Volunteer Spotlight

Past and Present DoodleTrain Committee; Volunteers

Recently, I had the pleasure of talking with Bill, Doug, Vicente and Juan and am delighted that the enthusiasm that started the DoodleTrain still exists with Vicente and Juan at the helm today. Doug observes that the “CSEG has a phenomenal volunteer force. Empower them with authority and provide them the opportunity to effect change in the society”. It was that empowerment that allowed Bill and his fellow volunteers to create the DoodleTrain week in 2002 and led to the 13th DoodleTrain that is being held November 3rd – 7th, 2014. I participated in the first DoodleTrain and many subsequently as have thousands of CSEG geoscientists – so to Bill, Doug, Vicente, Juan and all the volunteers involved over the years – thank you.

Bill Nickerson is an educator at heart. Not only has his professional career included significant teaching opportunities, but he has also focused his CSEG volunteer time on education: DoodleTrain Committee, Director of Education, and Canadian Distinguished Lecturer Programme to name a few. Of all of these, Bill is inherently associated with the formation and first decade of running the CSEG DoodleTrain, yet he is quick to list the many other CSEG continuing education and executive committee members that stepped up to make it happen. He feels that a lot of long-term continuing education volunteers laid the groundwork and that the DoodleTrain
succeeded because a good group of people with a good idea were willing to do the work to make it happen.

In 2002, Doug Uffen was the CSEG President when the executive approved $10,000 seed capital to start the DoodleTrain but he played a more significant role when he became the Vice Chair – Chair – Past Chair of the Committee in the initial succession planning that laid the framework for the present committee. Doug first volunteered with the CSEG on the Annual Convention Technical Committee organising speaker mementos in the 1980’s, co-chaired Geo-Triad (1998) that the committee re-engineered and moved to the U of C, obtained a CSEG Meritorious Service Award in 1999, and served on the CSEG executive – all because volunteering provides a way to give back to the profession, a way to meet people and a
great opportunity grow with the CSEG.

Vicente Oropeza started volunteering with the DoodleTrain when he moved to Calgary in 2011 as a way to network and get involved in the industry. As a student he saw the effort put in by volunteers and he wanted to give some of his own time. Subsequently, Vicente took on a number of roles on the committee and is the current Chair of the DoodleTrain. As Chair, Vicente oversees a number of subcommittees that are responsible for curriculum, instructor liaison, venues, marketing, website and binder proof reading – to name a few – and, consequently, Vicente observes that
volunteering allows you to obtain leadership and planning skills valuable to your company.

Juan Joffre is the current DoodleTrain Vice Chair and will lead the committee next year as the Chair. Juan volunteers predominantly because he enjoys the educational content provided by the CSEG and wants to support that. At CNRL part of his role as a Special Projects Geophysicist is to teach and mentor and he extends that naturally into his volunteering roles with the CSEG. Aside from the DoodleTrain, Juan has been involved with Earth Science for Society (ESfS) – another education focused APEGA, CSEG, CSPG and CWLS initiative. Juan enjoys volunteering with the CSEG and comments that
it’s a big industry but Calgary is a small community.