Of all the companies on the New York Stock Exchange only 11 are headquartered in Mississippi and only one is from Natchez.

Tonight that company, Callon Petroleum, will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a reception at the Natchez Community Center.

&uot;In terms of independent oil and gas companies in the United States that’s certainly an exception to the rule,&uot; said Dennis Christian, senior vice president and chief operating officer. &uot;There are not many companies that survived our industry this long.&uot;

Callon Petroleum was founded by John Callon in 1950 and who was joined by his brother, Sim Callon, in 1954. The company participates in the mining of oil and natural gas on the shelf of the Gulf of Mexico.

It also participates in drilling in the &uot;deep water&uot; of the Gulf of Mexico and &uot;that’s very unusual for a company our size,&uot; Christian said.

The company employees 110 people including eight in Houston and 15 people offshore.

Christian attributes the company’s longevity to its employees and the freedom they have to be creative.

&uot;We’re here because of the employees, and we’re proud of our employees and we’re still here because of their hard work and creativity,&uot; Christian said.

Saturday’s anniversary celebration will include a reception, dinner and a presentation of &uot;The Callon Story&uot; by Sim Callon, chairman of the board emeritus.

&uot;The evening is to honor Sim and John Callon for everything they’ve done,&uot; said Terry Trovato, public relations manager.

Employees will be recognized for their years of service and the 20-piece Capital City Stage Orchestra from Jackson will provide music in honor of Sim Callon and John Callon, chairman of the board.

Callon employees are also looking for great things in the future.

&uot;The industry looks very promising,&uot; Christian said. &uot;We hope to continue our grow in the deep water area and also a prominent presence in the Gulf of Mexico shelf area as well.&uot;

The company currently has two rigs working on the shelf of the Gulf of Mexico and has made four discoveries of natural resource in the past three years in the deep water, Christian said.

It also has two rigs that will go back to work in the deep water in the next 30 days and a fifth that will go to work on the shelf within 30 days, Christian said.

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