GALA LANDMAN GATHERING
DATELINE: DALLAS 3 21 09
Dallas, last Saturday evening, the setting, the home of gracious Hostess, Katie
Vermillion, of Vermillion Properties, LLC, Dallas; Honoree was L.J. (Larry)
Harrison, Jr. and lovely bride, Christi Harrison, he of Reef Oil and Gas
Companies, Vice President of Business Development, cross-town Dallas
residents; other locals were John P. Coalson, Land Manager of Western
Production, Fort Worth, and his lovely wife, Nora Coalson; John Hunt of John L.
Hunt, CPL & Associates, Houston-Denver, flew in from the Rockies and served
as Mystery-Surprise Guest and Wine & Cheese Sponsor; Paul F. Nielsen, Land
Manager for CMI, Houston-Aberdeen, flew in from Houston in his Bavarian
Motorwerks craft, co-piloted by a friend. They also served as Additional Surprise
Guests. What surprised me was that he was on time, even early! [John, it’s
called a radar detector.]
The Hostess, Kathryn A. Vermillion, a gifted artist and graphic artist with an
online graphic art gallery at vermilliongallery.com, first served cocktails in the
Study lined with her own gorgeous art works. There was champagne and
almonds, wine and cheese and a variety of landman concoctions. A few pix were
shot and many a war story was resurrected one more time. Dinner was served
with a refreshing secret salad, followed by grilled brisket, cheese grits with
jalapenos and asparagus. Dessert was flan with Sauterne, a sweet desert wine
from you know where, same place as the cheese, bread and red wine; we are
not telling. An emotional toast was offered by John Coalson in memory of our
great friend, Danny Artusy, or George Daniel Artusy, III, Deceased Landman
Extrodinaire, so very much of Houston, Texas and the first graduate of the
University of Texas Landman Program with an AAPL Scholarship. Hail, hail! We
all miss you Danny and you can be so proud of son, Chris Artusy who has
emerged as a wonderful Landman and Family Man, and another former member
of the HAPL ITC, serving as Webmaster and re-designer of the HAPL Website.
Although we all gathered round for Larry, and for the inevitable roasting, it did not
escape the attendees that four (4) of us were 10 year Alumni of the HAPL
Information Technology Committee re-formed in 1999-2000 with 18 members
including attendees, John Coalson, Inter-Net Sub-Committee Chairman, Paul
Nielsen and Larry Harrison, Website Sub-Committee, Paul, Chairman, and John
Hunt, Technical Sub-Committee and Chairman of the IT Committee. As we look
back to those early IT days for our profession and ourselves, and as we look
around now at how far we have all come, it is a bit overwhelming. As the former
HAPL IT Chairman I am well gratified that the Chairmen who came after me not
only preserved what I started, but took it to new levels where we are today. I’m
thinking of Randy Browne, of the Haynes Boone, LLP, Energy Law Firm, who
also went on to become HAPL President and who has been beaming HAPL
Educational events around the universe where I receive them through DAPL.
Also Karen Schnell who serves HAPL as Third Vice President as well as former
HAPL ITC Chair; and the long-serving and diligent Bill Haddock, the current
Webmaster and IT Chair for HAPL.
John Coalson went back to night school at Rice University and obtained his
MSCE degree, being a MicroSoft Certified (Systems) Engineer; he was soon
thereafter hired by Anadarko to translate the UPRC database into the IWS
Database used by Anadarko for some years; subsequently moving back to the
Dallas-Fort Worth area near his mother and becoming one of the most
successful Barnett Shale players.
Larry Harrison used his IT capability to contribute to the Clearing House’s
success and to co-found and serve as Chairman of the Data Transfer Standards
Committee which morphed into an “Initiative” promoting the use of a common
portal and data definitions and “xml” language for databases to talk to each other
directly. Larry also relocated to the Dallas area where he is today.
Paul Nielsen went on to his current senior position in the offshore land
community and along the way started the Land News Network as a means of
communicating obituaries, change of jobs and positions wanted or to be filled,
providing an important service to the entire land profession. He also started a
Breakfast Club and a Landman Networking Happy Hour with another wonderfully
IT gifted landman, Paul F. Staton, of WES Energy Inc., who also served with us
as Chairman of the HAPL ITC Technical Sub-Committee. Paul S. guided us
through a number of electronic “events” that averted disaster in those early days
of crashing databases and viruses. Today he is as witty as ever and is among
the leading independent landmen and lead brokers of Houston. The “Two Pauls”
Paul N. and Paul S., as they are known, continue to serve the land profession in
very significant ways as to IT.
Myself, John H., well I have written a few articles, given a few seminars, won a
few AAPL Awards, taught a little college for land students, tried avoiding Vista
with some success (you hear they are going back to Windows?), mainly I have
stayed employed since I have young children; that was always my goal. After all
computers are only tools, right? Oil well, as we say in the land “bidness”, along
the way I met and worked with our Hostess, Katie V. After receiving the benefit
of her IT capability for some years in several positions, I had the good luck to
invite her to participate in a seminar last summer given for the Wyoming
Association of Professional Landmen in Sheridan, WY. She put on an IT
fireworks display that was simply spectacular. It brings me full circle to find new
talent in land IT capability that makes me “old school”. I’m just trying to master
what Vista has done to excel and word. Katie has created cutting edge IT
capabilities for landmen and this has been appropriately displayed and captured
by AAPL in the last issue of “The Landman” magazine. Check out her article and
see how in this down sizing market you may make yourself valuable through the
use of graphics capability!
Finally, yes we did get around to roasting and grilling Larry at the end of dinner.
I heard some interesting stories about my ole friend. But, when it got around to
me I had mercy. I asked the gathered gala attendees who among you know his
oldest nickname and what does it stand for? I had skipped over college and his
reign (rein) as mounted mascot, General Nathan Bedford Forrest, for Southern
Mississippi, and went further back to find safe ground, even hallowed ground.
His nickname back in those days was “Straight-Arrow”! No, not that he was a
pillar of virtue (as he has always), but that he attained the Order of the Arrow, the
highest rank of the Boy Scouts. Very few other Scouts ever make this grade. I
think Gerald Ford was another. At any rate, this seems a good place to leave it.
Thanks once again to our Hostess, Katie Vermillion, and to the Attendees who
shared this occasion and memories. Thanks to all the landmen along the way
who have contributed to our profession’s success. Here’s to the future however
darkly through a reverse looking-glass it may appear. We remain professionally
optimistic!
Regards, John L. Hunt, CPL/Roving Reporter