HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
- 2017 -
Roger Soucy
Roger Soucy’s name has become all but synonymous with the oil and gas service and supply sector. He was the first president of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) after it spun away from the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC) in 1981 and continued to lead the organization until 2010.
Roger was born in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, raised in Saskatoon, and attended the University of Saskatchewan where he studied French and psychology. His original career ambition was to join the military. While in university, he served six years with the North Saskatchewan Regiment Army Reserves.
“I had wanted to attend Royal Military College to train to be a pilot but I didn’t pass the eyesight requirements. They offered me combat arms instead but that didn’t appeal to me,” Roger says.
Nonetheless, Roger cites the leadership skills he learned in the Reserves (where he was one of the youngest sergeants ever at the time) as an important part of his later career – along with being the oldest sibling in a family of six.
With few prospects in Saskatchewan in the 1970s, he followed many of his peers westward to Alberta. There he took a series of sales-oriented jobs that ultimately led him to work for an oilfield service and supply company.
In 1979, he took a job as a manager with the CAODC. When the National Energy Program (NEP) hit in 1981, it became clear that the service and supply sector needed a stronger voice to express their unique concerns to the provincial and federal government. With the CAODC’s blessing, PSAC was formed as a separate organization.
Because CAODC supported the move (in fact, had effectively instructed Soucy to do it), the “separation” did not initially involve any changes for Roger and his assistant who did not even move offices.
“Like a lot of things in life, ending up in a leadership role is a just matter of showing up. Most people defer the hard jobs because they don’t want to take on the extra work but those are also the ones that put you in the position to make decisions.”
From the outset, Roger was a relentless warrior against NEP. This was just the beginning of his role as a lobbyist which he would carry on for 30 years. During that time, PSAC grew from a two-person shop to a national organization with a staff of 11 that represents more than 250 member companies employing 52,000 people.
Roger is particularly proud of the organization’s 2008 public relations campaign which includes a public website, a series of print articles called Patchworks and Community Partners, a program aimed at building relationships between industry members and the communities in which they operate.
Roger has also been a leader in the community through a wide range of volunteer efforts. He was president of the Calgary Junior Chamber of Commerce during 1980-81. In 1995, he launched PSAC’s annual fundraising gala for the STARS, air ambulance service – an initiative that helped raise nearly $5 million.
The PSAC Education Fund Golf Classic that Roger founded has raised over $700,000 for scholarships and grants for students in small communities. He is a member of the Canadian Society of Association
Bud Bell
Roderick Melvin “Bud” Bell was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1943 and grew up in Wolseley, Saskatchewan. During his mid-teens, Bud’s family moved to Saskatoon where he graduated from high school. He went on to receive a bachelor of science, in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan where he met his future wife Jean. He was the first in his family to obtain a university degree, which was a source of great pride for his father.
Upon graduation in 1964, Bud worked for Algoma Steel and then, Northern Plywood. In 1966, he took a position with Schlumberger. Over the years, he was involved with various management positions in Schlumberger North America and in 1985, he was made President of Schlumberger of Canada Ltd and Vice President and General Manager of the Canada – Alaska Business Unit (CAU). In 1992, he moved back to Houston, Texas as Vice President Industry Affairs, Wireline North A
merica. He worked for Schlumberger for 34 years, moving with his family across 15 cities in Canada and the United States, until his retirement in Houston in 1999.
Bud was an enthusiastic sportsman and traveler, enjoying golf, fishing, and hunting throughout Canada and the U.S. He also hunted and fished in Africa, Australia, Mexico, and South America. He and Jean traveled through Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, and much of Europe. He derived a lot of pleasure from his long-time association with his golf buddies.
Bud was a member of and served in executive positions on several industry organizations and charities, including: Houston Junior Achievement , Scholarship Committee for Society of Petroleum Engineers, President of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada and the Association of Retired Executives. He also served as Vice-President of the Board of Directors, Woodlake Forrest II HOA. He was involved in the following organizations: Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta; Canadian Oilwell Drilling Contractors; Society of Petroleum Engineers; Association of Geologists and Geophysicists of America; International Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors; Calgary and Houston Petroleum Clubs and the Canadian Well Logging Society.
Bud was proud of his lifetime memberships in the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Safari Club International (SCI) of Dallas and Houston.
Bud passed away on the evening of May 21, 2016 after a long, courageous struggle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, two sons and five grandchildren.
Grant Fagerheim
Grant Fagerheim is Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Whitecap Resources Inc. He also currently serves on the board of Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd., a TSX publicly traded company. As well, he acts as Advisor to KES7 Capital and Stream Asset Management. He has worked in both the upstream and downstream segments of the energy industry and while doing so attended the Executive MBA program at Queen’s University. He was the founder of Ketch Energy Ltd., Ketch Resources Ltd., and Kereco Energy Ltd. (Cadence). His past directorships include both public and private energy companies and an oil and gas service company.
Grant was born and raised in Estevan, Saskatchewan where his father worked in the coal industry. Grant left home in 1977 to pursue his passion for hockey. He attended the University of Calgary and played hockey there and for a number of US colleges.
“Hockey has always been my passion and it’s a passion I’ve carried forward into my approach to business. Whether in business or in sports, I’ve always focused on building teams. Each iteration of my oil ventures has focused on assembling strong teams,” Grant says.
Grant graduated with a business degree but was not immediately drawn to the oil industry at that time. He began to form a series of companies initially focused on natural gas.
Grant founded Whitecap in 2009 with a capitalization of $46 million initially producing around 850 barrels a day. Today, the company is worth over $3.7 billion and produces just over 60,000 barrels a day.
Whitecap has enjoyed success in spite of the downturn in the industry.
“We were always cautious with debt so, when the downturn hit, we had the resources to pursue opportunities. You have to enjoy the thrill of the hunt in this game,” Grant says.
In his personal time, Grant enjoys playing oldtimer hockey and contributing to a variety of corporate and charitable boards. He has served as Chairman of the Edge School for Athletes in Calgary. He has been a director of the Hockey Canada Foundation since January 2008, has served as Chairman of the Foundation, and was also a member of the Order of Hockey Canada executive committee. In recognition of his contributions to Canada, he was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal created in 2012 to honor the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Through marriage, Grant has a strong family connection to the Saskatchewan Oilpatch Hall of Fame. Both his father-in-law, Bill Hay, and his father before him are in the Hall of Fame.
Grant and his wife Penny have two sons, Brandon and Brett. He keeps up active contact with his Saskatchewan, especially with his sister in Regina.
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