Donor Luncheon celebrates Foundation Anniversary and GWB endowment campaign

By Jenny Kucera, associate editor TLE

Donors and volunteers were recognized for their ongoing support of the SEG Foundation in a luncheon and awards ceremony November 5th at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center during the 2012 SEG Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.

Tom Smith, Chairman of the SEG Foundation Board of Directors, served as Master of Ceremonies and presented the opening address at the SEG Foundation Donor Luncheon and Awards Ceremony. He thanked donors and volunteers for their gifts of time, talent, and resources that make the work of the SEG Foundation possible.

The programs of SEG and SEG Foundation have grown by leaps and bounds because of the support of corporate leaders. Sustaining investors have made additional gifts to the Foundation this year, and their generosity is greatly appreciated.

Donor appreciation

Paradigm continues its support of the Distinguished Lecture Program. Its five-year renewal commitment of US $250,000 will help bring leading geophysical advances to SEG Members around the world.

Apache and SEG joined forces to launch the SEG Wiki of Applied Geophysics in the spring of 2012. To ensure the Wiki's continued popularity, Apache made a second five-year commitment of $250,000.

ION was one of the first to invest in the implementation of the SEG Online project to provide news and resources to SEG's global membership. ION renewed its five-year commitment of $250,000 to SEG Online Education.

PGS was another lead investor of the SEG Online. It recently made a new commitment to support Geoscientists Without Borders (GWB), giving $625,000 over five years.

CGGVeritas pledged two renewal gifts in 2012. Its renewal commitment of $450,000 to the SEG Student Membership Dues provides free membership to thousands of aspiring geophysicists. A separate renewal commitment of $300,000 was made to support GWB.

Schlumberger continues to be a leadership investor in the fast-growing GWB program. It has renewed its commitment to GWB with another five-year investment of $1,000,000.

Chevron was a lead investor in creating the Student Leadership Symposium (SLS). It continues its support of SLS and the Scholarship Program with a $1,000,000 renewal gift over the next four years.

In a new gift to the Foundation, Marathon Oil Corporation supports the Scholarship Program with a commitment of $250,000 over four years.

"Charity and service to the community are values that both SEG and Marathon share," said Kenny Coleman, chief geophysicist at Marathon Oil.

Trustee Associates are growing in number, as 17 friends of the Foundation have joined the Trustee Associates in 2012. Individual donors—both new and existing—are an important part of the Foundation's success, and their dedication is greatly appreciated.

Outstanding Volunteer recognition

The Outstanding Volunteer Award was presented to a most-deserving Gary Servos. He has been an SEG member for 50 years and has served on numerous committees. A long-standing volunteer and donor, he served on the Foundation Board of Directors since 2002, three years as Chairman. Servos is recognized for his enthusiasm for the growth of both the Foundation and The Society.

25th Anniversary celebration

This year the Foundation celebrates its 25th Anniversary of incorporation. The Articles of Incorporation, written by Trustee Associate Marvin Hewitt, became effective in 1987. After this milestone, five leaders gathered to begin the Foundation's next journey. Dick Baile, Elwin Peacock, Jim Frasher, Red Olander, and Neal Cramer formed the Trustee Associates, a first effort in recruiting new donors.

"Their vision in the late 1980s has provided growth within Foundation programs, funding of SEG programs, and collaborative support to the geophysical community," said Foundation Board Member Jeff Springmeyer.

Thanks to these leaders, donors, and friends who have contributed to the Foundation's efforts, the Foundation's assets today are $18,000,000, and its grants to help geophysicists will exceed $2,500,000.

Leaders of tomorrow

"Students are our leaders of tomorrow, and it is the role of the Foundation to enable them to consider the definition of success, leadership, and what is important in their lives," said Elsa Velasco, manager of SEG University and Student Programs.

Thanks to the continued support of generous donors, some of the most recent accomplishments of student programs include the following:

• Fred and Kathi Hilterman/SEG Foundation Student Chapter Book Program—provided 4,416 books to 268 Student Chapters in 62 countries since 2009
• SEG/Chevron Student Leadership Symposium—293 students from 45 countries participated since 2007
• SEG/ExxonMobil Student Education Program—408 students in 15 locations since 2008
• SEG Challenge Bowls—850 students participated in 69 events in 16 countries since 2006
• Field Camps—61 projects, $523,000 in the last five years
• Travel Grants—649 students, $950,000 in the last five years
• Scholarships—704 students, $2,150,000 in the last five years
• SEG Student Membership Dues—27,159 students in the last five years
• SEG Student Expos—Spring Break Expo (since 2004), Fall Expo (since 2005), West Coast Expo (since 2008)

GWB Endowment Campaign

Geoscientists Without Borders was established in 2008 with a vision by Trustee Associate Craig Beasley. In just five short years, the GWB program has funded 14 projects all over the world. These two-year projects have utilized geophysics in topics like water, landslides, earthquake preparedness, archaeology and more. Each project impacts thousands of people in its general region, with some projects gaining support from their local governments to help in the implementation or sustainability.

Mark and Debra Gregg, owners of KiwiEnergy, Ltd., approached the Foundation in December 2010 with an idea to help sustain the GWB program by creating an endowment to assist in funding annual projects. With the Gregg's Challenge Grant and the help of 72 individual donors, the Foundation now has a $1,000,000 endowment for GWB.

Hank Hamilton, Foundation Board Member, recognized the Greggs for the funds they provided, which paved the way for a successful campaign.

The support of friends, donors, and volunteers drives the success of the Foundation and of SEG. Thank you to all for their continued support.