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FALLS CHURCH, VA, December 14, 2011 - Pipeline Research Council International, Inc. (PRCI), is pleased to announce that Eric Thomas, Chief Operating Officer (COO) for PRCI, has received the Edward N. Henderson Award for distinguished service to the industry and to the Gas Machinery Research Council (GMRC). The award was presented at the closing awards ceremony of the Gas Machinery Conference on October 5, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee.
 | | Eric E. Thomas, COO |
"Eric Thomas provided strong leadership in his two years as the GMRC Chairman," stated Mike Grubb, President & CEO of the Southern Gas Association. "Under his leadership, GMRC secured a Department of Energy grant for 'Advanced Reciprocating Compressor Technology' which helped sustain and grow our research program. Eric has been a tireless contributor and supporter of the natural gas industry and is well deserving of the Edward N. Henderson award."
Mr. Thomas has been involved in pipeline industry research for over 30 years, which includes participating in organizations such as the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), the Institute of Gas Technology (IGT), and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) Foundation. He also served as Chairman of the Board for both PRCI and GMRC. For ten years, he served as the industry appointee to the Technical Pipeline Safety Standard Committee (TPSSC), the federal advisory committee that provides peer reviews of all proposed pipeline safety rules to assure technical feasibility, reasonableness, cost-effectiveness and practicability. He has been the COO at PRCI since 2007.
It is with bittersweet emotion that we announce Mr. Thomas' retirement from PRCI at the end of 2011. While he will no longer be serving full-time in the position of COO, he will continue working with PRCI in a part-time controller role beginning in January 2012. Since joining PRCI, Mr. Thomas has achieved a number of accomplishments. Most notably, he led an initiative for research deployment optimization where we examined the organization's program execution capabilities relative to our growing portfolio of projects and membership to further strengthen PRCI as a leader in research for the pipeline industry.
PRCI President Cliff Johnson stated, "Eric has been a key player in shaping the future of PRCI. He has also been a great resource for me during my transition to President over the last year. On behalf of our members and staff, I thank him for his many contributions to PRCI and would like to congratulate him on this momentous period of his life."
In his retirement, Mr. Thomas plans to spend time with his lovely wife Rhonda and enjoy the countryside on his motorcycle.
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PRCI is a non-profit research organization that is comprised of energy pipeline operating companies located in the United States, Europe, Canada, South America, and the Middle East. Augmenting the pipeline membership are associate members drawn from companies in the United States, Canada, Europe, China, Mexico, Japan, and Australia that serve the industry as pipe and equipment manufacturers, service providers, and vendors. To learn more about PRCI, visit www.prci.org. |
