back

LOGA's Don Briggs to take on LAGCOE Looey role

Jun 20, 2017 / News

Louisiana Oil & Gas Association President Don Briggs will serve as LAGCOE Looey for the biennial three-day trade show — Louisiana's largest — scheduled for Oct. 24-26 at the Cajundome.

LAGCOE made the announcement in an issued statement Monday.

The Miami, Florida native founded LOGA in 1992. The Baton Rouge-based organization has grown to include more than 1,300 members, representing the interests of independent exploration and production and service industry.

As LAGCOE Looey, Briggs will serve as the show's ceremonial host and goodwill ambassador. Lafayette and Houston oilman Charlie Moncla served as LAGCOE Looey in 2015.

Chosen by the LAGCOE chairman — this year's chair is Kenny Crouch — and sporting a hardhat, "Looey" greets LAGCOE participants at the door, welcomes international delegations to LAGCOE and takes part in public ceremonies, such as the ribbon-cutting that opens the exposition.

“The LAGCOE Looey golden hardhat has been worn by oil and gas icons since the mid 1950s, and I am extremely honored to be named this year’s Looey,” Briggs said in an issued statement. "The oil and gas industry is a cornerstone of our culture and a major
contributor to our state’s economy. We must continue to fight for the health of our industry and thus the health of our state.”

That Briggs would be able to fulfill that role may have appeared unlikely in 2016. He survived a life-threatening, accidental fall at a vacation home in North Carolina last autumn, sustaining severe injuries. His recovery followed months of medical care and rehabilitation, much of it in Houston. He resumed his role and duties as LOGA president earlier this year.

LAGCOE Looey evolved from the cartoon character "Lafayette Looey," which was used for the first LAGCOE show in 1955. Lyle Cummins served in that symbolic role as the industry's "every man" in 1955.

Since then, three dozen people have served in the symbolic role.

Briggs, attended Florida State University before he took a summer job on a drilling barge in Louisiana and later transferred to the University of Southwestern Louisiana, where he graduated in 1964. He opened his own energy service company, Aztec Pipe and Supply, later purchased by Newpark Resources.

Briggs will be honored as LAGCOE Looey in an August luncheon, part of the run-up to LAGCOE, which drew more than 17,000 participants in 2013 and more than 16,000 in 2015.

Ken Stickney | The Daily Advertiser