With little fuss, the INGAA Foundation has evolved into an influential organization that has helped keep both operators and service providers aware of issues that affect their livelihoods. That it has been able throughout its 17-year history to educate, enlighten and entertain its members without a hint of discord or crossing that fine line of antitrust that separates the legal interests of both sectors is a testament to the integrity of members and officers. The Foundation, for those unfamiliar with it, is an outgrowth of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), the lobbying body for the large-transmission pipeline companies in North America. The Foundation joins top executives of operating companies with their peers in various service sectors in a forum that 1) enables them to better understand the operators' demand for the services; 2) enables the operators to learn about the availability of the resources; while 3) helping both sides to build the relationships that are essential in moving the industry forward. The Foundation has two conferences in the spring and fall as well as a number of committee meetings during the year. It employs its own executive director, Mark Shaffer, and sponsors key studies that are often ground-breaking in nature.
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