March 2016

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ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

What Do I Say?By Cynthia Patterson

This is interesting. Now I know how awkward a camera person feels when taken from behind the camera and placed in front of the camera. Camera operators and writers are alike in that we prefer to focus on the other person. This is both a natural preference and a coping skill. I find myself now staring at the blank page, tumbling various ideas for writing about myself. When I pitched the idea of writing profiles on CITGO Alumni members a few months back, my intention was to learn about other members. I was a consultant at CITGO in Tulsa during the E2000 implementation of SAP for Light Oils (1998-2000). Oh, yes, do you remember the big scare about computers worldwide and how the new millennium date of 010100 might cause global chaos? I was on that team, too, but we were pretty confident our systems would be okay. And they were. Not because of finger crossing, heel clicking, wishing on stars. Because we had the right people, in the right positions, doing the right work at the right time, both leaders and follower-leaders.

PERSONAL PROFILE

NEWS FOR AND ABOUT RETIREES AND FORMER EMPLOYEES OF CITGO.

Cynthia Patterson

Over 100 CAG members and their guests signed up to attend the 2015 Christmas Dinner which was held on December 14th at Meadowbrook Country Club in Tulsa. Steve Baldwin, the food and beverage service manager, did a wonderful job having the tables, the buffet and the bar ready for our crowd. This was the second year in a row that the CAG Christmas dinner has been held at Meadowbrook courtesy of CAG member and Meadowbrook member, John Dillingham. Charlotte Loomiller and Carolyn Stewart assisted Ramona Falzone in orchestrating the event. The buffet contained a wonderful selection of salads, potatoes, vegetables, grilled chicken and a roast beef carving section, topped off by splendid desserts. Everyone appeared to love the meal Ramona had selected and provided the attendees. Included among those present were a couple of very pleasant surprises with Jay Davis and Don England and his wife showing up. To see Don, Jay, and Julie talking with Herb was “Product Supply déjà vu” all over again for many of us. It was a pure delight to observe so many old friends from various departments visiting and dining together and reminiscing about the special times we had as CITGO employees working in the Tulsa corporate office.

CITGO Alumni Group’s 2015 Christmas Dinner

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PAGE 2 The CITGO Alumni Connections

2015 Alumni Christmas Dinner ... Continued from cover.

After the excellent dinner and decadent dessert choices, the crowd was entertained by the Tulsa Union High School Girls Choir, who delivered a melodious performance of Christmas carols intertwined with a fun filled skit. If the CITGO camaraderie and delicious food and wonderful entertainment was not enough, the Christmas CITGO

Alumni Group event was concluded with a creatively crafted door prize raffle by Ramona, which afforded every single person at every table to leave the event with a CAG Christmas gift. What a great way it was for the CITGO Alumni Group members and guests to celebrate the holiday season.

PAGE 3 The CITGO Alumni Connections

2015 Alumni Christmas Dinner - More Fun Photos ... Continued from page 2.

Cynthia Patterson ... Continued from cover.

I just coined that term follower-leader, do you like it? I use it quite respectfully, because everyone I worked with on the team led by Pete Luitweiler was smart and experienced—and yes, that comes with strong opinions, too—but we were given authority with boundaries which everyone respected. It worked like no other project at any other company I have been involved with before or since. It was one of those ‘moments in time’. I hear others talk about that synergy, built and maintained over the years. By the time I came to the office, it was firing on all 8 cylinders. I am not referring only to the project team, but to all the business unit leaders and process owner contacts who also contributed to such a successful implementation. That experience changed the trajectory of many people on the team, launching them into increasingly higher positions with major companies headquartered in Tulsa and elsewhere. See how natural it is to transfer the attention away? Seriously, though, I am sharing my CITGO story for a purpose. It is the same reason that I enjoy attending the Alumni lunches, when I am able to. I want to hear more stories of how the good people of CITGO positively impacted lives, whether a moment in time, a career direction lasting decades, or lasting friendships. I think these describe the ‘roots’ that are not found often in companies, large or small. I like to read (a lot!). A book titled, “Now Discover Your Strengths,” was written to share results of thousands of Gallup polls about the workplace. It identifies a set of questions the polls revealed are the anchors to a satisfying work experience. One anchor in particular has intrigued me. The question posed is, “Do you have a best friend at work?” It seems to me the culture of respect and acceptance that pervaded the halls at CITGO allowed many friendships to form. Whether folks worked together on a daily basis or just found themselves enjoying each other’s company at social events, the single attribute I observe at Alumni lunches is this genuine friendship.

If you would like to share your story with me, whether it is about your personal life, your CITGO favorite stories, or a mix, I would like to collaborate with you to write a story for a future CITGO Alumni newsletter profile. I am grateful for both my first and second set of years at CITGO, when I accepted a position as a Tax Accountant from 2004-2011 (Tulsa and Houston). Writing profiles is my way of giving back, of gleaning more pearls of wisdom and connection stories, and an opportunity to get to know more great folks. If you would like to share your story with the group, please email me at pattercy@aol.com. Thank you!

I N M E M O R I U M

Bill Wylie

PAGE 4 The CITGO Alumni Connections

DRILLERS BASEBALL GAME4:00 PM • MAY 11, 2016

All CITGO Alumni, family members and guests are invited to our Tulsa Drillers game outing on Wednesday, May 11th at 4:00 at ONEOK Field, against perennial foe, the Arkansas Travelers. Very good seating will be in the shade on the first base side of the field. Discounted tickets with a special concession stand coupon for hot dog, chips and drink are $16 per person. Discount tickets without the food coupon are $10 each. Jim Holland will have your tickets near the Will Call window the day of the game. Sign up for this outing and pay for tickets at the Annual Luncheon, April 18th or notify Jim Holland at jbhl@cox.net of your head count (with or without food coupon) and send a check made

out to “CITGO Alumni Group” to Carolyn Stewart (see page 6 for her mailing address). Please note on the check it is for baseball tickets. Payment and head count must be received by May 4th to ensure seating with the CITGO block. Five randomly selected ticket holders will receive a Drillers cap the night of the game!

What started as a simple promise to a friend in Taos, NM, in 2005, has added a remarkable new dimension to Oklahoma State University’s education offerings with the dedication of internationally known artist Doel Reed’s studio in July. Reed was hired in 1924 by then Oklahoma A&M to head and develop the university’s art department. He retired as professor emeritus in 1959 to Taos where he continued producing his award-winning artwork. Reed and his wife, Jane, both passed away in the 1980s. In October, 2005, Kent Young vowed to help Reed’s daughter, Martha, fulfill a dream of donating the family property to OSU, her alma mater, to use as a teaching facility. She wanted the donation to be a tribute to her father. When Martha passed away December 28, 2010, Young and the OSU Foundation had everything in place to fulfill her wish. Since then, Young and his wife Jeanette have worked closely with the OSU Foundation on the transfer of the estate—Martha’s home, the parents’ home and Reed’s art studio (a former goat shed), all historic adobe structures. The end result was the establishment of the Doel Reed Center for the Arts (DRCA). Acclaimed for his black & white aquatint prints, Reed was a member of the prestigious National Academy of Design, the only Oklahoman to achieve that distinction. His works can be found in museums worldwide. Martha, herself, was a well known artist. She designed and produced, with the help of women from the Taos Pueblo, Southwest fashions such as hand-pleated broomstick skirts and velvet blouses adorned with sterling silver buttons. She designed and sold these through her shop, “Martha’s of Taos,” located next door to the famous Taos Inn. Her list of clients included European nobility, Rosalyn Carter, Hollywood movie stars and women attending inaugural

White House events. She made all of the garments for one of Dennis Hopper’s weddings. Martha was—in short—a Taos diva. Martha’s renovated home was dedicated in August, 2013; Reed’s renovated studio was dedicated last July with 75 to 80 people attending. The dedication was led by DRCA Executive Director Ed Walkiewicz with OSU President Burns Hargis participating. The studio will serve as a mini-museum and working studio with Reed’s art materials and printing press in place for use by OSU students or visiting print-makers. Renovation is currently underway on the other home which will be used by visiting artists, writers, OSU faculty and other guests. The multi-disciplinary DRCA will be open not just to art students, but writers, geology and botany students and faculty on sabbaticals to name a few. In fact, the DRCA has already hosted dozens of students for classes in Taos including 27 credit-course students this summer. The DRCA also includes visiting artist and visiting scholar programs, both privately funded. The Reed property is there, as Martha envisioned, providing educational experiences that never existed before. “The progress that has been made,” said Young, “is absolutely remarkable, far beyond what Martha and I talked about in 2005, thanks to our director, OSU and dedicated donors.” Hargis summed up his thoughts on Martha’s donation: “This project has really raised the visibility of OSU art and other disciplines. To have a major program in this art mecca (Taos) is a tremendous opportunity.” For more information on the DRCA, please visit OSUgiving.com/DoelReed.

PAGE 5 The CITGO Alumni Connections

Doel Reed Center for the Arts (DRCA)By Kent Young

We want the CITGO Alumni Connections to offer information from and about ALL retirees and former employees of CITGO. If you participate in activities with other CITGO Alumni in your area, we want to hear from you so we can share what you’re doing with the rest of our membership.

Please send announcements or updates you would like to see in the Newsletter to cornelia.schlecht@cox.net.

The CITGO Alumni Group’s membership year runs from January 1 through December 31 and dues are paid once during that period. If you haven’t paid your $10.00 membership dues for calendar year 2016, now is the time to do it. By paying your dues, you will receive copies of the CITGO Alumni Connections newsletters to keep you up to date on news and events of the CITGO Alumni Group. Send your $10 membership fee (Made payable to the CITGO Alumni Group) to:

Carolyn Stewart7509 E. 91st Pl. • Tulsa, OK 74133 bstewart47@cox.net

Please include your E-mail address and/or any mailing address updates with your payment. THANK YOU.

If you pay your membership dues in cash, please attach your name to the cash so Carolyn will know who she received the payment from.

Please send newsletter article contributions for the CITGO Alumni Connections by e-mail to:

Ray Yarroll at rpyarr@cox.net

or by U.S. Mail to:

Ray Yarroll7421 E. 74th St. • Tulsa, OK 74133

PAGE 6 The CITGO Alumni Connections

Reminder ...Our CITGO Alumni Group e-mail directory is available on our website http://www.citgoalumni.org/

Simply click the “directory” tab.

The password is the current day’s date (for example 02132012 ... tomorrow it will be 02142012, etc.)

If you have any questions or corrections, please let us know.

Save the Date

Monday • April 18, 11:30 a.m.Ti Amo’s Restaurant • 61st and Sheridan

The Spring Luncheon will again be graciously sponsored by Energy One Credit Union. Check-in begins at 11:30 a.m.,

with a delicious buffet luncheon at noon.

Please remember this luncheon is for Alumni Group members only.

AT THIS MEETING You may pay your 2016 dues of $10, if you have not yet done so. Dues are still only $10, and your check

should be payable to ‘CITGO Alumni Group.’

Be sure to sign up for a fun-filled evening at a Drillers game on May 11 (4:00). Discounted tickets are $10 for the game

and $6 for a hot dog, chips, and drink. For more information, see Announcement on page 4.

We will elect Board Members for 2016-2017. If a member wants to nominate someone, they need to get the nominee’s permission in advance.

Please R.S.V.P. to Ramona Falzone at OSUmom2@sbcglobal.net by April 11th.

Visit the CITGO Alumni Group website for the most up-to-date list of new retirees.

ANNUAL SPRING LUNCHEON