Wildcattin'

Tonight, I attended a “Wildcatter” function at our local Petroleum club. The Wildcatters Club always honors one of their peers who has gone above and beyond in our industry. The event was fun, as usual. I was able to visit with many customers, and see many of my peers in a relaxed atmosphere.

Friendships were rekindled, hands shaken, hugs given and received. Stories were told, and I laughed a lot, throughout the evening. It’s always good to laugh. Though I was one of but a handful of women present, this meeting always feels as good as putting on a favorite coat.

I walked up to a trio of men, one of whom happens to be my boss. After visiting for a minute, my boss took off to work the crowd. One of my customers started laughing. He'd never met my boss, and when he did meet him, he asked, "So - do you work for Janie?" Too funny.

I saw one of my colleagues from my early sales days. I think the guy has retired three times. As of late, he has been mentoring younger sales people. He said, “My company wants them to follow me around.” I looked at him, smiled, and said, “Well, you’ve been in this place before, haven’t you?” He looked back at me, puzzled, and then, he got it. I trailed after him many a day myself when I was starting out in sales, over 20 years ago. And I learned a lot from him. He’s a great guy – we all need more mentors!

I ran into this guy's better half, and as always, it’s a pleasure to visit with this one.

Our industry is organic, constantly changing, and as such, I was able to reconnect with some former co-workers. It’s always good to see them. Even though they’re gone, there’s still such a sense of family.

I met a man who happens to own a brother to Zack, The Wonder Dog. We were talking about hunting, and I mentioned the fact that we owned littermates. He was unaware, curious, and started asking about Zack. Can he hunt? Does he do well? Y’all know the answers to those questions. So I asked him about his dog. He unloaded on me! He said, “My dog is so stupid in the field! We were hunting the other day, and a friend of mine was working his dog. His dog retrieved a bird, and my dog went and stole the retrieved bird from my friend’s dog, ran away with it, and hid the bird.” He was laughing, though, and told me the dog is well loved, and shares common traits with Zack…such as sleeping on the bed with his owners. I just laughed. There, but for the grace of God and Zack’s trainers, go us!

It was an awesome night – it’s never boring around here! Functions will happen almost every night this week, and will kick off the Christmas party season next week. It will be hectic – but fun.