As I enter this membership year as your new PASH President I am humbled by the thought of others who have preceded me. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to serve in this capacity and in your confidence to allow me 3 additional years on the PASH Board. I am fortunate to share leadership with a winning team of top caliber individuals as part of the 2008-2009 PASH Board.

I am looking forward to the year ahead and the opportunity to work with these individuals & with YOU to continue the traditions and success of PASH. As a COPAS society we offer the oil & gas industry several opportunities as noted on the COPAS website which we will highlight individually during the October through December 2008 monthly PASH newsletters:

This is going to be a very exciting year and I am so blessed to be a part of it! I obtained the following quote from a dear friend of mine who is ending her term as the Cy-Fair High School Band President as I enter my term as PASH President. I think it is very fitting as we embark on this exciting year ahead, full of new opportunities………

Three directors were elected at our annual meeting in May for three-year terms to replace outgoing members Ron Flinn, Deb Retzloff and Karla Bower who the Board had approved to fulfill Joan Lu's remaining 1 year term. One director was elected to complete the remaining 2 year term of Ellis Iverson, who the Board had approved Ilene Grygar to fulfill last year.

The new officers for 2008-2009 are:

The Board and Committee Chairpersons will be setting goals for this upcoming year very soon that will coincide with the following 2008 COPAS Goals and strategic planning that were discussed in mid July at the COPAS Summer 2008 Leadership Conference:

1) Explore ways to engage young professionals and energize current membership participation in COPAS;
2) Expand educational opportunities offered by COPAS;
3) Promote APA program, study & training materials

These goals will require participation from everyone so I encourage you to get engaged at the "grassroots" level via committee involvement. Below is additional information regarding Committees offered by PASH and contact information.

THANK YOU to all our Committee Chairs who have stepped forward and are ready to provide leadership and direction for this upcoming year. We appreciate your efforts in developing industry documents, providing speakers on educational topics, and mentoring the future leaders of our organization. We are particularly appreciative to the new Chairs for the Audit and Revenue Committees who stepped forward to fulfill Chair positions vacated by two of our new Board members who could no longer serve as a Chairperson. To achieve the full benefits of PASH membership, you are encouraged to actively participate in committee activities which shape the future of the petroleum industry. This is your opportunity to have an impact on the documents developed or revised in COPAS. Active participation also provides you access to the most current information regarding the oil and gas industry. If you have an interest in one or more of these committees, please contact the Chair, or attend the Committee Chairs’ presentations scheduled in lieu of a technical session for our September meeting.

To view the list of committe chairs and their contact information, click here.

WWW.PASHCOPAS.ORG Please take the opportunity to view the PASH website at www.pashcopas.org.

• Reservations for the monthly general dinner meetings can be made on-line by using our website.
• • You can keep up-to-date on planned events and key contacts for the various activities.
• • Membership information is available to help with your recruitment for PASH. Membership application forms may be printed from this site.
• • Check out the job line section for posted job opportunities.
• • Review the announcements for current PASH activities or other news such as COPAS meeting registration information.
• • Click on the Links for access to other COPAS Societies and industry organizations.

Contact one of the Board Members, Committee Chairs, or David Edwards if you have any suggestions. The phone hotline, (713-526-6070), will continue to be available for those not having access to the net.

WWW.COPAS.ORG

For COPAS Membership information, you can visit the COPAS website at www.copas.org. To access the membership directory you will need to utilize the username (usually your email address) and the password provided by the COPAS office. If you have not received this information, please contact COPAS at 877-992-6727. Access to this membership area and all related directory listings contain private data and therefore should not be disclosed to any solicitors or non-members. Please safeguard your personal password information.

MEETING LOCATION:

As the seasons change (well, maybe not in Texas, but in other locations….) so too do some of the things to which we have grown accustom. For some of us change is perceived as a beginning, while others of us (me included more times than I would like to admit) grumble when things aren’t the same. Due to rising costs in the hotel and conference center industry we as a Board have been forced to carefully evaluate whether our society goals can be accomplished within our current means. Upon experiencing 100%+ cost increases in parking for the 2008 Education Day and for our 2008-2009 monthly dinner meetings, we will be reviewing other venue options for 2009-2010.

For this upcoming year, we will need to make some changes in order to maintain our financial stability. Effective with our September 2008 dinner meeting the following changes will take place related to parking at Houston City Club:

Parking costs:
< 2 hours = $4.00
> 2 hours but < 4 hours = $8.00
> 4 hours = $16.00

After careful evaluation the Board has decided that PASH will continue to cover the cost for parking related to scheduled PASH meetings at the Houston City Club. We ask your diligence in keeping up with the number of hours you plan to attend. If you only attend the committee meetings, be sure to get the appropriate parking sticker for less than 4 hours so that our parking fees can be held to a minimum.

During the negotiations with the Houston City Club, we attempted to explore another venue; however no one else could accommodate our meeting dates with competitive pricing. After careful negotiation and re-negotiation efforts exercised by Immediate Past President Marjorie Saibara, myself and new meeting events personnel at Houston City Club we will again have our monthly dinner meetings at the Houston City Club, (9 Greenway Plaza – located behind Lakewood Church). We have had a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the Houston City Club and look forward to meeting at their recently remodeled facilities, which will require some changes as to where, at the Houston City Club, certain committee meetings will be held. Audit, Joint Interest, and Revenue/Midstream standing committees, the technical sessions and the general dinner meetings will continue to be at the Houston City Club. Directions and parking instructions will be provided in the monthly newsletter meeting announcements.

For this upcoming year, we may need to make additional changes in order to maintain our financial stability. In lieu of increasing membership dues for this upcoming year, the Board has decided to manage our costs more carefully. The primary changes for 2008-2009 include a luncheon meeting and deferral of the Holiday Party for 2008. Other costs during the course of the year may need to be reviewed to identify other changes to balance the budget based on actual income received from membership dues.

One of the survey results that surfaced during the membership survey offered during Lary Sides PASH Presidency was that many members would prefer a luncheon meeting (this is one of the successes expressed by the Colorado Society’s leadership as the reason for their membership numbers). In an attempt to encourage membership meeting attendance for those who may not be able to manage a dinner meeting due to other commitments or traffic/distance, we will be offering a luncheon meeting for our November 2008 meeting. Please read the November 2008 PASH newsletter carefully for information regarding this change.

Please be patient with us as we attempt to successfully maneuver through these changes together.

Mark your calendars. Following PASH tradition, we will hold our General Meeting on the third Thursday of each month. Please also note our special event dates.

September 18, 2008 (1)- General Dinner Meeting
October 16, 2008- General Dinner Meeting
November 20, 2008 (2)- General Luncheon Meeting
January 15, 2009- General Dinner Meeting
February 19, 2009- General Dinner Meeting
March 19, 2009- General Dinner Meeting
April 16, 2009- General Dinner Meeting & Awards Ceremony
May 11, 2009- Picnic & Board Elections, Monday (No rain out day)
May 20, 2009- Education Day, Wednesday

(1) In lieu of the Technical Session there will be a Committee Chair forum to get a better understanding of what each PASH Committee offers and to field questions from the audience.
(2) Make special note that this is a luncheon meeting - please read the November 2008 PASH newsletter carefully for details regarding this luncheon event.



The dues will remain $275 for regular members and $140 for retirees. Guest fees will be $45 for general meetings and $50 for the Picnic.

Please remit your dues before the September 18, 2008 meeting. PLEASE INDICATE THE INVOICE NUMBER ON THE CHECK.

If someone other than the member is paying the invoice, please list the member’s name on the check. This will be of great assistance to the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer to make sure the monies are properly credited to the correct member’s account.

Dues received more than thirty (30) days after invoice date will be assessed a $25 late fee. The invoice will also list your preference in receiving meeting notices and announcements. If you are able to receive this information via e-mail, our administrative and mailing costs will be greatly reduced. We are currently in the process of updating the committee listings. Please indicate your committee preferences to insure that you receive all the committee notifications and documents.

Invoices will be mailed mid August 2008. If you have not received your invoice by the end of August 2008, please contact Linda Taylor at lktaylor@pdq.net.

Speaking of new opportunities……PASH will be hosting the COPAS Spring 2011 conference (COPAS' 50th anniversary). Planning has already started and we will require a lot of volunteer help to make that conference an overwhelming success. I am happy to announce our COPAS 2011 Co-Chair team: Ilene Grygar and Marcie Huckabee. If you recall…..this duo master-minded the COPAS Spring 2002 event with great success. If you are interested in serving in any capacity (leaders AND followers are welcome!) please contact either Ilene (713-236-8303) or Marcie (713-203-9285).

Respectfully submitted,

Deb Numer Retzloff
2008-2009 PASH President