Devon celebrates 40 years with $40K for Kids
Mikaila Adams
Senior Associate Editor – OGFJ
Forty years of innovation and determination have led Devon Energy Corp. to its position as the largest gas producer in the state of Texas and the third largest gas producer in the nation. In 1989, Devon became one of the first companies to produce economically viable quantities of natural gas from coal beds. After acquiring Mitchell Energy in 2002, the company asserted its pioneering spirit again in developing what has become the largest gas field in Texas: the Barnett Shale. Horizontal drilling, advanced seismic imaging technology, and enhanced recovery methods coupled with improved fracturing techniques have grown the company's production to more than 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day in the Barnett. So successful is the recovery in the Barnett that producers are now working to explore and develop numerous other shale formations across North America.
Coinciding with the year-long celebration of the Oklahoma City-based company's 40th anniversary, Devon has developed a $40K for Kids program that will see eight $40,000 education grants awarded to nonprofit organizations or schools in areas where the company has field operations (Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming).
The program was developed to show Devon's commitment to the communities in which it operates and to help support the next generation of innovators.
For Devon, anniversary celebrations began with key stakeholders—employees, said Wendi Schuur, Director of Public and Community Affairs at Devon. "We had some fantastic celebration activities with our employees in the spring, and we wanted to take it a step further and celebrate with the communities where we operated."
That's when the idea for $40K for Kids was born. With employee representatives from each of the areas where Devon operates, business teams were established to identify education-centered communities and introduce the program. Before the deadline passed, over 250 applications from schools and non-profit organizations had poured in.
To qualify, the school or organization must be located in or around Devon's business operations (due to its large Texas presence, Devon will award two grants in Texas) and have a strong focus on education. Along with activities, goals, and objectives, the applicants were asked to detail the positive impacts of their programs on the community. Ongoing feasibility and sustainability are important qualities, as is innovation. As Schuur noted, math, science, and technology are of special interest as they are "vital components to what we do, what the oil and gas industry is all about."
As of press time, the company was hard at work narrowing the applicants into finalists and preparing for site visits. Come fall, after school has resumed and the students and teachers have settled in, the company will shake things up by surprising the winning schools and/or non-profit organizations on-site.
But that won't be the end of Devon's community efforts. The company has various other programs through which it invests in the arts, civic initiatives, the environment, and emergency response agencies.
And, it appears likely that additional investment in youth and education may stem from this year's initiative. While the $40K for Kids program is exclusive to 2011, Schuur hinted at possible opportunities for those not receiving grants this year. "We were overwhelmed by the response and exited about the quality of applications that we received," she said, "the quality of the applications and the community need lend themselves to future partnership opportunities."
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