We marked a couple of milestones recently that I want to recognize.

On March 11, 2021, we published the 100^th episode of our Ask Brock video series. We hatched the idea with drill trainer and The Driller writer Brock Yordy at Groundwater Week 2018 in Las Vegas. Two years later, he’s handled questions on everything from foam drilling to college for drillers. Along the way, he delivered a lot of value for readers, entry-level and veteran alike.

“When we share this information, we grow as an industry. We show what we can do,” Yordy says in the video, which talks about his “why” for answering all these questions.

Just a few days later, on March 15, we published episode 25 of Drilling In-Site, our video/podcast series. That episode featured an interview with design engineer Scott Dalrymple. He works for MEDATech and their drilling division, Borterra, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and helped develop an interesting drill rig that brings together sonic and water hammer techniques.

“What everyone really wants is to drill faster, straighter and cheaper,” Dalrymple told us on the show. We wrote up highlights of his interview this month, but you can get the full interview in video or podcast form.

Ask Brock and Drilling In-Site share DNA. Both aim to deliver value to the drilling community through questions asked and answered. In his episodes, Yordy offers bite-sized answers to all kinds of questions about the industry, from jobsite leadership to mud recipes. Drilling In-Site takes its time, getting deeper into projects, methods and technologies. Dalrymple’s interview offers a good example. He tells us all about the prototype rig, from client request to the field.

Drilling changes and evolves, as do publications like The Driller. I stepped on the platform to run the controls of this rig almost nine years ago. If I count right — and, as a writer, no guarantees — that makes just over 100 issues. In that time, we’ve gone from newsprint to no print. In the same span, the interviews have gotten better, the service to the niche stronger.

All of this sounds like a humble brag. I disagree. There’s nothing humble about it. We talk a lot about all kinds of drilling topics, and it shows. From how to make a poor boy basket (RIP, Wayne Nash) to well rehab to first job advice, we’ve covered it. I could go on: water, geotech, sonic, rigs, fluids, rig buying tips, and on and on. I tend to cover business advice topics most, but we have columnists who reminisce, get muddy, and talk leadership and safety. It’s all easily searchable if you have specific questions. Add to that a library of videos and podcasts, all about drilling and drillers, numbering in the six figures and going strong.

You know what the wild thing about it all is? Drillers and other industry professionals get all of this great stuff just for signing up.

I’ve taken a long-winded, infomercial-ish route to agreeing with Yordy: When we share this information, we grow. If you find something here that improved your day, project or even your business, tell a colleague about The Driller. We appreciate the support. From our classifieds to our features to our columns, we work hard to put value for our audience at the center of what we do. We like to think that value speaks for itself when it gets to the right ears.

Thanks again.

Thoughts or story ideas? Send an email to verduscoj@bnpmedia.com.

Stay safe out there, drillers.