On this episode, host Brock Yordy has a wide-ranging interview with Sam Connelly, president of the National Drilling Association. Connelly, who runs the drilling company Connelly & Associates Inc. in Fredericksburg, Maryland, touches on everything from the NDA’s 50-plus year history to the current skilled labor crunch.

This packed episode features an interview with Christina R. Ekhoff, executive director of the Virginia Water Well Association, who talks about the group’s training efforts and upcoming 75th anniversary, and ideas for appealing to a younger generation of workers.

Host Brock Yordy has a full slate this week. First, we have a reminder on hearing safety. Then we go to this year’s National Drilling Association convention, and talk to Jeff Garby of Alucast. Last up, in this week’s feature segment, the host talks about the intersection of groundwater and beer.

This week starts with an interview with Brian Brogan, an author on construction leadership, at the 2023 National Drilling Association conference. Then, host Brock Yordy and editor Jeremy Verdusco conclude their interview with Tanner Kuhl, a mechanical engineer and driller with the U.S. Ice Drilling Program.

This week, we start out with a safety segment on recognizing mental health risks among our work peers. Then, host Brock Yordy and editor Jeremy Verdusco welcome mechanical engineer and driller Tanner Kuhl to hear about his recent scientific expedition to Greenland’s ice sheet.

Host Brock Yordy dives into some heady topics in episode 76 of The Driller Newscast. How do perceptions of the industry affect the industry? Can the highest levels of professionalism really attract more professionals to drilling and groundwater?

Testing, monitoring and reporting costs money. Is it all worth it? Are health and safety policies too much? This week, host Brock Yordy sorts through regulatory costs for everything from workplace safety to groundwater safety, and what those costs mean for drilling and groundwater professionals.

We get back to geothermal and net zero this week. How can drilling and drillers be part of the solution for ambitious electrification goals in the United States? Host Brock Yordy talks about the win-win of geothermal drilling.

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We hear it all the time. Young people don’t want to work. They just look at their phones all day. They don’t want to get dirty. But is that the full story? This week, host Brock Yordy talks with Michael Boven, director of operations and maintenance at Bioenergy Devco, a Maryland based company that turns food waste into fuel.

This week opens with good news on the groundwater and property rights front. Anchor Brock Yordy talks to Tucker Green, executive director of the Georgia Association of Groundwater Professionals. Green talks about a new law — spearheaded by their group and drillers like you — that specifically legalizes groundwater wells in areas that could otherwise connect to municipal water. How can you help educate legislators about issues like this in your state? Listen to find out.