Scott Kidwell
With Thanksgiving just past, and Christmas on the way, it’s a time of hope and thanksgiving for all. I encourage you all to be thankful not just for the gifts you have, but for the challenges you face. These challenges make you stronger, sharper, and help you grow. With constant attacks, or challenges, from every direction on our industry, it is easy to get discouraged and buy into the noise. It is also easy to throw up your hands in disgust and say “they” will never get it. Giving up or giving in, however, is not the way to secure prosperity for the future; it is not the way to provide a better tomorrow for our sons and daughters. I won’t go as far as to say you should be thankful for your enemies, but it is well worth relishing the benefits of a challenge.
We as an industry need to stand strong and share all the good our industry does, not only in our region but around the world. Our industry has lifted and will continue to lift millions out of poverty and improve standards of living. Our industry will continue to provide clean water, clean air, cooked food, heated homes, clothing, technology, medicine, transportation, and migration, and the opportunity for a better tomorrow for billions of people across the globe.
In our current times, however, it is no longer enough just to produce the benefits of modern society for others. Today, we must also take the opportunities presented to us and refute the rhetoric that our industry is a thing of the past or even worse an evil of which the human experience would be better without.
If you find yourself believing “they” will never get it, the worse course of action you could take would be to give up. Instead, be thankful for the challenge. And, if you need some inspiration or even ammo in the battle against those looking to end our way of life, give the PBPA a call. The PBPA works on a daily basis with elected officials, regulators, media, and the public to provide a clearer understanding of who the oil and gas industry is and why the world would be a very sad place without us. Just this fall we’ve worked with government agents and other stakeholders on road, water, electrical, tax, emission, and seismicity issues, some at the local, some at the state, and others at the federal level.
At this time of the year be thankful we work in an industry that does so much good and be proud to share with all who will hear the good things our industry does on a daily basis. I know I am thankful for our industry, for our communities, and for organizations like the PBPA who take the challenges against our industry head on. Together, we hold the key to a better tomorrow for those at home and abroad, but if we aren’t willing to fight for that tomorrow, we can’t expect others to take up the cause.
I am thankful for the blessings in my life, but I am also thankful for the challenges. What are you thankful for?