SHP VP of Community Relations receives inaugural award

Debra Russell, Signal Hill Petroleum’s (SHP) vice president of Community Relations and Real Estate Operations, was recently honored by California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA) as the recipient of the inaugural Emma Summers Award, which is named after the “Oil Queen of California” who came to Los Angeles from Boston in 1893 to teach piano. Showing what some described as “a genius for affairs,” Summers originally invested in a half-interest in a prospective well to be drilled in LA and eventually came to own 14 wells producing 50,000 barrels a month, in
addition to managing her supplies, 40 horses, 10 wagons and a blacksmith shop.
The Emma Summers Award will be conferred annually by CIPA’s membership to a woman who, like Summers, has played a leadership role in the viability of California’s independent crude-oil and natural-gas producing industry.
“Debra embodies the entrepreneurial legacy of Emma Summers,” said CIPA Chief Executive Officer Rock Zierman. “She defined community relations for Signal Hill Petroleum at a time when company leaders knew that its growth depended on getting to know their neighbors and becoming the fabric of the community. Debra’s selfless dedication to her family, career, and community makes her the ideal recipient of the inaugural Emma Summers Award.”
Zierman presented the award to Russell at CIPA’s annual membership luncheon.
Source: SHP