President’s Message

In 1985, Larry Fichtner, CSEG President, wrote I am confident that we will look back to September 1985 and remember that date as a milestone in our efforts to communicate more effectively with our membership. So now, 30 years since the introduction of the new look RECORDER, we are looking back.

After 10 years of a monthly newsletter serving the members, a major decision was made to revamp the format to that of a magazine and to become self-funding by allowing advertisements. Today, advertising within the RECORDER is still important to largely self-fund the publication, and also to provide an opportunity for our members and industry corporations to promote their services. Some companies are prominent in every issue, others choose to partner with the technical theme or advertise more intermittently. If you are a consultant, there is the opportunity to place a business card advertisement for just $140 / month with discounts for 5 and 10 issue commitments ($160/month for a non-member). Whether it is a technical advertisement, your vacation property or a hobby that has grown into a home business, consider submitting a business card so that we can create a dedicated page and draw attention to the ‘little people’. For the larger companies, there are competitive rates and many options outlined in the new Media Kit – we look forward to seeing you advertising in the RECORDER, and highlighted in the Advertisers List along with Future Issues of the RECORDER on the final page. To those who advertise regularly in the RECORDER – thank you. Thank you for supporting the CSEG, for being an integral part of the geoscience community and for investing in the future of your company.

In 1985 the RECORDER noted the CSEG was organized to promote the science of geophysics and to promote fellowship and co-operation among our members. Today, the objective of the CSEG is to “promote the science and application of geophysics especially as it applies to exploration. In addition the CSEG has a mandate to promote fellowship and co-operation among those persons with a common bond and interest in geophysics.” I do like the second statement and the inclusion of all persons with an interest in geophysics – rather than just amongst our members. This has led to considerable cooperation with sister societies, public outreach that includes our CSEG Foundation acting as the parent organisation for Earth Science for Society in 2016, and an Emerging Professionals Program that is collaborating with the SPE, CSPG and CWLS. We encourage collaboration and fellowship – it is part of what makes the CSEG great.

On Tuesday, 3rd September 1985, John L. Varsek of Petrel Consultants presented Interpretation of Reflection Amplitudes for Lithology. On Monday, 14th September 2015, the 2015 Fall SEG Distinguished Lecturer, Dimitri Bevc of Chevron, will present Full-waveform inversion: Challenges, Opportunities and Impact. Each year the CSEG provides Canadian members the opportunity listen to and question many SEG and EAGE invited luncheon speakers. Keep an eye on your RECORDER, newsletter and the website for upcoming events.

Technical luncheon tickets increased from $10 to $11 in 1985, with student luncheon tickets sponsored by Grant Geophysical and Bow Valley Industries. In June 2015, luncheon tickets were $46 for members, $50 for non-members, and the student luncheon tickets are still generously sponsored by several companies each month. Thank you to everyone who supports the society technically and financially by attending the monthly luncheon, and to the past, present and future sponsors of the luncheon and student luncheon tickets.

In 1985, copies of all SEG publications were available for viewing at the C.S.E.G. office. Order forms were also available but publications still had to be purchased through the SEG Office in Tulsa. Today, thirteen of the more popular SEG publications are available for purchase directly from our office along with the Canadian Federation of Earth Science publication Four Billion Years and Counting. Stop by the office, chat with our staff and browse the books.

We learned that the 1985 summer ad-hoc Executive meeting was held beside John Boyd’s backyard swimming pool. And this year, we held a similar meeting albeit around Rob Vestrum’s BBQ – no pool in sight. We are pleased to congratulate Paul Anderson on his recent move to Texas, and look forward to working with our remote Director of Education through email and Skype. In the May 2015 RECORDER, we highlighted the CSEG Executive Elections and I’d like to remind you that executive nominations will be published in October with member-led nominations due by November 1st.

Thirty years ago, Mark Sun detailed the benefits of purchasing a microcomputer to database member information and highlighted the various advantages that included the benefit of not missing a single RECORDER when you change addresses! The same holds true today – so please let the CSEG know when you change company or address. And be sure to renew your membership so that you can stay connected with the geophysical community – there is a lot coming up: WiSE golf tournament, luncheons, social events, DoodleTrain, early GeoConvention and Earth Science for Society (in March), CSEG Symposium and more… keep an eye out in the RECORDER.

So as Judy MacDonald said in 1985, We can all be proud of this publication. It takes a lot of volunteers to put the RECORDER together and my thanks go out to all these people! I echo that, and add that we can all be proud of the CSEG.