Thank You Letter
Dear Friends,
I want to begin by thanking all of the volunteers and members who have made the National STEPS Network a success. I am moving on from BP at the end of this month and resigned as Chairperson of National STEPS on April 19th. There are so many persons to recognize and thank it cannot be accomplished here.
You know who you are.
We began this journey in 2003 along with OSHA Region VI and the OSHA Corpus Christi Area Office’s Compliance Assistance Specialist Marianne McGee. We would not be here without her patience and tenacity. Please join me in thanking BP America for their unwavering support and leadership for NSTEPS for the past 15 years.
The new Chairperson is Joyce Ryel, and David Pickard and Cody Anfinson will be serving as Co-Chairs. They are extremely well qualified and have demonstrated excellent leadership. The future of the network is in good hands.
Joyce Ryel works as HSEQ Corporate Auditor and DOT Specialist for Superior Energy Services, just completing 20 years with the company. She is active in the Association of Energy Service Companies (AESC) and she serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee, and served as the AESC President in 2016. She is a founding member and past Chairperson of the Oklahoma based MCEPS (Mid Continent Exploration and Production Safety Network) and served as the Co-Chairperson for the National STEPS organization. Joyce graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Central Oklahoma with a Master’s Degree in Adult Education and Industrial Safety where she teaches as an adjunct professor. Joyce is the founding donor for a scholarship for safety students at the college.
Joyce serves as Chairperson for the American Petroleum Institute (API) committee reviewing the Recommended Practice 54 Occupational Safety and Health for Oil and Gas Well Drilling and Servicing Operations. She is a long-time member of the Oklahoma Trucking Association and the American Society of Safety Engineers. Joyce serves as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Husky Hydrovac, LLC and serves on the OSHA Oil & Gas Conference Planning Committee.
Among her honors are AESC Safety Professional of the Year, Safety Professional of the Year for the Oklahoma Trucking Association and the Highest Achievement Award for Dale Carnegie. Joyce lives on the family farm in northwest Oklahoma where she and her husband raise wheat and cattle. She has three children and 4 grandchildren.
David Pickard is a Safety & Health Manager who works with XTO Energy to design and implement Environmental, Health & Safety Programs for upstream processes. David is recognized as a personable leader who positively influences the motivation and productivity of diverse and organizational teams by recognizing and empowering individual strengths to achieve established goals. He achieved his Certified Safety Professional designation in 2002 and has training in many safety areas including Incident Investigation and Behavior Safety. David holds a BS in Industrial Engineering and MS in Industrial Hygiene from Texas A&M University along with a MS in Environmental Management from University of Houston Clear Lake.
Cody Anfinson is a HSE Planner with BHP in Houston, Texas. Cody has spent the last three years working with the North American Shale Operations. He has 10 years’ experience in Oil and Gas. Cody is a member of AIHA Gulf Coast Chapter and is a Certified Safety Professional. Cody is also a member of the Texas Army National Guard serving as an Apache Helicopter Pilot, and served one tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2013. Cody has had a key role in NSTEPS projects.
I will serve as the immediate Past Chairperson through the end of 2018. The rest of the board remains the same with Elizabeth Haley as New Network Coordinator, and Joe Greco, Anthony Zacniewski, Eric Genet and Stephen Langlinais as Regional Coordinators.
The Advisory Committee consists of Marianne McGee, JD Danni and Jim Shelton with OSHA, Kenny Jordan with AESC, Jim Sierra with Texas Oil and Gas Association, Erik Milito, Holly Hopkins and Emily Hague with API, Joan Smith with RRCC, Dean Wingo with UT Arlington, and Ryan Hill, Kyla Retzer and David Caruso with NIOSH.
Others include Paul Breaux, Scott Arnold, Josh Ortega, Jason Vogeli, Elizabeth Lawhorn-Cryder, Bill Walker and Brent Haddow. Special thanks to Marianne McGee, Kenny Jordan, Dr. David Michaels, Dr. John Howard, Eric Esswein, Joe Bustemante, Charlie Carr, Pete Eustis, Gerard Brumfield, Cheryl Metzler, Russel Edwards, Jim Pickett, Marc Larocca and Ted Reed for their support and guidance, and to Svetlana Genet for the outstanding work on the new National STEPS Network website.