The Woodward News

Local News

August 11, 2012

Convention closes with awards dinner

Brandi Thomas Woodward News

Woodward, Okla. — The 2012 Tri-State Oil and Gas Convention was closed out by an awards banquet and tribute to Bobby Joe Cudd on Thursday evening at the Woodward Conference Center.

Junior Long, chair for TSOGC, opened the evening with a recap of the days events, which he stated 525 people attended the oil and gas convention.

Then Bonnie Hardwick, vice chairperson of TSOGC, gave a brief history about the almost 3 years of effort it took to make the convention a reality.  Hardwick recognized the support from the local community and area energy industry which helped to make the convention possible.

Long then returned to the podium to discuss Bobby Joe Cudd's role as an industry icon.  Beyond being renowned for his leadership and innovation, Long said Bobby Joe was known for "the knack he had to capture a room or location when he walked into it."

Long said that when organizers first started putting the convention together, they approached Bobby Joe's wife Renee about dedicated the inaugural TSOGC convention to Bobby Joe Cudd.

He also said that while talking to Renee, she told him that it would have been nice for someone to have done this while Cudd was still alive.

"Our committee took Renee's comment and thought how fitting it would be to honor people from the area who made their mark in the energy industry," Long said.

The crowd then listened to an audio clip, narrated by C.J. Montgomery, about the life of Bobby Joe Cudd.

The audience heard of how Bobby Joe made an impact not only locally, but also internationally in the oil and gas industry.  In 1991, Cudd Pressure Control gained worldwide fame when the company was commissioned to be part of a select team to extinguish oil well fires in Kuwait during the Gulf War.

Once the audio clip was finished, the audience then watched a video of Bobby Joe in action and how he and his team put out oil well fires across the country.

After the video was complete, State Sen. Bryce Marlatt and State Rep. Jeff Hickman presented Renee Cudd with a proclamation honoring Bobby Joe.

Next up was Mayor Roscoe Hill and Bill Fanning, TSOGC treasurer, who presented Renee a plaque proclaiming Aug. 9th as Bobby Joe Cudd Day in Woodward.

Also recognized Thursday evening were 4 recipients of the Bobby Joe Cudd Legacy Awards, which honor individuals, who like Bobby Joe, have dedicated many years of hard work in the oil and gas industry in Northwest Oklahoma.  This 2012 Legacy recipients were Bill Meadows, Don Jeter, J. D. Hodges, and Bob Grace.

Grace also served as the keynote speaker for the evening.

In his address, Grace told stories of how he and Bobby Joe had worked together for about 40 years.

He said that whenever he was around Bobby Joe, his wife could tell because he would start to walk and talk like him.

"The more you were around him, the more you wanted to be like him," Grace said.

Grace said that he missed Bobby Joe and his friendship every day. "Bob loved his friends and was loyal to them," he said.

The evening closed out with Kurt Hirschler asking the entire TSOGC committee to join him on stage to present Junior Long with a special award for all of his hard work and dedication to get the convention off the ground.

Long then presented Bonnie Hardwick with an award for all of her hard work and dedication as well.

"She would have one hand doing something totally different than the other while making phone calls and never complained one time about what we would throw at her," Long said.

Plans are already in the works for next year's convention, with the dates set for Aug. 8-9, 2013.

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