Margaret McMillan, who spearheaded the development of the Marine Survival Training Center at UL Lafayette, will be honored Saturday for her work in offshore water safety.
McMillan, a 1940 graduate of Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette), has been inducted into the Offshore Energy Center’s Hall of Fame as a Technology Pioneer. She is the first woman to receive the company’s Hall of Fame honor. Past inductees have included oil field firefighter “Red” Adair and Herman and George Brown, founders of engineering giant Brown & Root.
McMillan and six other oil industry professionals will be honored during an Oct. 2 gala at the Westin Galleria Hotel in Houston.
McMillan, founder and president of the Lafayette-based McMillan Offshore Survival Technology firm, has been involved in aquatics as a competitor, teacher and trainer for nearly six decades. She is a former physical education professor at SLI and also served as assistant dean of women. Internationally recognized as an expert in the field of sea survival technology, McMillan has served as a consultant to all branches of the U.S. armed forces, the British Royal Navy and the Russian government.
In 1988, McMillian was instrumental in the creation of the Marine Survival Training Center at UL Lafayette. In the past 15 years, the center has trained nearly 20,000 offshore workers in water safety and survival techniques. It is the only center of its kind in the United States.
Her past awards include the U.S. Coast Guard’s Distinguished Service Award; the Distinguished Leadership and Service Award, the Gulf Coast Safety and Training Group’s highest honor; and the U.S. Marine Safety Association’s first Safety Award.
The Houston-based Offshore Energy Center is a nonprofit organization that aims to expand public awareness of the offshore oil industry. It also chronicles the culture of petroleum-producing areas.