Loy H. Harris of Basin, Wyoming, earned a B.S. in General Engineering (petroleum option) in 1957 and spent his entire first career with Exxon Corporation and its affiliated companies. He began in petroleum production engineering and progressed through a series of positions in the Middle East, North Africa, South America and the United States. In 1988, he was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Esso Columbiana, Ltd. in Colombia, where he was responsible for the world's largest open-pit export coal mining operation. Upon retirement, he embarked upon a second career, receiving a Master of Divinity degree in 1995 from Duke University Divinity School, and accepted a pastoral appointment at the United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas.