This is an American story of capitalism at its best!
Tulsa, Oklahoma, was once called the Oil Capital of the World, but today it is Houston. For a time in the 1970s, however, those who lived in Lafayette, Louisiana, or Midland, Texas, thought the oil industry revolved around them. And maybe it did. In each of those boomtowns, the Petroleum Club was at the center of the action. In South Louisiana, during those years it was all laissez les bons temps rouler-let the good times roll. Then suddenly in 1985, the music stopped.
This is the story of two young men who built a company that over the years became a major player in the worldwide oil business. It grew from two small crew boats that provided transportation for oil workers in the shallow waters of coastal Louisiana to become the world’s largest helicopter company, with over 500 aircraft and 3, 000 employees in 25 countries.
Ken Jones was one of those two young men. The recent death of his partner prompted him to write this amusing and informed book, to share some of the stories of the company as it grew, and the many hard lessons learned along the way. It is amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t worry about who gets the credit…or the blame!
Circa l’autore
In the 1970s and early 80s, Ken Jones served as president of Offshore Logistics, Inc., and then later as chairman of the company renamed The Bristow Group. In the mid 1980s, he saw a bumper sticker on a used Cadillac Coupe De Ville with Louisiana license plates which told the whole story; ‘Please God, give us one more oil boom, and this time we promise not to screw it up.’That was almost fifty years ago, and Ken hopes he doesn’t screw up this memoir since he claims his mind is not what it once was. He is now in his late 80s. But what the hell, most everyone involved has gone to another venue by this time, so who is left to comment or criticize?Ken is the author of two previous books, Letters from the Skeleton Coast, and The Black Pearl Necklace.