The Estevan Oilfield Technical Society (OTS) used their annual general meeting on Nov. 3 to take care of some routine business, and to discuss a number of promotional initiatives.
OTS members reviewed their special events and their other efforts from 2015, and looked ahead to next year.
The OTS suffered a small deficit of a little more than $1,000 during the most recent fiscal year.
“It was a down year for the OTS compared to previous years, which is to be expected with the way the oil patch is,” said Estevan OTS president Brett Campbell.
The organization has typically had a surplus each year.
But the OTS still donated to several community projects this year: $5,000 for the Estevan Public Library’s teen area; $7,500 for the Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup Junior A hockey tournament; and $10,000, to be paid out this year and next year, for the 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games.
The OTS will be the sponsor for the main bleachers at Estevan’s new track and field facility thanks to their sponsorship.
“We’re still staying very active in the community,” said Campbell.
The OTS will once again host their Oilmen’s open curling bonspiel in March and their golf tournament in June next year. They also help out with the Oilwomen’s Golf Tournament in July.
They continued to celebrate the oil patch’s history by presenting the Dayman family with a lifetime achievement award; and they promoted the industry’s future through their scholarship program, which offers at least one $2,000 scholarship each year to a student considering a career in the oil sector.
While donations for the OTS’s events were down last year, the numbers for the golf tournaments and the bonspiel were good.
“It keeps the morale of the employees up if they’re able to go golfing or curling,” said Campbell.
Companies who cover their employees entry fees to attend those events benefit because of the networking opportunities those events provide.
“Our events are all about bringing like-minded oilpatch people together to create commerce, build relationships and give them a good time outside of the patch,” said Campbell. “In that, we succeeded very much.”
Campbell was re-elected as president during the meeting. New to the board are Conrad Mieli and Bernie Bjorndalen. Returning members are Tony Sernick, Chris Kennedy, Carl Henneberg, Jordon Blanchette and Dale Whitfield.
The organization launched their new logo at the annual meeting. It features an oil derrick, with the words Estevan Oilfield Technical Society at the bottom. It also includes their website, and it notes the OTS was established in 1962.
They also announced a redesign of their website. The OTS has had a site since 2007, which has allowed them to promote their events and services to the community as a whole.
Campbell added the OTS will embark on a membership drive next year.
“At all our events, we sell memberships to the Estevan Oilmen’s, but we’ve never been aggressively going after it,” said Campbell.
Other clubs in Estevan send out membership renewal notices, and the OTS is confident a membership drive will boost their numbers.
