Building a Better Meeting: How to Use the ACS Speaker Service

ACS local section meetings are essential to the vitality of the American Chemical Society. The ACS Speaker Service provides a convenient and economical source of speakers for those meetings. For more than 65 years, ACS has recruited, evaluated, and scheduled thousands of presentations by distinguished volunteer speakers on a wide range of technical, non-technical, and scientific topics.

Although using the ACS Speaker Service is not difficult, it is a detailed process that begins almost a year in advance. Throughout the year, program chairs will work with the ACS Office of Local Section Activities, fellow local section leaders, and some of the nearly 200 volunteer speakers in the program.

In order to provide speakers at a minimal cost to local sections, the ACS Speaker Service operates under a “tour” model. This model is based on a speaker visiting several sections within a geographic circuit during a given week. Local sections that participate in the tour share the costs (currently fixed $300 per section). This makes the ACS Speaker Service an affordable way to bring in expert speakers for your monthly meetings. Although the ACS Speaker Service handles many of the details, it is imperative that the local section program chairs work together throughout the planning process. Below is an outline of ten steps that will ensure your success with the ACS Speaker Service.

Getting Started

1. Work with your neighbors from the beginning. ACS speakers do not travel to your local section only. They participate on speaking tours, giving presentations at several local sections on the same geographical circuit. In order to create a tour, a minimum of three local sections must agree to hold their meetings during the same week and then must select from a pool of potential speakers. Local section program chairs are urged to contact the program chairs to coordinate their meeting schedules. ACS will provide program chairs the contact information for their circuit in February. For a list of the local sections that make up your circuit, contact the ACS Speaker Service .

2. Use the online database. Identify potential dates and speakers. Program chairs are issued user IDs and passwords for the Speaker Service Online database. This database allows program chairs to search speaker topics or names, review abstracts, and read biographies. Program chairs can enter a “wish list” of speakers and dates for their section and can compare the requests for other sections in their circuits. The wish list is used by ACS staff to begin the scheduling process.

3. Understand tour expenses. A section is charged a flat fee of $300 per tour speaker by ACS. ACS pays for speakers’ travel expenses, including lodging, most meals, and transportation.

The Scheduling Process

4. Scheduling begins. Starting in April, the ACS Speaker Service staff will notify speakers who have been requested for circuit tours. Speakers will confirm their availability with the speaker service.

5. Meeting Specifications. Beginning in April, the Speaker Service staff e-mails the Meeting Specification Forms (speakers and tour dates) to each circuit. Program chairs will need to review the meeting specification form, select the tours in which your section will participate, and return the form by the response deadline. Once again, communication with neighboring sections is recommended, because tours will be scheduled only if three or more sections on a circuit select them.

6. Confirm scheduled tours. Based on responses from sections, the ACS Speaker Service staff develops final tour itineraries and submits them to speakers and sections for final confirmation

Local Host Responsibilities

7. Confirm speaker travel plans. Local meeting arrangements are the responsibility of the local section. The final itinerary is sent two months before the tour. At that time the local section communicates with the selected speaker regarding travel and A/V requirements.

8. Meet your speaker and enjoy your event! Your section representative should meet the speaker upon his/her arrival. The local section is expected to provide the speaker’s meal (usually dinner) and local transportation to/from the meeting itself. (You could win a Local Section Hospitality Award at the spring national meeting!)

9. Evaluate the speaker. Candid evaluations by meeting attendees are crucial to the ongoing quality and success of the program. The evaluations determine whether speakers are continuing to offer current topics, valid information, and engaging presentations.

10. Cancellations can happen. If a speaker must cancel a tour, the Speaker Service staff will make every effort to identify a suitable substitute to tour in the canceled speaker’s place. If a local section cancels the speaker (after confirming participation), the section will still be charged $300 to cover the cost of the tour.

Debra McLaughlin
Membership Associate, Office of Local Section Activities

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