President
Thomas S. Coughlin, CPL
Coughlin Land Services, LLC

It is an honor to have the opportunity to serve MAPL as President. My goal is to serve the needs of our membership by leading a board of directors which will be responsible to its members. We will be available to our membership and strive to complete our terms by leaving MAPL a stronger organization than it currently is.

My industry background includes 29 years working as an independent landman. During my apprentice years with Sun Exploration and Production Company, I had the good fortune of working with excellent mentors who taught me the value of being able to solve in-depth curative matters and calculate complex title interests. Passing this knowledge on to our younger generation of land persons is my way of giving thanks to those mentors. In the past year, I have had the pleasure of passing on that knowledge and it leaves a good feeling in me.

During my term as President, I will work diligently with the other officers of MAPL to promote the landman profession and to promote the value of being a MAPL member

Vice President
Tad D. Stuart, CPL
Linn Energy

I look forward to serving on the MAPL board and working with other board members, MAPL members and interested oil and gas professionals to provide our industry with the opportunity for education and access to information and experienced people to further enhance our careers.

I have over 26 years experience in the oil and gas industry, both as a field landman and currently in-house with Linn Energy. I appreciate the opportunity to continue current industry relationships as well as the prospect to develop new.

Secretary
Sue A Benson, CPL
Wolverine Gas and Oil Corporation

I have been working in the oil and gas industry since 1984 having working for Smith Petroleum Company, Miller Energy, Inc., and Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones, PLC. In 1998 I joined Dominion Midwest Energy, now Wolverine Gas and Oil Corporation where I am currently employed as the Land Advisor.

I received my Associate in Applied Arts degree in Community School Education In 1982 from C.S. Mott Community College where I served on the Student Senate for one year. In 1984 I received my Bachelor of Science in Community School Education/Recreation from Ferris State University. Currently I am an active member of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), the Michigan Association of Professional Landmen (MAPL), the Wyoming Association of Professional Landmen (WAPL), the Utah Association of Professional Landmen (UAPL), and the National Association of Lease and Title Analysts (NALTA). In 2007 I obtained my Certified Professional Landman and am in good standing.

Treasurer
Steven N. Rapanos, RPL
Independant Landman

I appreciate the opportunity to serve on the MAPL Board. I am a relative newcomer to the land services business – I have been an active landman for a little less than six years, recently obtaining the status of a RPL. While I am not as experienced as many that work in our industry, I do hope to provide a voice on the Board that reflects the perspective of land professionals that are eager to learn, network and promote the growth of our industry.

Like many of you, before I became a landman I wore many different hats – my education background was in architecture and city planning and my professional experiences were involved in real estate development. Becoming a landman was, to be honest, supposed to be a temporary thing – does that sound familiar? Well, six years later and counting I couldn’t be happier continuing this ‘temp’ job and I hope there are many more years to come! I hope to meet you all over the next four years.

Membership Chairman
David L. Millsop, Jr.
Independant Landman

It is with great pleasure and humility that I accept the position of Membership Chairman for the MAPL Board of Directors. I have been involved in Oil and Gas Land work for nearly 4 years. I can say without hesitation that MAPL, along with MOGA and AAPL, have been instrumental in learning and becoming established in our business.

I have a great passion for people and love the interactive nature of a good share of the work that we do. I have a broad professional background including over 20 years as a computer software development and database administration specialist. I have managed a large number of complex technical projects involving software development and deployment. I also created a business serving the farm insurance industry with risk analysis and valuation services. In every endeavor, I strive to make the most of technology in my work.

Land work is no exception as we have seen our field work habits change dramatically in the past decade. This is especially true on the research end of things. Recently, I volunteered for the Michigan Oil and Gas Producers Education Foundation (MOGPEF) as a speaker for public educational seminars. I look forward to continuing to grow through MAPL, MOGA and AAPL and I look forward to serving our members in the best way that I am able. I hope that each of our members feels that they can contribute to our success through interaction with our Board of Directors.

Immediate Past President
AAPL Region II Director
Leslie A Irish, RPL
Airtime Land Services, LLC

I have 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, the last 28 years as a Landman. I have both field and in-house experience, have managed Title and Leasing crews, specializing in Landman Training and Due Diligence. Although I have worked mostly throughout the State of Michigan, I also have experience in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Texas. I operate a small Brokerage firm now and pride myself on having good, qualified Landmen to work with.

The last five years have given me the opportunity to meet and correspond with new members to our industry and reconnect with many of the older members. I am proud to continue on the MAPL Board of Directors as the Immediate Past President, as I take on the new challenge of the AAPL Region II Director. It is my intention to follow in Russell’s footsteps and continue to offer seminars for Michigan Landmen who are interested in educating themselves on land and industry related topics.