American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015 - 166

TOGA members voted to continue to
meet at the Park Vista Hotel in Gatlinburg,
with a number of them citing it as a
good, centrally-located venue.
Laine said the annual convention met
its goals: It brought TOGA together to
discuss membership issues, it updated
attendees on industry issues, and allowed
TOGA members to network and learn.
"The board decided to put more value
into the membership meetings-so that
they are worth people's time to attend,"
he explained. "In rough times like these,
conventions and meetings are a lot of
work because we want to make sure we
bring in good speakers and have fun
events, all within budget. And our sponsors
really helped us this year.
"Maybe the markets and prices will
be better by TOGA's annual Christmas
party," he speculated.
Laine encouraged members to comment on the venue, Gatlinburg's Lodge
at Buckberry Creek, and to register early
for the event.
TOGA leaders did clarify, however,
that the association will have sufficient
money for scholarships in 2016.
Awards Banquet
The keynote speaker during TOGA's
award banquet was Sam Venable, humorist,
author, and longtime journalist from East
Tennessee. Venable shared stories that
he had written during his time as a newspaper columnist, frequently reassuring
members: "I am not making this up."
"Where else, but in East Tennessee,
would inmates break out of a jail, only to
break back in; a man be fired from a job
he didn't have; and an entire funeral procession go through the drive-thru of a
Kentucky Fried Chicken on their way to
the grave site?" Venable asked. "You
can't make this stuff up."
After Venable's speech, TOGA leaders

From left, Kim Manhollen of Griffith Services LLC., Kendall Washburn, Ronnie Griffith, Jed
Newport, and State Representative Kelly Keisling, R-Byrdstown, gather at TOGA's annual
awards banquet. TOGA, Griffith Services and the Griffith family worked with Keisling and
other lawmakers to have the late past-President Vicki Griffith recognized by the state.
Manhollen is holding the legislature's proclamation on Griffith, and Washburn and Newport
received Vicki Griffith Memorial scholarships during the TOGA awards banquet.

presented Vicki Griffith Memorial scholarships to four Tennessee high school graduates from development-heavy areas of
the state. Two winners, Kendall Washburn
and Jed Newport, received their scholarship
certificates during the awards banquet.
The association later commented that
Washburn would attend Tennessee Technological University to study nursing,
and Newport would study healthcare at
Cumberland University with the aim to
become a physician's assistant. TOGA
awarded two other scholarships to Brandy
Whitehead, a medical student at Roane
State Community College, and Emery
Duke, who will study biochemistry when
he enters college this fall.
Afterward, TOGA Past President Jim
Washburn introduced the winner of the
association's first-ever Muddy Boot Award,
Alan Murrell of Hornet Corporation, the
2014 Boom Maker of Tennessee.

TOGA Past President Jim Washburn (left), presents Alan Murrell
of Hornet Corporation with the
association's first-ever Muddy
Boot Award. Washburn indicated
Hornet's successful wells in 2014
earned Murrell the state's 2014
Boom Maker Award.

166 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

According to Washburn, the Muddy
Boot Award is given to the Tennessee
oilman or woman who best exemplifies
someone willing to get his or her boots
muddy to succeed.
"Alan and Hornet Corporation have
been very aggressive operators in the oil
patch," he described. "In 2014, Hornet
hit some of the state's best oil wells, and
it was partially responsible for some of
the state's top oil production. Hornet's
Donnie Ray No. 1 in Overton County
was named 2014's top producing well
by the state's Department of Environment
and Conservation, after it produced 17,688
barrels of oil last year.
"(Murrell)'s aggressive activity in the
oil patch, his successful wells in 2014,
and particularly the Ray No. 1 well, have
created a drilling boom in north-central
Tennessee, and that is why he is the 2014
Boom Maker of Tennessee," Washburn
praised.
Murrell thanked his wife, Kim, his
fellow Hornet employees, and its subcontractors for their effort, commitment
and support, and the association for recognizing Hornet's accomplishments. "To
achieve such an honor requires a lot of
people getting their boots muddy, day in
and day out, over a long period," he remarked. "Without all the dedicated members and partners of our organization, I
would not be receiving this award. It may
have my name on it because there is not
enough room to list all the good people
who helped us become a boom maker."
Murrell concluded by promising attendees that he and Hornet "will not rest
on our past success," but will "keep the
drill bit turning to the right, and we will
find more big oil."
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015

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