Last week, NSWA hosted its 13th annual Energy Gala at the Will Rogers Theatre in Oklahoma City. The room was packed as we honored 2019 Hero of Industry, Nick Powell and Legislator of the Year, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

Powell is the majority shareholder and president of Colt Energy, Inc. He is currently the Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association chairman and serves on the board of the Kansas Oil & Gas Resources Fund.

“Nick Powell has been a great supporter of our industry and organization for many years,” said Darlene Wallace, NSWA chairman. “He continuously serves on many boards and endlessly fights to protect our rights. We appreciate all he has done, and continues to do, for us.”

The NSWA board of directors voted to honor U.S. Sen. Jon Tester as the 2019 Legislator of the Year.

“We are a bipartisan organization and are proud to honor our champions wherever they are,” said Aindriu Colgan, NSWA vice president of governmental affairs. “Senator Tester is an incredible asset for marginal well producers. It takes a lot of guts and intelligence to work with Chuck Schumer on our issues, and we wanted to make sure and let Senator Tester know that we recognize that and value that.

“Our country’s hyper-partisanship can delude us into thinking that we only need, or want, people who are with us on everything, but that’s not how WASHINGTON works,” said Colgan. “It’s easy to vote up or down on a bill on the Senate floor. The hard work, the heavy lifting, comes before that bill ever gets voted on. That is where Senator Tester has been and will continue to be our champion.

“Marginal producers continue to face threats on all sides, especially when it comes to percentage depletion,” Colgan continued. “We are lucky to have thoughtful and gutsy champions like Senator Tester in our corner.”

If you missed the 2019 gala this year, we hope you will join us in 2020!