Dear Naquin family:
Yesterday my mom, Martha Holdridge, now 93 years old, gave me a letter that Nel wrote to her in the summer of 1978, when I was working for J.C. and Garber Bros. This sparked many fond and important memories. So this evening I went looking for some trace of him on the Internet and was so happy to find this site -- thanks and congratulations! I think about you all every time I hear about another hurricane or oil spill disaster affecting Acadiana -- one of the most beautiful places in the World, with some of the most amazing people!
I will be forever grateful for the wonderful hospitality that J.C., Nell, and the entire Naquin family afforded me that summer, and for the friendship and amazing life stories and lessons that J.C. shared with me then, and in our previous work together in the Java Sea. J.C. was -- and is -- a great American hero -- not only for his service to our country in WWII and afterwards, but also for his kindness, open mind, and welcoming spirit. I am proud and honored to have known him.
I now work for the U.S. Federal Government in Washington, as my dad and my grandfather before me. I work for the National Science Foundation and 20 other agencies involved in the National Nanotechnology Initiative -- including several agencies that are supporting research on nanotechnology for better drill bit metals, enhanced gas and oil recovery, and oil spill prevention and remediation -- not to mention cancer and COVID detection and therapies! My brief experience working for J.C., Garber Bros., and Offshore Logistics in the '70s helps motivate and inform the work that I am doing now. To this day I am in awe of the incredible people who make the offshore energy industry possible, and grateful for the sacrifices and risks they take to bring us energy independence...
I hope that someday I can -- very belatedly -- reciprocate the wonderful hospitality and friendship that you all afforded me back in the 1970s. Please feel free to contact me at geoff.holdridge@gmail.com. Come visit us in DC, or in Greenbrier County, WV, where my mom, my daughter, and I are still managing a small beef cattle operation.
Geoffrey M. Holdridge