WorldWide Drilling Resource

37 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® AUGUST 2013 Energy Expo - Ignite the Industry! by Ed Moranski WorldWide Drilling Resource ® The 14 th Annual Energy Exposition in Gillette, Wyoming, was inspiring, educa- tional, informative, and fun. TheWyomingCenter CAM-PLEXwas overflowing with exhibitors ready to show off their products and services. The park- ing lot also had a nice display of heavy equipment, trucks, and rigs. The annual banquet was not to dis- appoint and an event for the record books. On hand, were a great variety of speak- ers to inform and educate the attendees along with an outstanding meal. Kit Jennings, expo founder, kicked off the evening with opening re- marks as he welcomed the packed house to the industry ceremonial din- ner. Ken Ivory, Utah state representative, gave a great presenta- tion on the use of federal lands and the purpose of the American Lands Council. People need to learn more and get in- volved as federal control of public lands is destroying them. We are losing access and use of OUR lands. To learn more, you should go to the Web site AmericanLandsCouncil.org . States need to take control of their lands, it has been done before; it’s time to do it again, before it is too late. Mark Gordon, Wyoming state treas- urer, delivered an emo- tional speech about what it will take to get Wyoming back on track. He said solid fundamentals built the economy, and it will be solid fundamentals such as these that get us back on track: - Fundamentals of agriculture - Fundamentals of energy production - Fundamentals of doing things that make people work Wyoming is the top coal producer in the country, 3rd in natural gas, 8th in oil, and one of the largest producers of ura- nium. Based on the U.S. energy market, they have the resources to put people back to work. Another interesting speaker was Ann McElhinney, film director and producer of FrackNation . Ann compared herself to a “Warm-up band to the Beatles” when hav- ing to speak before Keynote Speaker Liz Cheney. The truth is out there, see the documentary film FrackNation and decide for yourself. Every person in the drilling industry needs to get involved in what the heck is going on in this industry, and they need to start by watching this film. Clueless people aremaking decisions affecting all of us and making us depend- ent on foreign energy sources. Her mes- sage was loud and clear, Get Involved NOW ! Social media is an outlet to seek answers. Just because a Hollywood celebrity backs a specific cause does not mean they know what they are talking about. “Energy is marvelous. The absence of it is death. There are some awful peo- ple out there; they are so stupid they don’t know that the iPod came out of the ground.” The film was shown to a packed room on Thursday morning at the expo’s breakfast meeting. The finale included Liz Cheney, for- mer U.S. Deputy assistant secretary of state. WE THE PEOPLE... say it loud and say it so the folks in Washington can hear you! “We are on the verge of energy in- dependence and the only thing stopping us is an administration that has no under- standing at all of what it takes to make this country run and what it takes to generate electricity.” This was my second opportunity to hear Liz Cheney speak; she delivers from the heart and with passion. She address- es issues important to the people of this country. We need more people like her NOW . This is not the time to be com- plaisant, you need to speak up and let your voice be heard. If you missed the opportunity to see any of the speakers or the Energy Expo firsthand, you missed a lot. If you get the chance to see any of the presenters I’ve mentioned here, I would encourage you to do so. The Bobby Chitwood band entertained the crowd at the annual banquet. I really enjoyed talking with Ann McElhinney. She is an amazing speaker! Make plans to attend the 15 th Annual Energy Expo being held June 25-26, 2014 in Billings, Montana. WWDR photos. +0 .5 .&((&*$ -1&,)"*0 ' 3 ** 0.""0 (5,% *0 ##& " ("/ 7 " %*& ( 1,,+.0 7 4 7 ) &( .+0 .5!.&((&*$"-1&,)"*0 $) &( +) 10%+.&6"! *!2&' &/0.& 10+. ".2&*$ 0%" .+1*!3 0". *!1/0.5