OTC 2014 was a grand success and set new records in many aspects, including numbers of attendees, number of exhibitors, the square feet of exhibition, even the total tonnage lifted!!
Congratulations to our SNAME volunteers who worked so hard to make the OTC 2014 a success, and to the many SNAME members who attended the conference from around the globe. This event truly shows the international flavor of our Society.
SNAME figured very prominently again this year when our candidate for the Annual OTC Distinguished Individual Award was selected. Carl-Arne Carlsen, SNAME Blakely Smith medalist and long-time DNV senior staff member was recognized at the OTC Dinner. This is a high honor and Carl-Arne joins a growing list of SNAME members who have been recognized by their industry peers.
This year the OTC, set a new attendance record, with a 46-year high of 108,300, the highest in show history and surpassed the 2013 total of 104,800. The exhibition had 2,568 companies representing 143 countries, including 163 new exhibitors in 2014. International companies made up 44% of exhibitors.
As indicated by Ed Stokes, SNAME member and the chair of OTC Board of Directors, the 2014 technical program played a large role in attracting participants to the conference. There were many sessions/topical breakfasts and luncheons/networking event overflowed.
The SNAME OTC Program Committee led by Darrel Harvey and Donald Burris helped delivered a very strong and very attractive technical program. Darrel is moving up to take on Vice Chair duties of the overall OTC Program Committee and Donald Burris will move to fill his shoes leading the SNAME OTC Program Committee, to be ably assisted by Ro Lokken.
I would like to take this opportunity to also recognize those SNAME volunteers who led the efforts in making the OTC daughter conferences a success; The Arctic Technology Conference, David Molyneux and his team, OTC Brasil, Fernando Frimm and his team and OTC Asia, John Halkyard and his team.
Rod Allan and the Offshore Activities Steering Committee are also to be commended on their organization of the Annual SNAME OTC Reception (supported by SNAME staff member Alana Anderson) and their work in selecting the Best OTC Paper by a SNAME Author.
A final word of thanks to Thalia Kruger and her mentor-volunteers for once again making the Mentor-for-a-Day program a success. This program involves seasoned professionals being teamed up with college students to take ½ day tours of the exhibit space. This has proved to be very successful in the past and the Board of OTC have asked SNAME to work with the BOD Task Force to see how to make this event an OTC wide event, not solely a SNAME event.
I am sure that I have left out the names of some very deserving volunteers and for that I apologize. My only excuse is that we have so many SNAME members involved in the OTC family of events that it is sometimes hard to keep track of things.
Thanks to all and keep up the good work!