The little organization that could

摘要

A small professional society works to make a big impact. Like the train engine in the similarly named children's story, the American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE) seems to be rising to the occasion. Working in the shadows of larger and perhaps better known professional organizations like the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and International Association of Drilling Contractors (LADC), a top-notch technical program for its just concluded 2007 National Technical Conference and Exhibition is an indication of how far AADE has come. AADE was founded in New Orleans, La., in 1978 and is made up of an affiliation of nine independent chapters licensed and governed by an AADE National Board. Nine chapters are now active in New Orleans, Lafayette, La., Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Midland, Texas, Oklahoma City-Tulsa, Okla., Denver, Colo., Bakersfield, Okla., and Anchorage, Alaska. According to the organization, national membership is more than 5,000 as of December 2006. The Houston chapter unsurprisingly is the largest in the organization and represents about half its membership. As you might expect of any professional society (especially in this industry), AADE conducts its share of social events, some of which are the equal of any in terms of entertainment value. (Ask anyone about F5 - Fin Fur Feather Food Festival.) But when AADE gets down to business it does so in some noteworthy ways, and education is an area that gets a lot of its attention.