GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Hundreds of folks gathered Friday night for the annual Western Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association's banquet.
Many elected officials were present as was Congressman Scott Tipton who made the trip to speak at the event.
Organizers say it was a record breaking night where folks that work in oil and gas can come together to celebrate the changes in the industry over the last year.
"We've got a great opportunity right now to be able to get our people back to work. We're standing in a county that has a real unemployment level of about 20 percent. Our folks need to be able to get back to work and we need to be able to provide energy security in this country," said Congressman Scott Tipton (R).
"The energy industry over the last century has been very important to Western Colorado, over the last two decades has transformed and revolutionized the economy and so it's very important that we get together and we talk about doing things right and always improving our operations," said David Ludlam, the Executive Director of Western Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association.
Tipton also said by easing up regulations on oil and gas plans that are operating responsibly, it would help Western Colorado's communities and economy.
