Manual for Officers and Directors

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • President
  • President-Elect
  • Vice President - Technology
    • Guidelines for Symposium Abstract Selection
    • Guidelines for Symposium Best Paper Presentation Award
    • Guidelines for Symposium Best Poster Presentation Award
    • SPWLA Foundation
    • Historical Facts and Figures
  • Vice President - Education
    • Distinguished Speaker Program
  • Vice President - Finance, Secretary and Administration
    • Membership Solicitation Awards
  • Vice President - Publications
    • Petrophysics
  • Vice President - Information Technology
  • Regional Directors
  • Executive Director
  • Past President
  • Appendices (Not currently included)
    • Current Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
    • Motion Trail
    • Chapter Information
      • List of Chapters
      • Model Chapter bylaws
    • SPWLA Foundation
    • Historical Facts and Figures

Introduction

The 1980-1981 Board of Directors initiated the publication of a Director's Manual to provide guidance to incoming Board members. The manual was used, reviewed and revised extensively by several subsequent Boards. The 1995 reorganization of the Board of Directors requires that a new version be published; this document is the result.

It is important that all Board members have an understanding of the functions of all Board members and of the role of the Executive Director. The duties enumerated in this manual are "guidelines" reflecting my perception of current practices, with input from many of you (and a great deal of plagiarism of earlier manuals). Each member of the Board may visualize the performance of these duties as more or less expansive than presented herein. This manual should be updated to incorporate the actual functions performed, to provide the most accurate guidance to subsequent Boards. This update is one of the roles of the President-Elect.

Eric Pasternack, VP, Finance and Administration, 1995
REVISED July 2022 -

President

By-laws, article I, section 4: The President shall preside at all meetings of the corporation and of the Board of Directors and shall be an ex-officio member of all Corporation committees. The President shall appoint all standing committees and shall perform duties that pertain to the direction of the Corporation.

Responsibilities:

Board meetings:

  • Preside at Board meetings.
  • Encourage Board members to attend all Board meetings. If any Board member does not have the financial support of his/her employer, the Board should consider a special allowance to cover some travel expenses.
  • Provide a written report in advance of each Board meeting.
  • Prepare an agenda for each Board meeting. Request written reports from Board members for each meeting. If anyone cannot attend, their report should be sent to the President or Executive Director for distribution.
  • Schedule Board meetings. The following is the normal schedule for Board meetings. Locations are suggested based on past experience. Notices should be sent out at least 5 weeks prior to each meeting, so travelers can plan ahead.

TIME

LOCATION

Immediately after Symposium

Symposium site

September

Houston

December

Future symposium site

March

As needed

Immediately before Symposium

Symposium site


Chapter assignments:

Assign Chapters to Regional Directors at the first Board meeting. Chapters must be represented by Regional Directors for whom their members were eligible to vote. Chapter-at-Large liaison is the function of the VP-Education.

Committees:

  • Appoint members of all Standing Committees (Technology, Publication, Education, Nominations, and Awards) based on the recommendations of the specific committee chairs.
  • Assign 4 members of the SPWLA Board to the SPWLA Foundation Scholarship and Grants Committee (VP Technology should always be one).

Annual Business Meeting:

  • Prepare agendas and seating assignments for Annual Business Meeting and Awards Banquet.
  • Prepare an agenda for Leadership Luncheon Meeting.
  • Preside at the Annual Business Meeting, Awards Luncheon and Leadership Luncheon Meeting.

Formalities:

  • Sign membership certificate and welcome letter for new members.
  • Sign Chapter Presidents' certificates for newly elected Chapter Presidents.
  • Sign charters for newly established Chapters.
  • Sign bank account signature cards and the bonding application.

Staff:

  • Sign employment contracts.
  • Conduct employee reviews in January.

Other:

  • Acquaint new Board members with Society practices.
  • Ensure that all Board members dutifully perform their assigned jobs.
  • Prepare President-Elect for next year.
  • Forward copies of all correspondence to the SPWLA Business Office.

President-Elect

By-laws, Article I, section 5: The President-Elect shall succeed to the office of President at the conclusion of his/her term as President-Elect. The President-Elect shall be responsible for liaison activities with other technical societies, preparation of an annual report of the Corporation, and any other duties assigned by the President. The President-Elect shall preside in the absence of the President.

Responsibilities:

Board meetings:

  • Preside at Board meetings in the absence of the President.
  • Serve as parliamentarian.
  • Prepare a written activity report in advance of all Board meetings.

Society liaison:

  • Act as liaison with AAPG, with which we are affiliated.
  • Act as liaison with other major professional societies.
  • Serve as liaison with the SPWLA Foundation.
    Keep Board informed of SPWLA Foundation activities.
    Chair past-president meetings, and keep Board informed of their concerns (attend past-presidents meeting at annual symposium where he is installed as president-elect).

Other:

  • Develop a thorough knowledge of the Articles of Incorporation and By-laws to ensure that all actions of the Board and its Committees are in compliance with those governing documents. Compose proposed revisions to these documents to implement changes proposed by the Board or general membership.
  • Develop a thorough knowledge of Society practices and procedures.
  • Supervise the annual revision of the Director's Manual. Collect policy changes developed by the Board during the year, and discuss duties with other Board members in order to update their job descriptions. Provide all changes to the SPWLA Business Office so they can issue an update to the following Board.
  • Forward copies of all correspondence to the SPWLA Business Office.
  • Review the long-range plan and modify it as necessary. Convene and chair a long-range planning committee.
  • Establish a dialog with past presidents, who are an important resource.

Vice President - Technology

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A DETAILED SPREADSHEET OF THE SPWLA Guidelines for VP Technology

Additional information for VP of Technology;

Guidelines for Symposium Abstract Selection:

Abstracts are to be graded using the following scoring system:

+2

Definitely want to accept

+1

Acceptable

0

Marginal

-1

Not acceptable

-2

Definitely not acceptable

X

Abstention (for reasons cited below)

Abstracts will be rated based on their average scores, provided that at least 60% of the participating committee members do not abstain. If more than 40% of the participating members abstain, the abstract will be rejected.

The following rules and guidelines govern abstentions:

  • Members of the Technology Committee must abstain from voting on abstracts on which they are authors.
  • Committee members should abstain if they feel they cannot make an unbiased technical judgement on an abstract because of particular subjects, authors, or company affiliations.
  • Members may abstain if they feel unqualified to judge an abstract because of their lack of understanding of the subject material. However, members should seek the opinions of trusted, knowledgeable colleagues rather than abstain from lack of familiarity with the subject.

Guidelines for Symposium Best Paper Award

The following criteria are to be used for selecting the best paper presentation:

  • Presentation quality (delivery, organization, visuals, etc.)
  • Originality
  • Quality of writing and documentation
  • Contribution to the advancement of the technology of formation evaluation.

To qualify for the award, a paper must be presented at the Symposium, be included in the Transactions, and not have been previously published.

Each member of the Technology Committee in attendance at the Symposium is eligible to participate in the selection. Members should provide to the Vice President - Technology their personal rankings of the top 5 (and only five) technical papers. This information should be received within four weeks after the close of the Symposium. Rankings received after this deadline will not be counted. The Vice President - Technology will tally the rankings after assigning points to the papers as follows:

First choice:

5 points

Second choice:

4 points

Third choice:

3 points

Fourth choice:

2 points

Fifth choice:

1 point

The paper receiving the highest point total will be given the "Symposium Best Paper Presentation" award the following year. In the event of a tie, the Vice President - Technology will resolve the situation.

A formal announcement of the Symposium Best Paper Presentation award will be made in the first available issue of Petrophysics after the determination is made. The four runners-up will also be announced (in alphabetical order by author) with the announcement of the winner.

The Best Paper Presentation will also be published in the first available issue of Petrophysics where space permits.

Guidelines for Symposium Best Poster Award

The following criteria are to be used for selecting the best poster presentation:

  • Presentation quality (delivery, organization, visuals, etc.)
  • Originality
  • Quality of writing and documentation
  • Contribution to the advancement of the technology of formation evaluation.

To qualify for the award, a poster must be presented at the Symposium, be included in the Transactions, and not have been previously published.

Each member of the Technology Committee in attendance at the Symposium is eligible to participate in the selection. Members should provide to the Vice President - Technology their personal rankings of the top 3 (and only three) poster papers. This information should be received within four weeks after the close of the Symposium. Rankings received after this deadline will not be counted. The Vice President - Technology will tally the rankings after assigning points to the papers as follows:

First choice:

3 points

Second choice:

2 points

Third choice:

1 points

The paper receiving the highest point total will be given the "Symposium Best Poster Presentation" award the following year. In the event of a tie, the Vice President - Technology will resolve the situation.

A formal announcement of the Symposium Best Poster Presentation Award will be made in the first available issue of Petrophysics after the determination is made. The two runners-up will also be announced (in alphabetical order by author) with the announcement of the winner.

Vice President -Technology Elect

  1. Work with the VP Education in Student Paper Contest organization and selection.
    1. Content is the focus, admin stays with VP Education
    2. Responsible for review the student paper contributions (form own sub technical subcommittee/ad hoc) and appoint judges.
    3. Work on asking for contributions to the SPC
  2. Responsibility to solicit/shape the workshops and field trips landscape at the yearly symposium,
    1. responsibility to accept stays with VP Tech.
  3. VP tech elect is responsible to solicit for the “Global distinguished” proposals, acceptance stays with VP Education.

VP Tech Elect to appoint “LOCAL” board member to participate/shadow/volunteer organizing in the SIGs conferences, bring SPWLA board in those discussions. Update on the delegation progress the President Elect.

Vice President - Education

By-laws, Article I, section 7: The Vice President-Education shall be responsible for all educational programs of the Corporation, shall maintain technical liaison with all Chapters-at-Large, and shall chair the Education Committee.

Responsibilities:

Board meetings:

  • Prepare a written activity report in advance of all Board meetings.

Education Committee:

  • Select candidates for the Education Committee.
  • Chair all meetings of the Education Committee.

Chapter-at-Large liaison:

  • Obtain names, addresses and phone numbers of all Chapter-at-Large officers.
  • Contact Chapter-at-Large presidents at least bimonthly.
  • Encourage Chapters-at-Large to submit monthly report form provided by Business Office.
  • Encourage Chapters-at-Large to submit "Chapter News" and articles for publication to Petrophysics.
  • Send SPWLA membership applications to Chapters-at-Large and encourage recruitment.
  • Encourage Chapter-at-Large members to submit papers for the Annual Symposium.
  • Solicit suggestions for Distinguished Speakers from Chapters-at-Large.
  • Keep Board informed of Chapter-at-large activities.
  • Distinguished Speaker Program (details in next section).
  • Update list of Distinguished Speakers based on Symposium talks.
  • Provide final list of Distinguished Speakers to Chapters soon after Symposium.
  • Compile preliminary list of Distinguished Speakers at end of term for use in following year.

Topical Conferences:

  • Recommend topics for Topical Conferences to the Board of Directors.
  • Arrange chairpeople for Topical Conferences.
  • Serve on steering committee for all Topical Conferences
    Continuing Education Programs:
  • Compile a list of known continuing education programs in formation evaluation.
  • Provide the list to Chapters (via the Business Office) for use in local programming.

Other:

  • Make recommendations to the Awards Committee for Best Chapter award.
  • Forward copies of all correspondence to the SPWLA Business Office.

Distinguished Speaker Program

"Distinguished Speakers" should be prominent people in the industry, who speak well and have interesting topics to present. Finding people willing to serve as Distinguished Speakers is one of the most challenging functions of the VP - Education. This document is designed to serve as a guideline for the newly elected VP - Education to establish and publicize a list of such speakers.

The outgoing VP - Education should provide you with a list of Distinguished Speakers from the previous year. Many will be willing to serve again. The outgoing VP - Education should also provide you with a list of suggested Distinguished Speakers based on recommendations that have been made throughout the year.

You should attend as many talks at the Symposium as possible. If you like a talk, ask the speaker to volunteer to be a Distinguished Speaker. Good talks from the Symposium provide the majority of Distinguished Speakers each year.

No later than August, you should create a master list of Distinguished Speakers. You should send this to the Business Office to be transmitted to the Regional Directors and to the Chapter Presidents.

Vice President - Finance, Secretary and Administration

By-laws, Article I, section 8: The Vice President-Finance, Secretary and Administration shall chair the Finance Committee and be responsible for recommending the approval of applicants for membership in the Corporation.

Responsibilities;

Board meetings:

Prepare a written activity report in advance of all Board meetings.

Finance Committee:

  • Chair all meetings of the Finance Committee.

Membership:

  • Review membership applications and recommend new members for Board approval.
  • Sign membership certificates for new members.
  • Report current membership status at each Board of Directors meeting.
  • Conduct membership survey every 3-5 years, and publish results in The SPWLA Today Newsletter.
  • Administer the membership solicitation award system.

Treasury:

  • Provide treasury reports to Board at each meeting.
  • Monitor monthly statements from accountant.
  • Approve expense reports submitted by Business Office Staff.
  • Submit a suggested budget for the incoming Board at the last Board meeting.
  • Prepare Annual Report at end of fiscal year for publication in The SPWLA Today Newsletter.
  • Suggest ways to improve the financial condition of SPWLA.

Secretary:

  • Prepare highlights of minutes of Board meetings for publication in The SPWLA Today Newsletter.

Membership Solicitation Awards:

An award is given to the top recruiter each year. The Vice President - Finance, Secretary and Administration at the Symposium Awards Banquet, presents this award.

Awards are also given for cumulative number of members sponsored, at 10, 20, 50 and 100 members. At a level of 100 sponsored members, the award includes SPWLA-paid lifetime membership. The Vice President - Finance, Secretary and Administration at the Symposium Awards Banquet, should also present these awards.

Selection of the physical form of the awards is the responsibility of the Vice President - Membership. Acquisition of the awards should take place through the SPWLA office, and the costs should be reasonable. Costs for the awards will be borne by the SPWLA. Awards should be ordered in ample time to be presented at the Symposium.

Vice President - Publications

By-laws, Article I, section 9: The Vice President-Publications shall coordinate the publication functions of the Corporation and shall be chairman of the Publications Committee.

Board meetings:

1. Prepare a written activity report in advance of all Board meetings.

Details of Duties;

Publications Committee:

  • Recommend candidates for appointment by the President to serve on the Publications Committee. The Publications Committee has the responsibility for reviewing the articles for Petrophysics and for editing other technical volumes published under the auspices of the Corporation

Petrophysics Journal

  • Make sure Petrophysics is published on time every two months. Targeted mailing date is the last week of the first month on the issue cover (e.g. the January-February issue should be mailed before Feb.
  • Work to improve the technical quality and appearance of Petrophysics. Each issue, except the Directory issue (July-August) should have 4 to 6 technical articles.
  • Maintain a system for timely technical review of papers submitted for publication. Technical articles should be reviewed by a minimum of three members of the Publications Committee prior to publication.
  • Exercise prudent judgment in publishing letters to the editor, especially when comments may be perceived as unduly critical, inflammatory, or constituting a personal attack. If a letter is received that comments on a recently published article, the author of the article should be given the opportunity to respond to the comments in writing in the same issue the comment letter is published.
  • Solicit runners-up for Symposium Best Paper Presentation Award for publication in Petrophysics. The Symposium Best Paper Presentation is automatically published, without additional review, in the first possible issue after the award is announced. Also solicit best papers presented at the CWLS and the SPWLA European Symposium.
  • With Publications Committee, select annual Best Paper from Petrophysics. This should be done by March 1. The award is presented by the Vice President - Publications at the Symposium Awards Banquet.
  • Maintain contract with publisher. At renewal time, obtain quotes from several publishers and make recommendation to the Board for renewal or contract with a different publisher.
  • At end of term, prepare July-August issue to aid transition

Staff:

  • Immediately upon taking office, review job descriptions of contract employees retained for publications. These job descriptions should be approved in conjunction with the President. Prior to expiration of any existing contract, evaluate the need for contract renewal and offer a proposal to the Board. If the contract is renewed, make sure the original contract is submitted to the SPWLA Business Office for the permanent file.
  • Supervise contract employees retained for publications.

THE SPWLA Today Newsletter

  • Make sure the Newsletter is published on time every two months

Vice President - Information Technology

By-laws, Article I, section 10: The Vice President-Information Technology shall coordinate all electronic information technology of the Corporation.

  • Board meetings:  Prepare a written activity report in advance of all Board meetings.
  • Infrastructure: Ensure SPWLA computer system, network and Internet connection are up-to-date and adequate to meet the needs and short-term growth of the society and its employees.
  • Software: Ensure the software utilized by SPWLA is up-to-date and adequate to meet the needs and short-term growth of the society and its employees.

Responsibilities:

  • Coordinate all electronic information exchange
  • Support IT-related needs of the business office
  • Coordinate monthly webinars with the VP of Education
  • Coordinate GoToMeeting and webinars for the society chapters as needed
  • Maintain and update the SPWLA website
  • Coordinate free access to SPWLA videos for members via Knowledgette
  • Support symposium IT related matters such as symposium app, broadcasting, website, etc.
  • Board members/members emails
  • Provide access and guidance to chapter admins for editing their webpages
  • Coordinate social media with the social media officer

Regional Directors

By-laws, Article II, section 3: The six Regional Directors shall: assist in the formation of new chapters, work as a liaison between chapters and the Board of Directors, assist the chapters in their operation, and handle other duties assigned by the President.

Responsibilities:

Board meetings:

Prepare a written activity report in advance of all Board meetings.
Report on Chapter needs and activities at Board meetings.

Chapter liaison:

  • Obtain names, addresses and phone numbers of all Chapter officers in your region.
  • Contact Chapter Presidents at least bimonthly.
  • Inform Chapters of new SPWLA members in their area.
  • Encourage Chapters to submit "Chapter News" to Petrophysics.
  • Send SPWLA membership applications to Chapters and encourage recruitment.
  • Encourage Chapters to submit bids to host the Annual Symposium.
  • Encourage Chapter members to submit papers for the Annual Symposium.
  • Inform Chapters of current list of Distinguished Speakers.
  • Encourage Chapters to submit monthly report form provided by Business Office.
  • Provide Chapters with materials needed to promote SPWLA in their local professional and academic communities.
  • Encourage and assist Chapters in establishing a web page for their chapter activities linked to the SPWLA website.

Other:

  • Make recommendations to the Awards Committee for the Best Chapter Award.
  • Details of the all-important Chapter Liaison function are contained on the next page. This is material compiled from previous Directors-at-Large and Regional Directors.

Chapter Liaison

  • Maintaining liaison with your assigned chapters is the single most important role of the Regional Director.
  • Immediately after taking office, make contact with each assigned chapter. A letter of introduction, explaining your role and offering advice and assistance, is strongly recommended. An example of such a letter is attached.
  • You will find that mail and e-mail are often excellent methods of communication, better than the elusive phone call.
  • You should acquire the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of all of the local chapter officers in your region, and provide this to the SPWLA Business Office and to the Board with 30 days of the annual symposium.
  • Provide Chapters with current SPWLA promotional materials. A poster and electronic presentation are available from the Business Office.
  • Encourage the chapters to encourage their members to submit technical articles to the VP - Publications for publication in Petrophysics.
  • Encourage the chapters to submit "Chapter News" items to the Business Office for publication in Petrophysics. Suggest to the chapter presidents that they assign a reporter with the responsibility of submitting a brief report, with photos of chapter activities.
  • Send membership application forms to the presidents of the local chapters and encourage membership recruitment. Additional forms can be obtained from the Business Office.
  • Encourage local chapters to submit a bid to host the Annual Symposium. Guidelines for this are found in the Policies and Procedures handbook published by the Business Office.
  • Encourage local chapters to encourage their members to submit papers for presentation at the Annual Symposium.
  • Work with the VP - Finance, Secretary and Administration to initiate formation of new chapters and revitalize defunct chapters. Financial help can be made available from the SPWLA for this purpose.
  • Attend Board meetings to report on chapter activities, needs, and interests.
  • Encourage Chapters to use the web page to announce their meetings and special events.
  • Provide Board e-mail addresses to local chapters so they can keep the Board informed of local programming.
  • Require monthly reports from each chapter. Forms are available from the Business Office or can be download from the web page. Suggest to the chapter president that this be the responsibility of the chapter secretary.
  • Inform chapter presidents that loans are available from the SPWLA to assist chapters in special projects. Request for loans must be approved by the Board of Directors, and must be requested before the project is actually started.

Executive Director

By-laws, Article VII, section 2: The Executive Director shall be the business manager for the Corporation and shall be responsible to the Board of Directors through the President. The Executive Director shall be appointed and/or dismissed by action of the Board of Directors.

Responsibilities:

Board meetings:

  • Prepare a written activity report in advance of all Board meetings.
  • Attend Board meetings, unless otherwise specified by the Board.
  • Advise the Board on contracts affecting SPWLA Business.
  • Record minutes of all Board meetings.

Board of Directors:

  • Maintain liability insurance coverage for the Board.
  • Provide copies of reports distributed at Board meetings to all Board members.

Financial:

  • Make bank deposits.
  • Serve on the Finance Committee.
  • Renew CDs and set up savings accounts as recommended by Finance Committee.
  • Maintain records of savings accounts and other deposit instruments.
  • Pay and collect bills promptly.
  • Maintain financial records.
  • Furnish a monthly financial report to the VP Finance, Secretary and Administration.
  • Retain an auditor and provide said auditor with necessary information.
  • Handle tax matters, in conjunction with contract CPA.
  • Keep bonding coverage current.
  • Submit timely expense reports to the VP Finance, Secretary and Administration.
  • Submit an annual budget to the Board of Directors at the first Board meeting.

Business Office:

  • Maintain permanent files of SPWLA records.
  • Maintain office supplies.
  • Maintain inventory of SPWLA assets.
  • Receive and disburse daily mail, faxes, telephone calls, e-mail.
  • Maintain office space and equipment.
  • Maintain contracts for all printing.
  • Sign all contractual agreements on behalf of the Society.

Chapters:

  • Maintain record of all Chapter Tax ID numbers.
  • Provide information to Chapters on request.
  • Provide symposium information and consult with Chapters interested in bidding to host.

Membership:

  • Check validity of profiles for membership through the website.
  • Maintain membership database.
  • Email dues notices by November 1.
  • Email dues reminder notices January, February and March.
  • Maintain membership statistics.
  • Maintain a count of monthly new members.
  • Maintain changes to membership certificates.

Elections:

  • Confirm SPWLA membership of potential candidates.
  • Delivered via letter mail, electronic mail, or other suitable means to the voting membership by February 1st.
  • Nominating Committee shall distribute an election ballot by letter mail, electronic mail or other suitable means to qualified voters of the corporation in accordance of the Amended Articles of Incorporation by March 1st.
  • Counting of the ballots April 1 shall be done under the supervision of the Executive Director, Past President, and President.

Petrophysics:

  • Arrange printing, mailing and distribution.
  • Outsource mailing of printed copies to paid subscribers.
  • Maintain non-member subscription records.

Publications:

  • Supervise orders for SPWLA publications.
  • Maintain inventory of publications.
  • Create invoices and collect fees for advertising.

Symposium:

  • Supervise pre-registration mailing.
  • Supervise registration details.
  • Supervise transporting of business office materials to symposium site.
  • Establish and maintain the SPWLA registration desk onsite.
  • Partner with the host Chapter in preparation for and during the Symposium.
  • Make recommendations to the BOD on hosting an annual symposium location in the event of no chapter support.

Symposium Transactions:

  • Supervise the collection of papers for the annual symposium transactions.
  • Supervise the process of delivery of the transactions by electronic, USB and/or OnePetro library.

Other:

  • Ensure SPWLA and Chapter compliance with By-laws and tax codes.
  • Publicize SPWLA events on the website and through electronic messaging.


Past President

While not a Board member, the Past President has several roles to play.

By-laws, Article VIII, section 4: The immediate Past President shall be chairman of the Awards Committee.

By-laws, Article IX, section 1: The immediate Past President shall be chairman of the Nominating Committee.