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Every significant and worthy human achievement begins with a vision, which often at its onset appears impossible and contrary to conventional wisdom.
Today is a momentous day here in America and around the world, regardless of anyone’s political beliefs. It is a day of realization of a vision and a dream. It is a day of recognition of the hard work and the sacrifices of leaders of the past who paved the way for Barack Obama to become the president of the United States.
Today, less than 150 years since the war to end slavery here in America , a black man takes the oath to become the president of all Americans and to represent us to the rest of the world. From the beginning and through the decades of the civil rights movement, envisioning a black American president was as much, if not more, improbable as thinking that man can one day land on the moon, a vision reaffirmed by President John F. Kenneday in our own backyard here in Houston at Rice University.
Ending slavery and landing on the moon have several common attributes; they both started with a vision and required steadfast leadership and unconventional resolve of many dedicated people.
Here at PAS, our vision for an industry where every operator goes home to his family safely at the end of every shift is also an ambitious vision. But with the resolve and the ingenuity of our people, we can see the day.