WorldWide Drilling Resource

Dan Carrocci www.drill-safe.com 57 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® SEPTEMBER 2013 Focus on NDA Join WWDR for the 2013 National Drilling Association Convention at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort in Orlando, Florida, October 17-19. Thursday is golf day, followed by cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres in the exhibitor area at 6:30 p.m. After the welcome and opening re- marks Friday, enjoy seminars throughout the day. There will be breaks between sessions to allow you to hit the trade show area and visit with vendors. Earn eight professional development hours with attendance to education sessions on topics such as drilling and production thread compounds; geotechnical drilling quality control and assurance; safety; and new revenue streams for drilling professionals. Michael A. Salvadore, Jr. is set to discuss equipment and business ap- praisals; and WWDR Contributing Writer Tim Connor will reveal critical basics every manager or supervisor must under- stand, embrace, and implement. Friday’s evening festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails, followed by the President’s Dinner at 7:30. There’s sure to be much fun, entertainment, awards, and door prizes! Start Saturday off with a buffet break- fast and another great day of education sessions interspersed with plenty of time to browse the exhibit area. For more information, visit: www.nda4u.com or call 877-632-4748 Northeast Geotechnical Supply had a great time last year. WWDR photo. GEFCO Training Class 2013 Through the Eyes of a Student...Part I by Veronica I. “Ronnie” Jones Managing Publisher As I arrived that Sunday afternoon, I was pleasantly greeted by the GEFCO rep at the baggage claim area and seat- ed beside him was a gentleman from India, T.T. Paran thaman. This school attracks people from everywhere! We waited for the final student to arrive and headed off to Enid. It was surpris- ing to see how four adults and a whole bunch of luggage fit inside and in the trunk of that small vehicle. This year the picnic was different from the last time I attended many years ago. They held it in the park across the street from the manufactur- ing plant. There was something else new - I had my trusty iPhone with me and used it to upload some photos of the goings-on to WorldWide ’s Facebook Page - and of course that Canon Rebel (my partner) was used as well. You can see a few smiling faces you might know in this first photo. D a p h i n e , whose official title is “Sales Admin. Asst.- T r a i n i n g Coordinator”, is second to the right and beside her are some of the students with whom I would become quite good friends in the days that followed. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon and there was “food-a-plenty” along with cooling r e f r eshmen t s . GEFCO is a fam- ily-oriented com- pany. Even the children had fun! Just before the afternoon festivi- ties broke up, it was time to check out Look for the Hard Hat and GEFCO Training Manual each month the equipment brought over and get a feel for what we are about to embark on our hands-on educa t i ona l efforts. This is the beautiful service rig, which you might notice, has that same “new look” appearing in GEFCO ’s advertisements lately. I had never seen this vehicle before and was really impressed, as were many of the students and even professors. Of course, therearealways cleanup activ- ities that must be done! Then, as we were just about to leave for the hotel and for employees to go home, Heidi Gore, the Marketing Manager for GEFCO, gath- ered everyone up near the beautiful rig for our first group photo opp. It was dif- ficult to get both Heidi and me in the same photo since we were both the photographers with the cameras, so I asked our expert Editor Bonnie Love to do her magic and place us together in the photograph. I think you will agree, she did a marvelous job! Be sure to look for the Training Manual and “ RED GEFCO hard hat” next month as we continue our journey. *The GEFCO brand name is now an Astec Industries Company.