I had to take a break from my weekly blog following the Grand Opening of enCore Energy’s Uranium Processing Plant and Wellfield in South Texas. My team and I organized the event and about 300 people – from land owners to local elected officials to family and friends and investors – joined us to celebrate this amazing achievement. What an incredible day of shuttling people, and hosting a Texan BBQ, with yellow cake and yellowcake, speeches and site tours. Then I took a few days off to catch my breath.
But what a day! The weather cooperated with sunny, clear skies. This was a bit of a stress point as prior to contacting the Pastor, it had been raining endlessly. But the day we confirmed the Pastor for the invocation, the skies cleared. Never hurts to ask greater powers for a little help!
Governor Rick Perry, the 47th Governor of Texas and former US Secretary of Energy was our guest speaker and what a speaker. No, I take that back…what a guest! Governor Perry is without a doubt one of the most gracious people I have had the pleasure of meeting. In addition to a fantastic speech that fit our event, he made time for everyone at the event. He was so gracious that as I walked across the property with him, I had to acknowledge this. His words will serve me well in a public company. Without going into details, my lesson from someone who has served in much higher office than I: when you assume a public office, whether in government or a public company, you work for the people who elect you- and it’s good practice to remember this.
So I am paraphrasing a bit, but I have seen instances in public companies where people forget it’s not their company. The public company, like government belongs to the shareholders, we serve at their pleasure, they own the company. It’s our job as public officers to work in their best interest at all times and make time for them. A lesson in grace and responsibility I won’t forget.
So back to Rosita, now in production, the guests at the Grand Opening were able to see how the plant works, they visited the wellfield and the loading zone where we saw the first drums of uranium were heading out the door to enCore’s customers. Customers that will e convert, enrich and fabricate the uranium into fuel for nuclear power plants and provide clean, carbon-free fuel for US electricity.
The next stop for enCore is Alta Mesa, and with the excitement of the day at Rosita the buzz started about the next big event – the Grand Opening of Alta Mesa, also in South Texas. But for now, a few days off was in order, and I took off with my husband, Bill, and our dogs for a few days in a mountain town in Colorado. More on that later.
By the way, Rosita is Spanish for Rose and beautiful in every language. Even more beautiful when it is producing glorious yellowcake.