Thursday, September 15th, 2022

The scheduled speaker was one of our own Wylie Barrow, who presented a historical account of his family from 1760 in North Carolina during the American Revolution, their move to what would become Louisiana, the building of their cotton empire and the effects of the Civil War. Wylie gave his perspective of the family attitiudes and beliefs about politics, war, States rights, the American Constitution and slavery during the period. Then George Covington dovetailed into Wylie's presentation and presented the history of the migration of plantation owners from Louisianato Texas for cotton and sugarcane.     

Thursday, May 12th, 2022

The scheduled speaker was one of our own Rog Hardy, he returned and presented the off-shore drilling on the US west coast. Since Unocal was a west coast company we were deeply involved throughout the past century in leading exploratory drilling along the entire coast. That activity pre-dated most of our careers but it set the stage for many of us, and is sure to bring back plenty of memories.  

Thursday, February 10th, 2022

Our scheduled speaker wasJosé Ivo who is the Honorary Consul of Portugal in Houston since December 2017. In 1995 after 17 years of an international career in capital projects for the mining, oil, gas and chemical industries in three continents, he joined Bechtel. In his 23-year career with Bechtel he held several senior management positions over the world including Latin America and at Head Office in San Francisco.  Among noteworthy assignments, he was project manager for their Angola LNG Project, one of the most significant in the company's history. He retired as Senior Vice-President in the Oil, Gas & Chemicals Division, in Houston. 

Thursday, September 16th, 2021

The scheduled speaker was Chuck Nanic, Vice President, Managing Director on the National Sales Team at Natixis Global Asset Management which is a mutlinational financial services firm specialized in asset and wealth management, corporate & investment banking, insurance and payments. The focus of Chuck's presentation was on the economy, inflation and the markets.  

Thursday, May 6th, 2021

The scheduled speaker was one of our own Rog Hardy, he presented The Quest from Shallow Shelf to Deepwater in the Gulf and where it has led us in Latin America. He focused on the industry’s evolving technology to move from the South Louisiana marsh to the shelf from the late 30’s to the late 60’s.  Pure and Unocal had a key role in this activity, which Rog  acknowledged. While that activity pre-dated most of our careers it set the stage for many of us, and is sure to bring back plenty of memories.  Rog engaged us to help recreate those pioneering times. 



Thursday, October 29th, 2020

The scheduled speaker was Bill Dodge, CRA Benefits Chair. Bill chairs the benefits committee. He discussed the following: 1) the committee goals and objectives; 2) the benefits committee focus; 3) CRA sponsored programs like Dental and hearing; 4) CRA prospectivee on open enrollment for both pre and post 65 retirees/dependents; additional aspects of open enrollment; accomplishments from 2019 and strategies and plans for 2020.

Bill's PowerPoint

Thursday, February 6th, 2020 

The scheduled speaker was Dick Hudgins from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo speakers bureau, his topic was “Houston Rodeo – The Experience”.  He is a lifetime Vice President of the show. He is now serving 47th year as a committeeman with the show. Dick elaborated on many subjects including service and fund raising committees, how to plan a trip to the rodeo and the Show's four goals: support of agriculture, support of education, promote western heritage and entertainment.

Dick's Introduction 

Thursday, September 12th, 2019 

The scheduled speaker was Danielle Carpenter who provided an overview of Chevron’s current business in the Gulf of Mexico, highlighting Unocal’s legacy assets in their portfolio.  The Gulf of Mexico is a prolific basin for Chevron and they have a long history of building world class assets.  The Mad Dog field was showcased to illustrate the impact of technology in developing this oil field giant. Danielle has 23 years O&G experience including Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of Thailand exploration. She is the current Mad Dog asset manager.   

Thursday, May 9th, 2019

The scheduled speaker was Rachel Cosby from AAA who presented “Travel Opportunities for Seniors”. Rachel has been in the travel and tourism industry for 33 years with the last 24 years as a travel agent for AAA. She addressed potential trips, travel insurance and the advantage of tours.

Thursday, February 7th, 2019

The scheduled speaker was Al Reese who is a representative from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo speakers bureau. His topic was “Western Heritage: Cattle Drives and Trail rides”.   Al Reese is a long-time resident of Houston and The Woodlands and has enjoyed an association with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo since 1986. He served on the Corral Club Committee in the late ‘80’s, has been on the Speakers Committee for over five years and annually joins with others to participate in the livestock auctions that benefit the youth that exhibit their  animals at The Show. He has spent most of his adult life in energy and finance. He is Chief Financial Officer at WTD Resources, a private energy company, was a director of Integrity Bank in Houston until it sold to Independent Bank in 2018 and recently joined the board of The Woodland Insurance Company, a private insurance company. He is also the founder of Integrity Growth Group, a company that offers financial and capital market services to both public and private companies. He is a CPA, a 1971 graduate of Texas A&M in finance and earned an MBA from the University of Houston in 1977. 

Powerpoint presentation (Cattle Drives & Trail Rides), is attached.

Thursday, September 13th, 2018

The scheduled speaker was Raymond Greer of the Greer Law Firm.  Raymond practices law out of Sugar Land, TX and has been licensed for 38 years. He graduated from Sam Houston State University (1977) and obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston College Of Law (1981). He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and Fort Bend County Bar Association. His topic was “getting your house in order” in terms of the importance of having Wills, Power of Attorneys, Trusts, etc. in place well before the death or serious injury of a spouse.  

A PDF copy of the outline of his presentation is attached.



Thursday, May 3rd, 2018

The scheduled speaker was Keith Christensen, owner of Trinicom Communications. Trinicom is a Houston based IT solutions provider who has been in business since 1996. Their topic was Cloud telephones and computing and cyber security. They will talk about the rise of Cloud computing and Voice services and steps to help you keep your data safe. A cloud phone system is a virtual phone system rooted in the internet, enabling you to make calls from any laptop or smart device. Cloud systems can provide the mobility, flexibility, and robust features that simply weren't possible before. A PDF copy of his presentation (The Cloud & Top Ten Hacks) is attached.

Thursday, February 8th, 2018

The scheduled speaker was Joel Mathews who is a Partner of Turlington, Reeves & Orlando, PLLC (“TRO”).  Joel has worked in the state and local tax area for 25 years in both private industry (Unocal / Chevron and ExxonMobil ) as well as public accounting (Ernst & Young and Arthur Andersen. In 2007, Joel started his own practice and founded J. M. Mathews PLLC which included working with business owners to respond to both federal and state tax needs. In 2013 Joel joined TRO as a partner. His topic was the new Tax Bill and how it will affect retirees.  A PDF copy of his Powerpoint presentation (The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2017), is attached.

Thursday, September 14th, 2017

The scheduled speaker was Scott Carpenter who is the Chief Prosecutor for Fort Bend County in their Economic Crime Division; he is also concurrently working as a Special Prosecutor for Harris County investigating a series of robberies. Scott has also served as a Special Prosecutor for Waller County investigating county officials’ activity regarding proposed land fill. Scott started his career as an Assistant DA for Houston then moved into private practice for 27 years. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience in criminal law including theft and fraud; Scott’s topic was “Senior Scams” and how best to be aware and protect yourself. 



Thursday, May 4th, 2017

The scheduled speaker was Tim Lauer with appreciated spouse support from Linda. The topic was “An Expedition Cruise through the Northwest Passage”. The Lauer’s guided us through their expedition and described the sights and experiences of their once-in-a-life time adventure. 



Thursday, February 9th, 2017

The scheduled speaker was Matt Baldwin, a Certified Health Education Specialist who has been working for Chevron’s HR for the last three years as a Benefits Design Analyst. Previously he worked for Mercer as a Health Management Consultant. His topic was the rollout of Chevron’s US Health and Welfare Benefits Project and the new claims administrators for medical and dental. He  also discussed any issues that developed and how they were addressed.

Wednesday, September 14th, 2016

The scheduled speaker was Mark P. Jones, Ph.D., he is the fellow in political science at the Baker Institute, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies and a professor in the Department of Political Science at Rice University. His research focuses on the effect of electoral laws and other political institutions on governance, representation and voting. He is a frequent contributor to Texas media outlets, and his research on the Texas legislature has been widely cited in the media as well as by numerous political campaigns. He addressed the current Presidential race.

Wednesday, May 4th, 2016



The scheduled speaker was Ryan Christian; his topic was “Dramatic History of the Texas Rangers”. Ryan has been with the Texas Department of Public Safety for over 10 Years; 8 years as a Highway Patrol officer and 2 years as a Texas Ranger in Corpus Christi, Texas and Houston, Texas.





Wednesday, February 11, 2016

The scheduled speaker was Al Horan, CRA's Benefits Chair and our advocate for any benefit issues. He presented an overview of the Benefits Committee objectives and goals as well as the state of health care in general. Powerpoint presentation (CRA Benefits Committee), is attached.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

The scheduled speaker was David A. Pursell. He provided a broader Oil & Gas outlook. Dave serves as Managing Director and Head of Securities at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. He is responsible for TPH’s analysis of global oil & gas markets, including inventory and price forecasts, supply/demand modeling, and rig count/production relationships. Powerpoint presentation (2016 Crude Oil Outlook - Strong Like Bull), is attached.

 Wednesday, May 6th, 2015

The scheduled speaker was Dan Steffens who is the founder and current President of the Energy Prospectus Group (EPG) based in Houston. His topic was current issues in the Energy sector including worldwide production and pricing and the factors influencing both. A current  EPG newsletter is attached.

Wednesday, February 11th, 2015

The scheduled speaker was Lauren Stockholm from the Sugar Land Police Department, Crime Prevention Division. The topic was Gun Safety (from a perspective of a grandchild visiting), Home Burglary Prevention and Shopping Safety Tips.

Wednesday, September 17th, 2014

The scheduled speaker was Robert Harvey, who is the current President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership.  GHP is the chamber of commerce for the 10-county greater Houston area. His topic was "Key Initiatives of the Greater Houston Partnership".

Wednesday, May 7th, 2014

The scheduled speaker was Dr. Julia Wellner, who is currently on the faculty at the University of Houston. She is an expert on Antarctica, having made ten icebreaker cruises to Antarctica; her topic was Antarctica today, science, tourism and climate change.   

 Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The scheduled speaker was Mike Jackson, a representative from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.  Mike presented the “History of the Houston Livestock Show.”   Mike got involved with the Show back in 1971 and much of his involvement has been as an Arena Director at cattle shows since 1977. He is currently the Area Director for all the Livestock Shows for the duration of the Show each year.   

 Thursday, September 19, 2013

The scheduled speaker was Alma Moon Novotny, PhD, who has lectured in the department of biochemistry and cell biology at Rice University for the last seven years. Prior to coming to Rice, she taught a variety of plant, animal and philosophy of science courses in other Houston-area universities. Dr. Novotny holds a PhD in biological sciences from Purdue University. She discussed DNA.

 Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The scheduled speaker was Ronald Sass, PhD, climate change expert for Rice University and the Baker Institute for Public Policy. The title of his topic was “2012, The Year Climate Change Became Real”.  He will discuss recent extreme weather events; ideas about public opinion and scientific evidence for climate change; he will then look at a statistical analysis proving climate change using weather data; and finally, he wrapped up discussing what we should expect in Houston during the next several decades.

Thursday February 14, 2013

Officer Evett Kelly is currently Missouri City’s Police Department Community Liaison; she was accompanied by a fellow Police Officer. They addressed safety and security measures we can all utilize in our daily lives. One of the topics they covered was identity theft. The handout entitled "Taking Charge - What to do if your identity is stolen" is attached.

Thursday September 8th, 2011 

Brian W. G.  Marcotte became Chief Executive Officer of Titan Oil Recovery, Inc. on September 1, 2006. The topic of Brian's presentation was "An innovative Approach to Oil Recovery - Lessons Learned from a Hundred Organic Oil Recovery Techniques". Powerpoint presentation is attached.

Thursday May 5th, 2011 

Tony Best is the president and chief executive officer of SM Energy. The topic of Tony’s presentation was “SM Energy & The Resource Play Revolution.” His presentation in PDF format is attached.

Thursday February 10th, 2011 

 Dan Steffens, Managing Member of the Energy Prospectus Group; his topic was "E&P Fundamentals and How Investors Can Profit". Dan's presentation was informative and interesting.

PowerPoint presentation is attached.

Thursday September 9th, 2010 

Art Smith, CEO Triple Double Advisors, specializes in energy industry analysis. Unocal was a client as were most energy companies. Art’s presentation was informative and timely. His PowerPoint presentation is attached.

Thursday May 6th, 2010

Curt S. Taylor, Managing Director, TCW Asset Management Company, Energy & Infrastructure Group discussed the economics of the oil & gas industry; the title of his presentation is  “Determining Value – Measured vs Perceived”. His PowerPoint presentation is attached.

Thursday February 11th, 2010

John Baines, former Geologist for Unocal, talked about global warming and its relation to historical geological events. His presentation is proprietery; therefore, is not available to be attached.

Thursday September 10th, 2009

Arthur Berman who is a geological consultant with specialty in subsurface petroleum geology, seismic interpretation, and database design and management. He is currently consulting for several independent and international oil companies on interpretation and mapping projects. His PowerPoint presentation is attached.

Thursday May 14th, 2009 

Paul L. Kelly who is a former senior vice president of Rowan Companies, a global provider of offshore contract drilling and helicopter services and currently is the President of the Gulf of Mexico Foundation. His PowerPoint presentation is attached.

Thursday Febuary 12, 2009

Dave Pursell of Tudor, Pickering Holt & Co. His presentation, “Oil and Natural Gas Markets – The Intersection of Greed and Fear” is attached.

Thursday, May 6th, 2021

Thursday, May 12th, 2022