Duncan Community Prepares for Halliburton Energy’s 100th Birthday Festivities

November 17, 2019

By Charlene Belew and Linda Provost The Duncan Banner

By Charlene Belew and Linda Provost The Duncan Banner

The company Halliburton has also contributed greatly to the The Heritage Trails project. This is an overarch network of pathways to connect parks and community fixtures such as the Simmons Center, Duncan Regional Hospital, Duncan Public Schools and the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center. The project has been a Duncan dream since 2007. 

The main area of construction right now is the Nature Trail running East of the Simmons Center and Heritage Center and in particular a main plaza area that is going to be called the “Halliburton Plaza” in recognition of a significant gift made towards the trails by Halliburton. The Halliburton Plaza is located beside Centennial Park.

The Halliburton Plaza will have a special dedication as part of their 100 Years of Halliburton celebration. This will not only honor their donation to the trails project but also show their mark on Duncan and Stephens County. The dedication is set for 9:30 a.m Nov. 8. with current Halliburton president Jeff Miller and Governor Kevin Stitt speaking. 

Another part of the 100 years of Halliburton celebration will include a tour at the Duncan High School of the STEAM Lab/Innovation hub building. The Duncan Public Schools Foundation (DPSF) with the help of the Opal Lowry Trust and Halliburton Charitable Foundation have turned the old existing art building from damaged and under used, to a place of cutting edge education in Science, Technology, Engineering, (Arts) and Math (STEM/STEAM). 

Haylee Root, DPSF director, told The Banner previously this is one of the first in the state and helping Duncan become a top STEM school.

“This new facility will include a STEM Lab, Robotics Room, Fabrication Lab, collaborative work spaces and, of course, the arts,” she said.

The two foundations made their donations in February 2019 and the lab is almost complete. Some of the spaces are being used for classes already and the group plans to tour around 10:15 a.m. Nov. 8. 

Lyle Roggow, President and CEO for Duncan Area Economic Development Foundation (DAEDF), said a formal presentation will then follow at Halliburton Manufacturing around 11:15 a.m.

One of the plans is to have a picture taken with all retirees or individuals who have 30 plus years of service.

“To me, when I look at a company like Halliburton and you see the richness of our community and the number of years people have served there, and I think if you compared that and you look around the globe, I think it’s a special thing,” Roggow previously said. “I think it will surprise even Jeff Miller, who is the CEO, how many folks have been and dedicated a third of their life or more to Halliburton as a company.

“This is the only place on the planet Earth that you can say Halliburton has been for 100 years, so I think that’s really, really neat,” Roggow said.