Alumni

Class of 1973
Hall of Honor 2015

Doug Frey grew up in Grand Island. In high school he was active in swimming and Boy Scouts and loved the outdoors. He was an average student. The pioneer spirit was strong in Frey and he left Nebraska to attend Texas A&M University earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1977. He then went to work for Amoco, a major oil company, where he would work for more than 20 years in all aspects of oil exploration and production. He spent a decade traveling the world negotiating large deals. His expertise took him to several countries as they opened up oil markets. These international assignments included being the “ in country manager” for the acquisition of the National Oil Company of Bolivia, Deepwater exploration bid in Trinidad, and working on bids for exploration and production blocks as Vice President of Amoco Vietnam. While working in Bolivia, Frey helped their government establish a regulatory framework with a global standard of environmental care. In 1999, Frey was laid off and decided to go into business for himself founding Desert X-Ray, an oilfield welding inspection company dedicated to infrastructure inspection and non-destructive testing services for oil and gas pipelines. The company grew from 14 employees to more than 500 employees. Texas A&M recognized Frey and his company four times for its growth. In 2014, he sold the company to a publicly-held corporation and has since focused on preserving and protecting wilderness and critical wetland environments.

Frey and his wife Allison, have three children Laura, Austin, and Liesel. As a father, Frey was a Boy Scout leader and a Scoutmaster.  His Houston-based Troop 120 was one of the largest in Texas with almost 200 registered Scouts. While Scoutmaster the Troop had high adventure trips hiking a portion of the Appalachian trail, the Boy Scout Northern Tier wilderness canoe trail in Bissett Canada, the Continental Divide trail in Colorado and Philmont. Frey and his son took several trips to Alaska. Once they drove from West Texas to Anchorage. The route on the Alcan Highway went through the Boreal Forest in the Yukon and Northwest territories. Frey knew when he saw the forest how special it was. It was worth saving.

Frey is a member of Ducks Unlimited, one of the oldest and largest non-profit environmental groups in America. He has served on several national committees and is a trustee for the Wetlands America Trust.  Frey is a champion for wetlands in the Grand Island area. Ducks Unlimited calls the area around Grand Island the “neck of the hourglass” because of the concentration of migrating species that use this area in the spring. Frey speaks of the spring migration here as the “Serengeti of the Sky”. Already his efforts have helped save several critical wetlands in Nebraska and he has made a major donation to ensure this work continues well into the future. In addition, The Douglas and Allison Frey Foundation has preserved over one million acres of the Boreal Forest. The Boreal is the largest intact, old growth forest in the world. It is the largest source of unfrozen fresh water on the globe and it’s very important for carbon capture. 

Frey has travelled almost a thousand miles of wilderness by pack and paddle. Learning and teaching valuable wilderness skills in the Boy Scouts has been a big part of his life. He wants his efforts to encourage others to become active in enjoying and preserving these great places.