Bill Allen (businessman) Barbados as well. VECO also was a worldwide player in the oil industry, having divisions in many major oil markets, including the Sudan, Russia, Mexico, Venezuela and Syria. VECO had a major impact on the economy of Alaska and employed over 5,000 people worldwide. On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling eleven million gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the second largest in United States history, after the BP Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon spill. Under Allen's guidance, VECO (along with
Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, Inc. is a nonprofit conservation organization located in Newark, Delaware, dedicated to indigenous wild bird rehabilitation, especially rehabilitation efforts related to oil spills. It is notable for its research and rehabilitation efforts concerning wildlife affected by oil spills, which have been international in scope. Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research was established in the winter of 1976 after the Liberian oil tanker "Olympic Games" ran aground in the Delaware River. The original focus of the organization concerned the study, treatment, and development of methods to remove oil from wildfowl in the