| What’s So Important about YOUR Annual Report?
Around this time every year, local section chairs start to fret about the upcoming deadline for the annual report. These concerns are not unfounded. However, with a little delegation and organization, completing your section’s annual report can be both a relatively simple task and a rewarding exercise.
The annual report is an important document that keeps ACS apprised of section activities and ensures that the local section receives its financial allotment.
An optional portion of the annual report allows the local section to self-nominate for ChemLuminary Awards—a unique opportunity that can result in award recognition at the fall national meeting for novel or otherwise impressive accomplishments in a variety of categories. However, despite the many important purposes that the annual report serves, it does not need to be a difficult task.
In many local sections, the chair assumes the vast majority of the section’s responsibilities. This can make the prospect of the annual report even more daunting, especially for a chair who likely just organized a complete slate of activities throughout the preceding year. Consequently, one of the best ways to tackle the seemingly insurmountable work of the annual report is to involve other section members, such as executive committee members and meeting organizers. By working with others to break the annual report into manageable pieces, it becomes a much simpler task. For instance, the National Chemistry Week (NCW) chair can prepare a narrative describing the success of outreach activities associated with NCW. The government affairs chair can write about section efforts to contact legislators and grass-roots science information activities in the community. Even small sections that lack an extensive committee structure can benefit by segmenting the annual report. Someone who organized or contributed significantly to a particular activity might be the best person to draft a brief description of that program. Finally, one person in the local section with a particular talent for writing can serve as the editor or proofreader, allowing others to focus on incorporating the most relevant content.
Nothing limits annual report work to the window following the final event in December and the February 15 deadline. Holiday obligations and vacations during that time period effectively reduce that two month span to only one. A better approach is to continually update the annual report throughout the year. After the completion of an activity or program, ask the coordinator to document the event with a written summary of at least one paragraph. The chair can collect these narratives for easy entry at the end of the year. Even better, the chair or another executive committee member can enter the descriptions in SOLAR immediately after the activity, ensuring that the bulk of the report will be complete by the end of December.
While focusing on the work required for the annual report, many executive committee members lose sight of the opportunity the report provides to evaluate the past year and plan for upcoming activities. The annual report from the previous year is kept online, allowing the section to measure the current year’s performance against the recent past. Because several executive committee members typically change with each new year, this provides a measure of program continuity. Furthermore, it serves as a reminder of successful events from the past that might not be appropriate as annual events, but could be worthwhile events repeated every 2 or 3 years.
Some local sections are concerned that they don’t have enough activities for their annual report. However, please realize that all activities that are associated or affiliated with the local section and its members can be included in the report. For instance, leverage the work of other professional organizations, colleges or universities, and companies to provide an accurate picture of chemistry-related activities involving ACS members in the section community.
Finally, throughout the process of drafting and assembling the annual report, the chair and executive committee should not lose sight of the fact that the report is a celebration of a successful year. Be sure to take time to reward those involved in section planning and drafting the annual report. John Gavenonis
Subcommittee on Local Section Assistance and Development
ACS Committee on Local Section Activities
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