SCIA Remains Pillar of Oil and Gas Industry

Even as the world changes, the prominence of Louisiana’s oil and gas industry has stood the test of time. That is why, for over two decades now, the South Central Industrial Association (SCIA) has remained committed to its support of local oil, gas and marine operations.

“I don’t think oil and gas is going anywhere. Obviously there are other sources of energy, but in this region, oil and gas is very, very important, and we need to speak in one voice and let everyone know how important oil and gas is,” SCIA Director Christy Naquin says.

Founded in 1997, SCIA is a non-profit organization led by local industrial leaders and comprised of representation from over 250 local companies that serves to bring employees of various industries together to develop innovative solutions for improving the business climate.

Companies can join SCIA for a set fee of $350 per year, which earns every employee of the company membership into the organization, regardless of whether it has two employees or two-thousand, Naquin says.

Membership grants companies access to events like webinars and monthly luncheons, which feature guest speakers that include prominent leaders across various industries.

“Networking is key. There’s not a lot of opportunity for the leaders of companies to come together,” Naquin says. “SCIA is really about bringing in the leaders of these major organizations, and even the mom and pop organizations…[and] allowing them to sit together, network, hear the dynamic speakers, get some feedback from them [and learn] what worked with their companies and didn’t work.”

In addition to creating networking opportunities for company leaders, SCIA serves as an advocate for issues like levee protection, infrastructure and coastal preservation and restoration efforts.

“Without oil and gas, you wouldn’t have anyone providing the funds for coastal restoration. Oil and gas and coastal restoration, they go hand in hand. They’re not enemies. They’re best friends, basically, and you need one for the other,” Naquin says.

SCIA also takes pride in its partnerships with higher education institutions like Nicholls State University and Fletcher Technical Community College.

The organization aids in funding Nicholls’ programs related to oil and gas and maritime operations, including its Petroleum Engineering Technology and Safety Management (PETSM) program. At Fletcher, Naquin says SCIA assists with the institution’s workforce initiatives.

SCIA offers two types of scholarships to students at both Nicholls and Fletcher: needs-based and merit-based.

The one-time merit-based scholarships are awarded to students with high achievements in academics, including high grade point averages and ACT scores, who are children of SCIA members.

Recipients of needs-based scholarships are selected by the universities themselves and are awarded to students entering a field like PETSM who need assistance with funding their college education. At Nicholls, the scholarships are ongoing from semester to semester, as long as the recipient meets minimum qualifications. At Fletcher, a new recipient is chosen for each six-to-eight week workforce training.

Naquin says that SCIA continues to support institutions like Nicholls and Fletcher with hopes that graduates will stay in the area and become the future of local industries like oil and gas.

“We don’t want them going anywhere. We want them to stay here. It’s a culture. So we’re hoping that by helping them through school, then maybe they’ll want to stay here. By putting them through school in some sort of workforce development or program that has something to do with an industry in our region, then maybe they’ll want to stay in our region,” Naquin says.

To fund such offerings as scholarships, SCIA hosts three annual fundraising events–two of which were put on hold this year as a result of the impacts of COVID-19.

The organization’s annual awards banquet, which Naquin says brings in about 400 attendees, was cancelled this year, while its popular crawfish boil event, which sees upwards of 850 guests, has been postponed. Naquin says SCIA hopes to reschedule the boil to November as a fish fry.

The organization is still set to host its annual golf tournament on Oct. 5 this year.

“The scholarships that we give out are based on last year’s events and profits. We want to still be able to continue to give out these scholarships, and so we don’t want to throw our hands in the air and say, ‘Oh we just won’t do anything this year,’ because then we know next year we won’t be able to give out any scholarships,” Naquin says. “We may not be able to sell out our golf tournament…[but] our member companies are ready to do something, and they know…that the funds that are raised are used for really good things in the area.”

The postponement of some of SCIA’s large-scale events is not the only adaptation the organization had to make.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, monthly luncheons were shifted to an online format, with guest speakers giving talks virtually.

In the meantime, the organization has worked to provide resources to businesses seeking grants or aid with recovery as a result of COVID-19. Naquin says she sat on the panel for the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority’s (TEDA) Bayou Business Recovery Grant Program, helping to award aid money to businesses in the parish.

“[It was] eye opening…Some of these businesses are family generations-owned,” Naquin says. “I was proud to represent SCIA in that way.”

Naquin says that while she and SCIA board members know that operations will be different for a while as a result of the pandemic, SCIA is welcoming the opportunity to continue to bring value to its organization.

“For $350, what do you get? You get a heck of a lot. You get the opportunity, hopefully, to mix and mingle and network again. We write letters to regional, state and federal delegations representing the industry and the region…We do lots of education and webinars. We do as much as we can for our members, and as soon as we can, we will start bringing them together again,” Naquin says.

Above all, Naquin says she is proud of the work that SCIA has done for Louisiana’s prominent industries and the future of those industries.

“Trying to educate the members and making a difference in the region and helping these companies in some way… and then making a difference in these kids lives is probably the big one,” Naquin says.•