American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015 - 191

Independent Oil
Producers Association,
Tri-State
DOUGLAS REYNOLDS
Vice President, Exploration &
Production
Reynolds Resources Inc.
Owensboro, Ky.

FROM THE PRESIDENT
The paternal side of my family history
is clear for only a few generations. The
trail leads into the mountains of eastern
Kentucky and quickly fades to an indistinct
dead end far back in some hollow. No
one from that side of my family talks
about how things were in some remote
"old country" or discusses our revered
ancestors. Although indifferent to our
blurry pedigree, my ancestors were nearly
unanimous about what a wonderful place
in which they lived.
Many of my ancestors left the mountains,
not out of dislike, but rather because of a
dearth of opportunity for the ambitious.
Nevertheless, each of us carries a unique
store of knowledge that we derive directly
from the places we inhabit. One of the reasons that so many of those expatriate mountaineers went on to be quite prosperous in
the flatland is that their time in the mountains
provided a unique set of life skills.
As a native of the mountains of eastern
Kentucky, my father grew up in a place
that was very different from the Midwestern suburban flatland in which I
grew up. My habitation cultivated a different skill set.
Our differing influences became clearer
to me once when we were discussing
poisonous snakes. They make me cringe.
As I grew up, I was either never around
them, or never aware of them if I was. In
contrast, dad gave them their due respect,
but did not fear them. He even-inconceivably to me-considered them beneficial.
A quick Google search of "snakebite
fatalities" will highlight the fact that if
one fears death by venomous snakebite,
one will do well to avoid religious services
at which snakes also may be welcome.
In general, venomous snakebites are rare
because snakes in the wild are as prone
to avoid us as most of us are to stay away
from them.
I know snakes are mostly furtive creatures, nonetheless, when I am in the woods
I cannot keep the thought from bubbling
into my consciousness that I might step
on one. I am certain my hyperawareness
has clouded my view of many other pos-

sible benefits of a walk in the woods.
When I walked through the woods
with dad, he constantly shared all kinds
of practical knowledge. He could point
out the best spots for squirrel hunting,
the trees from which all sorts of playthings
could be made, even sites where moonshiners had maintained whiskey production. Many of the ephemeral moonshine
sites were integral to the electoral process
because, in the mountains, corn could be
distilled into votes-but that is another
story. I had to take his word for most of
it, but he grew up in the woods and I
never saw any reason to doubt any of it.
When dad was a boy, a fellow from
the University of Kentucky would come

up the hollow every year or so in search
of copperheads and rattlesnakes for research. He would enlist the local boys to
bring him snakes, for which he would
pay a dollar each.
"I hated seeing that fellow leave,"
dad said. "He would only take a few
snakes and I could have brought him
hundreds."
"Was it scary having that many snakes
around?" I asked.
"Not at all," he replied. "There were
plenty of snakes around, but we all knew
where they were. Because we knew about
them, they posed no threat to us. They
were just money laying around on the
ground."
I write this because I think it is instructive
as our industry transitions into tougher
times. It is important not to lose sight of
the value associated with our industry's
store of experiential knowledge. If trends
continue, we will see another contraction
and another exodus of both the greenest
and the most seasoned workers.
As an industry, we die a little with
every departed person. The big question,
and there is no easy answer, is how our
organizations can preserve the advantages
conferred by people who know how to
"spot the snakes."
Ì

Indiana Oil & Gas
Association
JEFFREY L. HOY
Owner
JLH Geologic Consulting LLC
Mt. Vernon, In.

FROM THE PRESIDENT
The next two years will be different
for me. My name is Jeff Hoy and I am
the president of InOGA. Many tasks lie
ahead of the ever-changing oil industry.
During the past few years, we have seen
many issues become sounding points for
many in and outside our industry. The
topics range from protecting wetlands,
health and safety through the hot button
of today, fracture stimulation and its
effects on the environment.
As usual, it has been a busy year for
InOGA, culminating in our convention in
October. Our annual meeting was our
largest in recent history. A record number
of exhibitors joined with our largest
banquet attendance. Our workshop focused
a little on new seismic techniques and a

lot on environmental obstacles.
New rules and permitting requirements
from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency are becoming huge issues. How can we get common sense involved in the rule-making process? How
can we, as an industry, become good
stewards and still do business? Obviously,
this will be a challenge for all in the future.
Regulatory issues always will be
around. During the last year, InOGA has
been working in cooperation with the
state's Division of Oil and Gas to rewrite
the rules and regulations for our industry.
This task has been completed and is
JANUARY 2015 191

American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015

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