Management
David A. Freshwater, is Co-Founder and President of Reserve Oil & Gas, Inc., President of Essex Energy Investments Inc. and serves the dual role of CEO of CSi (an affiliated energy & environmental services company). In 1970, Freshwater co-founded Petro Services Inc., an oil & gas well servicing company which provided contract services to various clients throughout the Appalachian Basin. In 1981, Petro merged with Allegheny and Western Energy Corp.(A&W), a publicly held company, and served in the position of Vice President of Field Operations. During his tenure with A&W, he was involved in the drilling and completion of over 350 wells throughout the Appalachian Basin. In 1986, he resigned from Allegheny and founded CSi. Freshwater also served as a Board member of the First National Bank of Spencer for 21 years and as an Governor's Appointee to the West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority. Freshwater is also a US Army Viet Nam Veteran, a member of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), and a Guardian Member of the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Freshwater was also selected as the 2008 Citizen of the Year for Roane County, West Virginia.
J. Scott Freshwater currently serves as Vice President of Reserve Oil & Gas Inc. He also serves as President of Essential Energy Investments Inc. and Contractor Services Inc. (CSi) Of West Virginia (an affiliated energy & environmental services company). Following in the footsteps of his father, both his grandfathers, and two great grandfathers, he began his oil and gas career in 1987 working in the field on CSi well servicing, pipeline construction, and well cementing projects. From 1989 to 1995, he attended West Virginia University and received both a BS and MS in Civil Engineering while working summers at CSi and completing an internship with Columbia Gas/Columbia Gulf Transmission Corporation. Freshwater returned to CSi on a full time basis in 1996, directed the diversification of CSi into the environmental contracting services arena, and increased CSi’s area of operations to encompass the eastern US. When oil and gas market conditions began improving in the early 2000’s, his focus turned to developing not only Reserve, but ultimately a group of vertically integrated energy companies to better compete in the "new energy" world. Today, he continues to foster the growth of the newest companies (i.e., United Gas Pipeline (gas transportation) and Petro Services (natural gas marketing)) while managing the operations of Reserve & CSi. Mr. Freshwater’s technical expertise coupled with his extensive field and business experience in all facets of the oil and gas industry has prepared him to lead the long-term growth of Reserve Oil & Gas, Inc and its affiliates.
Mr. Freshwater currently serves as Vice President – Administration for the Boy Scouts of America, Allohak Council which encompasses eastern Ohio and central West Virginia. In 2008, he was nominated and selected for "Generation Next: 40 under 40" by The State Journal which recognizes the young business leaders of West Virginia. Mr. Freshwater is also a member of the Daniel Boone Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). He enjoys traveling, motorcycling, studying history and spending time with his son (Derek Alexander).
Amy L. Raines, currently serves as Corporate Secretary for Reserve Oil & Gas, Inc. Primary responsibilities include accounts payable/receivables, well cost tracking and budgeting/financial planning. She attended West Virginia University and Fairmont State and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration in 1990. From 1991 to 1998, she was employed as an administrative assistant with Shadwell Farm, Inc. in Lexington, KY (owned and operated by one of the Maktoum Brothers of Dubai). From 1998-2005 employed by Traders Bank in Spencer, WV where she was a loan officer (commercial and consumer) and financial analyst.
Tom Ragsdale, Reserve’s Geologist,
joined Reserve Oil & Gas, Inc. in 2001. Ragsdale began his career in oil and gas in 1960 working as a Well Logging
Engineer for McCullough Tool Company. From 1966 to 1973, he served as Development Geologist for Consolidated Gas Supply
Corporation (now Dominion Energy). From 1973 to 1981, he held the positions of Geologist and Vice President – Exploration,
Eastern US for Ray Resources, a division of Bow Valley Exploration, Inc. where he was responsible for supervising the
completion of all company drilling and related field activities (259 wells). In 1981, he joined Sterling Drilling and
Production as Vice President and General Manager of Field Operations. During his tenure, Sterling drilled a total of 370
oil and gas wells in the Appalachian Basin. From 1987 to present, he has served as a consulting geologist to various public
and private entities. Ragsdale graduated from Southern Illinois University with a BS in Geology in 1959.
Advisory Board Members
Robert A. Arnott Ph.D., Dr. Arnott currently owns Strategic Environmental Analysis ("SEA"), LLC, an environmental and technical consulting firm headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Prior to SEA, Arnott held the positions of Principal, President and Chief Executive Officer within ERM Group, an international environmental consulting firm headquartered in London, U.K. from 1986 to 2003. Prior to 1986, he was employed by various private sector companies, academic institutions, and governmental agencies. Arnott received his B.S. Chemistry from West Virginia University in 1963 and his Ph.D. Physical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin in 1968. Dr. Arnott has been involved in Reserve's oil and gas exploration activities since 1998 and currently resides in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
David L. Dickirson. Mr. Dickirson is the President and Owner of The Dickirson Group, a manufacturer of oil & gas machinery headquartered in Ripley, West Virginia. Mr. Dickirson led an effort to increase their presence in the export marketplace. His efforts earned him numerous awards including the “U.S. Small Business Administration – West Virginia Exporter of the Year” and the “John D. Rockefeller IV Governor’s Award- West Virginia Outstanding Export Business”. Dickirson has served or serves as an appointee to the U.S. Export Advisory Council, West Virginia Development Office, and the West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority. He helped lead the effort of the Authority to construct the Tamarack, a world class, one of a kind facility which promotes products produced by West Virginia artists and craft persons which later gained him “The Distinguished West Virginian Award”
Dennis L. Mann. Mr. Mann began his career in the oil and gas industry in 1977 and eventually rose to the position of Vice President of Operations of Allegheny and Western Energy Corporation (A&W), a pioneer in the development of Devonian shale formations in central West Virginia. During his tenure with A&W, he was responsible for overseeing leasing, , pipeline construction and production activities for over 700 wells. Mann attended Alderson Broadus College where he earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Education. He currently resides in Delray Beach, Florida.
Jack Nida. Mr. Nida, a native of Roane County, has served as a member of Reserve’s Advisory Board since 2001. Nida was continuously employed in the Distribution and Sales Departments of Union Carbide Corporation from 1949 to 1972 except during a four year period he served in the US Air Force during the Korean War. From 1972 to 1974, he served as a General Manager of the Aeropak Division of Demert and Daugherty (a manufacturer of automotive, health, and beauty products headquartered in Chicago, IL). In 1974, Nida developed a line of patented automotive chemical products for franchised car dealerships and formed Advance Chemical Products (ACP) Company, an Illinois corporation. In 1976, he formed Neoprene International Corporation (NICO), a sales and marketing organization that distributed the products of ACP, where he served as CEO until his retirement in 1997. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
Betty M. Quick. Ms. Quick, a native of Roane County, has served as a member of Reserve’s Advisory Board since 2001. Quick began her work career as a secretary for various firms in the area including Mountain State Construction, Dupont, Liberty Mutual Insurance and Union Carbide. Eventually, while maintaining a position with Union Carbide, she was employed by Charleston Newspapers as Secretary of the Advertising Department and Personnel. In 1976, she became the Office Manager for United Operating Company, a regional oil and gas exploration and production company based in Charleston, WV. In this position, Quick was involved in all aspects of the company (i.e., drilling, invoicing, joint ventures, well disbursements, etc.). In 1984, she founded Quest Oil & Gas which was responsible for the management of an investment group’s properties in the Appalachian Basin and provided oil and gas accounting services to various small operators in the area. Ms. Quick has invested in oil and gas wells since 1982 and currently resides in Belpre, Ohio.
Ed Van Deuren. Mr. Van Deuren has participated in oil and gas drilling ventures in the Appalachian Basin for the past 50 years and been involved with Reserve Oil & Gas, Inc. since 2001. He was employed by Union Carbide with over 40 years of service in building- maintenance projects and assisted in the development of specialty plastics for the aerospace industry. Mr. Van Deuren served during World War II in the U.S. Navy Seabees (attached to a group called “Petroleum Division” (CBD1045)) which constructed fueling and ammunition facilities for the US Naval Fleet in the Pacific and the Mediterranean Sea. Mr. Van Deuren currently resides in Saint Albans, West Virginia.
