Presidential Column

This is my last presidential column. With the annual general meeting in March, John Townsley will become the new CSEG president. I would like to thank the retiring executive for all their hard work over the last two years, namely Jennifer Leslie-Panek (Education), Carol Laws (Communications), Brock Hassell (Finance), Torr Haglund (Member Services) and a special thanks to François Aubin (Past President). Further I would like to wish the new executive (the new Directors and the incoming Assistant Directors) good luck in their future endeavours. The year has gone by quickly and it is thanks to the above individuals that it went by so smoothly.

The industry downturn certainly was a background to the year. Our membership held steady at close to 2300 but we certainly saw the effect of the downturn on our initiatives. We saw lower participation at a number of our events including the DoodleTrain, luncheons and the convention. Despite this we ended the year with a slight surplus. Next year’s executive will have more challenges ahead of them as the economic crisis continues.

I am particularly proud that the CSEG launched both new technical and social initiatives. Back in the spring a number of volunteers got together and organized the first annual CSEG T-wave Golf Tourney. This one day event was held at the Inglewood Gulf and Curling Club at the end of June. Further, the CSEG sponsored a workshop on microseismic in October at Canada Olympic Park. The event quickly sold out indicating strong interest in this new emerging technology. Thanks to all the volunteers that made these events happen.

Much of my time as President was spent on inter-society affairs. The CSEG along with the CSPG created an organization called JACC to run our joint conventions. Throughout most of the year we have been in negotiations with the CSPG and CWLS to bring the CWLS in as a permanent partner. It appears that we have a tentative agreement and I hope by the time this is published that the agreement will be signed. The other matter of interest to our members is that we have been in discussions with the SEG about their governance. Currently the CSEG is represented on the SEG council and has a voice in SEG governance. I personally think this helps keep the bond between the two organizations. The SEG is currently re-examining how it is governed and including us in these discussions.

The last thing I wanted to highlight was the CSEG Foundation. This was incorporated a couple of years ago as a charitable foundation so that people would have a venue to make charitable donations for purposes such as scholarships. I sat as the CSEG’s representative on this body. It was gratifying to watch the Foundation evolve and further define their purpose. With the transfer of Outreach to the Foundation I think they will do an excellent job of promoting the science of geophysics to our mutual benefit.

Lastly, on a personal note in preparing to write this column I went back and looked at what other Presidents have chosen to write as their farewell message. I particularly enjoyed reading Doug Bogstie’s musings about the CSEG Ski Sprees and his family remembrances of them. This year after much delaying my family is going for the first time. This was not a decision taken lightly. My wife and I have not skied since the kids were born so this year we have taken the plunge, taken lessons, got new clothing and equipment. I am thankful that the CSEG is acting as the catalyst for this to happen. I think this is one of the nice things about the CSEG, it is both a technical and social society. It has helped me grow as an individual and I am thankful for the opportunity I have had over the last year. I look forward to serving the society as a Past President and in other roles as time goes on.