas, with beautiful arrays of flowers blooming in our gardens and bright green leaflets sprouting from our trees. This is a delightful time of year for Houstonians to sit outdoors and enjoy the bounties of South Texas spring. But now is not the time to sit back and relax! This month, we have much to do with the beginning period for HGS’s Board of Director elections and ongoing HGS’s informative networking Dinner and Luncheon meetings, HGS’s social gatherings, and affiliate conferences.
HGS Board Nominations
Like the emergence of new leaves on our live oak trees, we must also elect new members to our HGS Board. Our 2024 – 2025 HGS Board has been working diligently and steadfastly on advancing HGS’s mission statement of increasing membership, promoting innovative technologies and research through HGS’s meetings, conferences, short courses, networking events, etc., all of which are organized and hosted within a financially sound business plan. Hence, thanks to our founders, we have the ability and obligation to elect new members onto the board to allow them to continue advancing HGS’s mission.
Per HGS’s bylaws, there are seven HGS Board of Director positions open for election for the 2025 - 2026 HGS Board; they include President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer-Elect, Editor-Elect, and two Director positions. The HGS Nominations Committee has assembled an outstanding slate of candidates for these seven Director positions. Before voting for HGS Directors, I encourage all HGS members to download and read HGS’s Bylaws to familiarize themselves with the roles and responsibilities of each of these Director positions. Then, I encourage all HGS members to read each candidate’s short biography and their statement of interest to serve on HGS’s Board, both of which are published in this April 2025 issue of the HGS Bulletin. Voting will begin on April 10, 2025 and extends through midnight May 10, 2025. Finally, I urge everyone to meet the candidates at upcoming HGS events.
Upcoming Technical Events
On April 6 – 8, 2025, the GeoGulf2025 Conference will be held at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Technical sessions will cover a wide range of topics including, Regional Gulf Coast Geological Studies and Facies Analyses, Critical Mineral Explorations, CCUS, Water Resources and Environmental Geology, and Unconventional Plays.
On April 14, 2025, Michael Young, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research, Jackson School of Geosciences at University of Texas, will present “Comparing Life-Cycle Environmental Impacts and Cost of Electricity” at HGS’s Dinner Meeting in the Norris Conference Center. This insightful and timely presentation will discuss the environmental impacts of global supply chains that support the electricity sector growth and development over their lifespans.
On April 24, 2025, HGS will host a continuing education course on “Geomechanics for CCS”. This course is a half day class that will be held by Zoom and will provide an overview of essential elements of geomechanical modeling, data analyses, and impact of geomechanics on CCS projects.
Upcoming Social Events
The ever popular Shrimp Peel and Crawfish Boil will be held on April 4, 2025 at Pavilion 6 in Bear Creek Pioneers Park. In addition to delicious shrimp and crawfish, there will be live entertainment and fun games, such corn hole and tug-of-war, to challenge your friends and enjoy the lovely spring weather.
Please visit the HGS website for more information on these and additional upcoming events.
I close my letter with a quote from Robert F. Kennedy, “Elections remind us not only of the rights but the responsibilities of citizenship in a democracy.” Similarly, our HGS elections should remind us of our responsibilities as HGS members to cast our votes for the candidates that will best serve HGS and our geoscience community.
I look forward to seeing you at our April HGS events!
Penny E. Patterson