The Angelina Story

The Spanish Franciscan priests, who established the early Indian missions in Texas, found a strong ally in the young Indian girl that they named Angelina or "Little Angel." Eventually her village became known as Angelina's village and the stream where it was located became Angelina's river. In 1693 she traveled to Mexico with the Spanish priests and then returned to East Texas where she kept the spark of Christianity alive for her Spanish Fathers. Angelina also served as an interpreter for early French explorers. The Marquis de Aquayo noted in his journal of 1721 that Angelina stood with the other village tribal chieftains and wielded considerable influence as well as directing much of the tribal functions. Spain's "little Angel" probably died several years later and is thought to be buried in the vicinity of Mission Conception near the Angelina River. Angelina stitched her life into the whole fabric of East Texas. Her name is given to a river, a village, a National Forest, to a county, and to our Company.

Recent Articles

The Drake Well Service Project
The Total Recordable Incident Rate or TRIR would be one measure of the success of this project.
by Chris Hatton

The H&P Project
As of November 1, 2009 their TRIR had dropped to 1.32, a 60% reduction since the project inception.
by Kent Swanson

The Aztec Well Service / SSS Project
The focus on Cultural Change within the family of AWS companies has had a positive effect that has contributed to an overall improvement in safety performance.
by Charlie Dingwall

The Well Site Leader Program
The San Juan Implementation Team currently possesses the best safety record within the L48 as measured by the Total Recordable Incident Rate.
by Ken Hovland

The Dawn Trucking Project
The positive results enjoyed by the "Improving DOT safety metrics" project gave the management team the confidence to tackle other safety-related projects
by Jim Aylward

Success Story: The Unexpected - Zero Total Recordables (trir), Zero Lta
"We could have reached this goal on our own, but not in such a timely or positive fashion had it not been for the help of The Angelina Group."
by Chris Hatton

Success Story: Focusing Crews Overcomes New Technology Jitters
"The Angelina Group's people first approach to managing the Continuous Improvement process was a significant contributing factor in this remarkable turnaround."
by Charlie Dingwall

The Silent Consent Theory
We, as behavioral consultants, must adhere to a set of standards that exceed what we see demonstrated. We must set examples to be followed by others.
by

Developing Human Capital
It seems to be self-evident - greater investment in human capital is the answer.
by Scott Ratchinsky

The Well Site Leader Program
The Angelina Group's Well Site Leader Team is committed to insure that the ConocoPhillips desire to be a leader in their industry is fulfilled with a "People First" attitude.
by Dennis Lynch

The Role Of Media In The People Business
Media is communication. And speaking simply - communication equals productivity.
by Clayton Miller

How do I explain this?
We hoped to form a team of those willing to lose face to gain cooperation.
by Autie McVicker

The Angelina Group presents at Trinity University
We believe that The Angelina Group will be a very successful consulting business now and into the future due to focus on their customers need for success through people.
by Scott Ratchinsky

From 39,000 feet...
The Angelina Group, a product of our imagination and the collective hard work of many a great mind, is growing.
by Autie McVicker

A View Of Continuous Improvement... Series
Yep, there is more here as promised...keep checking back as it is TO BE CONTINUED...
by Autie McVicker

Developing a Small Business
Self-reliance, confidence, and just plain dedication will often make the difference in small business.
by Autie McVicker

Recent News

Angelina Facilitations Continue
The Angelina Group (TAG) has been very busy lately! In September and October, TAG facilitated two separate DWOPs (Drill Well ...

Angelina Honored With Film Awards
The Angelina Group's trophy shelf got a little more crowded as we recently received two new awards for our latest ...

Autie McVicker A native Texan, Autie McVicker has traveled and worked around the world since graduating from the University of Texas. Although his studies in psychology were preparatory for a career in law, the oil field caught his attention and has never let go. Mr. McVicker worked for Halliburton Services and Schlumberger in such places as the North Sea, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and deep water Gulf of Mexico. His accomplishments include teaching at the Halliburton Energy Institute and being an active entrepreneur. “People drove wooden casing into the hard Pennsylvania earth to let Colonel Drake spear head the petroleum era, not technology. We must never overlook the accomplishments of capable and dedicated people.” Never far from the sea, Captain McVicker’s second love is sailing. He and his wife Janie have built and lived aboard a sail boat and spend any free time sailing their new vessel ONWARD. “We formed the Angelina Group to serve clients in the oil and gas industry. Much time and effort has been spent on developing hard skills in drilling, but we feel more is needed in helping our folks communicate and understand.” Today the Angelina Group has obligations in several countries and our consultants are assisting clients realize their goals in safety, leadership and performance.

Scott Ratchinsky Scott Ratchinsky’s formal education in business, economics and psychology has allowed him to work on cross cultural teams around the globe. Entering the oil and gas industry in 1980 with Amoco Canada he has spent many years living abroad and working with engineering teams in Canada, USA, China, Egypt, Scotland and Asia to establish and meet safety and performance goals. His greatest asset is his ability to align business goals with a pragmatic approach and include humor to get the most from the teams he helps. “Being part of the global community has been my life, understanding its conscience is something I am always learning” Married for over 25 years, Scott and his wife Shelly enjoy all aspects of continuous change. Shell says, “Moving our family around the world has allowed us the privilege of making numerous friends and experiencing first hand things most people only read about; I am truly grateful for this experience and the global education our children received. Being part of The Angelina Group allows for learning and sharing experiences. It means being part of something bigger that prides itself on people, the most important aspect of business.

Our Folks

Tyler W. Burton, Ph.D. Directly managing and/or consulting to onshore, offshore and marine safety/environmental ...	Ken Hovland From Alaska to Vietnam and many points in between, Ken Hovland has ...	Kent Swanson Kent has built and led teams in support of remote field operations ...
Chris Hatton A veteran of many years in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, Trinidad ...	Dennis Lynch Dennis recently completed a successful Well Site Leader Management project with Conoco ...	Geir Rorstad Geir brings to The Angelina Group more than 30 years of Business and ...
Charlie Dingwall Charlie brings 30 years of experience helping his clients improve and develop systems ...	Paul White As a Well Site Leader, Paul White has few peers. His abilities ...	Scott Warren Scott Warren comes to the Angelina Group from a five-year stint as ...
Clayton Miller Clayton has produced, directed and edited corporate and promotional videos and commercials ...	Jim Aylward “Thriving on Change” has been a consistent theme in Jim Aylward’s ...