Chair’s Update—Review of the 231st ACS Spring National Meeting in Atlanta

LSAC hosted the 2005 Speaker Service Hospitality Awards for Local Sections at the Annual Tour Speakers and Local Section Officers Reception. The event was a great success, with a packed ballroom of more than 200 members and friends of local sections present. We recognized local sections that have gone above and beyond the call of duty when hosting an ACS tour speaker. Congratulations to all 22 sections that were nominated this year, up from 19 a year ago. However, special kudos to the following local sections: Norwich (3rd place); Kansas City–University of Kansas (2nd-place tie, co-hosted event) and Hawaii (2nd-place tie); and Portland (1st place). These sections were recognized as this year’s winners and received a plaque or trophy as recognition for their great hospitality. In addition, Portland was awarded a certificate for a free tour speaker in 2006 as overall winner . (See featured article in this publication.)

 The Senior Chemists Working Group (SCWG), along with LSAC and the ACS Development Office, co-hosted a Silver Circle and Retiree Breakfast. The SCWG ’s purpose under LSAC is to aid local sections and members in forming senior chemists committees and in encouraging members to actively participate in their local section’s activities. More than 80 attendees were at the breakfast, and more, who could not be accommodated, were turned away at the door. Immediate ACS Past-President Bill Carroll spoke on “Why Innovation Matters to the U.S. Economy”, and the breakfast served as a chance for seniors to come together and discuss a pressing topic for the U.S. as well as the chemical enterprise. Following the presentation, Tom Beattie, from the San Diego Local Section and a member of LSAC, led a robust discussion on how seniors might become more active in supporting the mission of the ACS on the local section level. To learn more about Silver Circles and Senior Chemists Committee and how they can impact sections, go to: http://chemistry.org/silvercircle.html.

 Other items of interest: LSAC also discussed with the Committee on Constitution and Bylaws the future of electronic balloting in local sections. The process, when implemented, will require bylaw changes for most local sections. As such, LSAC will help to facilitate the process when the time is appropriate. For 2006, however, please examine you own local section bylaws to determine the correct method for conducting elections. The Committee on Community Activities (CCA) has put a great deal of emphasis on Chemists Celebrate Earth Day, and local sections have responded. The event is scheduled for April 22, 2006, and CCA asked that local sections support the event and raise participation. Presently, 83 sections have identified coordinators and/or activities for 2006, up from 51 last year—thank you for your swift response to this at the local section and community level.

 It’s Annual Report Time Again! Yes indeed, more than 165 local sections have submitted their annual reports (ARs) to date. LSAC has the responsibility of reviewing all LS ARs and is committed to providing you with quality feedback to help improve all sections for the membership. We also received an increase in the number of sections self-nominating for Outstanding Performance by a Local Section, which will be presented in San Francisco at the ChemLuminary Awards Ceremony. This was also coupled with an across-the-board increase in self-nominations for all local section awards this year. Our scientific interpretation of this data is that it was another great year for the 189 Local Sections in 2005.

Finally, LSAC is poised to respond to a number of initiatives impacting the membership and local sections. We are looking closely at the new ACS Vision and Vision Field: “Improving people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry”. LSAC was asked by President Ann E. Nalley to evaluate how sections might best tailor activities to make the vision a reality. We expect to report to President Nalley and to the 189 local sections that many of the exceptional activities being carried out by our volunteers are already helping to make this vision a reality for the Society. We also anticipate other activities or new events that may be included in the arsenal of LSs.

 Another initiative is the joint Board/Council Policy Committee Governance Review Task Force. This group was charged with reviewing the Society’s governance and the ACS Constitution and Bylaws to ensure that the ACS framework enables us to best fulfill the mission and meet member needs into the future. Five key elements of the Society are being emphasized: membership, geographical organization, disciplinary organization, governance structure, and governance operations. Members are encouraged to provide feedback on this initiative. Please send comments, concerns or suggestions to governancereview@acs.org. LSAC is also charged to respond to this Task Force. To that end, LSAC is hosting a Local Section Summit the first weekend in May. We expect to host a provocative weekend with vigorous dialog and “outside-of-the-box” thinking about how Local Sections can make the greatest impact within the Society and on the public as we move forward into the 21st century. The goals of the summit are straightforward, the task challenging: To understand how Local Sections can best adapt and position themselves to take advantage of new and future opportunities, while improving the great membership service and public outreach that we are presenting providing. After the summit we hope to communicate the value of sections to the Society, as well as provide the most relevant services to sections as we move forward into the 21st century.

 Spring has been busy for LSAC as you can tell. We had a number of interesting events in Atlanta and many more activities underway, so watch for more information regarding these items in the near future. Thank you, again, for all you do for local sections and the ACS. Your service and commitment help make us the premier professional society for scientists.

Will Lynch, Chair
ACS Committee on Local Section Activities

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