1998 ANNUAL REPORT
Management Letter

WSPA Responds to New Industry Alignment; Is Guided by Company Operating Managers

WSPA completed a remarkable transformation in 1998 which should be a source of pride to its member companies, to members of our working committees and to the staff. With their good work, it was a speedy and efficient exercise that left the Association more focused on the new alignment of the industry’s business structure in the West, under the control of company operating managers, and prepared to operate with substantially reduced budgets.

Details of the reorganization are summarized in this special edition of The WSPA News, but several of the changes deserve attention here. In the "new" WSPA, accountability for issue identification, development of positions, advocacy and budgeting for these activities resides with operating committees that are directly knowledgeable about the real-world situation. With fewer layers of management, the determination of value received for WSPA’s efforts also becomes easier for its members to assess.

The reorganization responded to consolidations, reorganizations and new partnership ventures in the petroleum industry and to renewed focus on smaller, stand-alone business profit centers. It was based on recommendations of the Arthur D. Little management consulting firm after interviews with key member company representatives. The A.D. Little report, while outlining helpful changes, gave high marks overall to WSPA’s professional advocates, its staff and its accomplishments.

The best news is that the reorganization strengthened WSPA’s pro-active advocacy efforts to meet new challenges involving NOx, diesel, offshore production and the emergence of serious county and city government attempts to alter industry marketing practices. It also gave support to WSPA’s plans to use its improved website and other electronic means to communicate more regularly and more fully with its allies, its grassroots constituency and its member companies.

As shown by the articles in this special edition, WSPA has made substantial headway on a variety of important issues in 1998 even as it transformed itself organizationally. With our new streamlined, more focused structure there is every reason to believe that, with your help, WSPA will be an even stronger, more vibrant and more innovative advocate for the industry in the years to come.