It was a brainstorm, I tell ya! The production team called me about being featured in an episode of a series about women in male-dominated industries. The original thought was we shoot the episode in South Dakota following my recent work engaging with local communities.
“But”, I said, “what about shooting the episode in Texas at our Alta Mesa uranium processing plant outside of Corpus Christi, Texas?” What a great idea, highlight our project that is about to resume production to meet the growing demands and needs for domestic uranium in the United States. I would talk about my experience in the mining and extraction industries across North America, an industry definitely dominated by men historically (but with huge opportunities for women) and show how our in-situ recovery plant works to extract uranium without mining. They loved the concept.
Now, I thought I knew how these productions worked and my idea would take quite a bit of time to work through the approvals. I was in the clear and likely, if at all, would hear back from them sometime in the Fall. If I failed to mention this, I made this suggestion in the heat of the Texas summer.
The approval time was much faster than expected and a few weeks later I found myself baking in the Texas sun while proudly hosting a crew at 105°F. I have probably mentioned this temperature in a previous blog, but I have come back to it as 105°F is really hot, and I mean really hot.
As a Canadian by birth, US citizen by choice, I can be a whiny baby in the heat and have suffered from heat exhaustion in the past. Having worked from 60 below to now 105 above, its tough to decide what I prefer… hmmmm…
But what fun we had. The director was amazing and his wife, a beautiful and talented camera operator (I greatly respect couples who find a way to work together). After 6 hours in the hot sun out in the field, free of shade but accompanied by a lovely strong warm wind, there was never a word of complaint… true professionals. Though I have to admit it took me days to re-hydrate.
I have no idea if the episode will air, I will keep you posted but if nothing else, I did get to spend an amazing day with incredible people and truly cannot wait to see the Alta Mesa project up and running; employing people, supporting local business and providing Texas and the United States with an energy source. Forget this energy independence… energy dominance in Texas!
“Amarillo Alta Mesa by morning, up from San Antone…” my tribute to a George Strait classic… but so fitting.
