Executive Message

John Wayne is a 100 Years Old

Some may feel that the title here is just a cheap trick to grab your attention. Well perhaps in some small way it is but, please read on. John Wayne, as he came to be known, was born on May 26, 1907 in a small Iowa town. This year would have been his 100th birthday. According to the January 19th issue of Time magazine he is still the third most popular movie star 28 years after his death. Why am I mentioning this? It pertains to something that I once read about him. Specifically it concerns his discomfort with the legendary 1952 Western High Noon. In the movie Marshal Will Kane, played by Gary Cooper, is seemingly abandoned by the citizens of Hadleyville in his hour of need. Wayne felt this was completely unrepresentative of the American western spirit. In response, seven years after the release of the movie, John Wayne along with director Howard Hawks made the movie Rio Bravo. Without needlessly immersing ourselves now in the political overtones of the two movies, it will be sufficient to say that Rio Bravo reflected a community that got involved and very much supported their Sheriff and the rule of law and order.

Certainly in Canada there is no need to familiarize all with the strong spirit of community and volunteerism that exists. As far back as World War I, Canada demonstrated to the world its strong commitment to volunteerism. Further evidence of the spirit is found in our own society, the CSEG. For many decades we have been fortunate to find the volunteer support we need to manage the many activities our Society operates. This is in sharp contrast to numerous other associations that have been forced to employ staff to in effect subsidize the volunteer shortfall. This column will not be about applauding our past efforts, it will however, deal with the future.

The benefits of an individual volunteering are undeniably felt by the entire membership. There is no doubt it allows the CSEG to maintain a whole series of committees that are focused on our role in oil and gas exploration. It is also responsible for allowing us to maintain an annual membership fee that easily provides superior value for what we charge. The problem we face concerns future needs. I am not talking about the need to raise dues but, rather sending out a clarion call for members to once again step forward. In essence, to borrow the sentiment from a well-known British Army poster, Your Society Needs You.

It will come as no shock that the face of our Society continues to change. The current membership demographics reflect an undeniable graying trend. This being the consequence of having a prominent component in the post 50 age group. The CSEG has been successful at recruiting new Geophysicists to take on entry level volunteering. In the years to come we will undoubtedly see many of them make their mark in our profession. In the meantime, we need to ask some of our more seasoned members, possibly for a second time, to seriously consider assuming a prominent role. In the near future we will be approaching many of you to consider taking up the challenge. What we would greatly prefer would be to have members step forward. This could be accomplished by calling either myself or anyone on the current Executive and discuss your preference and where you feel you could best contribute. This, of course, has a special meaning what with our forthcoming fall elections.

The CSEG traditionally has taken great pride in having our Executive elected. From Vice President through to Directors of Education, Member Services, Finance, and Communications, we need candidates. Our organizational structure allows for a full year as assistant or apprenticeship prior to assuming responsibility for the portfolio. It is fully understood that many have already accepted significant commitments outside the CSEG. Especially those with families there is no shortage of demand on our time. For those who have the ability to incorporate some CSEG volunteer time, we humbly request that you give it some significant thought. We certainly don’t want our professional community to resemble Hadleyville.

Whatever happened to the dueling westerns of yester year? Well Gary Cooper threw his star down in the dirt and rode out of Hadleyville. It should be noted that he rode off with Grace Kelly, so we needn’t feel too sorry for him. In Rio Bravo, Sheriff John T. Chance, played by Wayne, decided to stay and settle down with Angie Dickinson. Once again no need for sympathy. The former has been described as the greatest Western of all time and the latter well, the principal actor some how was able to eke out a career!