The Future of the Society (of Energy Professionals)

Thursday, September 16, 2004 – This coming Wednesday, September 22nd, we will hold an unusual meeting of the chapter at Tropical Acres and I encourage everyone interested in energy issues and the energy business in South Florida to attend.

The meeting will begin as usual with a cocktail hour at 6:00 PM and dinner at 6:45 PM. There will be an executive committee meeting of last year’s board members at 5:00 PM, and all members are also encouraged to attend this meeting. As many of you know, we did not elect a new board this year choosing instead to form an executive committee to manage the chapter’s transition to a new future—a future that will be determined at this meeting.

Following dinner we will hold an open meeting with the goal to explore member and non-member views on energy issues and needs, and to develop an action plan that will redefine our organization’s objectives and activities for the time to come. The meeting format will be a moderated discussion involving all those present to identify common lines of concern, needs and proposals. The meeting will be held in lieu of a regular meeting presentation.

There are also other changes for this meeting. Telephone calls will not be made for reservations, but if you would like to attend, the restaurant would appreciate your notifying me beforehand so that we can give them an approximate head count. A telephone call or quick email will do. Nor will payments will be taken at the door as everyone will order off the menu at this meeting, on their own tab. And yes, you can still order filet mignon. Think of this meeting as a gathering of friends and energy colleagues for dinner at Tropical Acres, followed by a sharing of ideas and dialog about the programs, energy issues and needs that are of interest or concern to us.

Some explanation is required. These changes are necessary because in the last few months the board has seen stalwart Herb Gager retire, and several board members, notably Sandy Schneider and Dan Kahn, no longer able to fulfill active board duties. Sandy and Dan will continue on as chapter members but as past president and program chairman respectively there are now huge holes to fill but I’m confident we can evolve with these changes.

I’ll close with a note on recent events and, to my mind, how they relate to our organization’s importance. The first ever ENERGY NEWS column I wrote, in September 1992, changed because of Hurricane Andrew. Just as this column has changed because of Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan the Terrible.

No doubt many of you are in still in shock and struggling to get your lives back on track following Frances. I know I am. For six days last week I was without power, but it looks like it will be weeks and months before many thousands of those less fortunate will see electric power restored in their homes again. In many places, and for the foreseeable future, the economy and incomes will suffer mercilessly as tourism and new development give way to rebuilding, restoration and survival.

I raise this specter because we, as energy professionals, appreciate more keenly than most just how vulnerable energy infrastructure is to worldly forces—and the crippling incapacitation that can follow: economic, social and environmental.

The double-entendre heading for this column attempts to draw a parallel between the economic survival of society and our society’s role in its survival. Economic survival following natural events is dependent upon many things but none plays a larger role than energy stability—whether electricity or natural gas, or gasoline for transportation. Society is constantly exposed to natural and unnatural events, and it is the resiliency of energy infrastructure that determines how quickly we recover—and reestablish our communal strength.

I believe our society of energy professionals has expertise and knowledge to offer and is well positioned to host an ongoing public forum for the exchange of information and ideas and to contribute to our energy future.

Shared experience and expertise, working together and public outreach, can make a difference. I suggest that South Florida can benefit from our voice and experience—as energy professionals. It’s just a matter of making ourselves known.

I’m looking for your input and hope to see you at the meeting on Wednesday.

ROBERT FARMER Communications Chairt