In March, the SPE Board of Directors established the first SPE major award in more than 50 years. The Stephen A. Holditch Visionary Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have devoted significant time, effort, thought, and action to SPE or the oil and gas industry and who have demonstrated exceptional visionary leadership resulting in a lasting and momentous impact.
The award will be fully established by recognizing Stephen A. Holditch as the inaugural recipient this year. Holditch served as SPE president in 2002, as vice president–finance, and as a member of the SPE Board of Directors from 1998 to 2003. He was named an SPE Honorary Member in 2006 and received all three of SPE’s highest technical awards: the Lester C. Uren Award, the John Franklin Carll Award, and the Anthony F. Lucas Medal. Holditch passed away on 9 August 2019. This major international award will cement his legacy as one of the most influential leaders in the history of SPE.