Dear Coblentz Members, As my term as the Society’s President comes to a close, I look back on the challenges that the Board had to face and the changes we made together to move the Society forward. We have certainly made progress in many areas. Due in part to the economic downturn that we face, I wasn’t able to accomplish all that I had hoped. Perhaps that is the norm for this type of position, perhaps this falls under the saying “If I only knew now then what I know now”. However in preparing to leave office, I want to share with all of you that I am really glad that I have held this position, I am honored to have worked with the people that I have on Society business, I have made new friends along the way (and I don’t think I have lost any – de-friend me on Facebook later if you disagree), and I am excited about the directions the Society is moving in (you will see the examples of these later in the year). I wrote my original President’s message in early December 2010 in order to meet the publication deadlines of Applied Spectroscopy and while this message contains much of the information in the printed Newsletter this version also includes additional information I either didn’t have at that time or didn’t have time to include. Let me share with you some important highlights regarding the Society.
Prior to Pittcon you will receive e-blasts from Coblentz regarding the Board of Managers membership elections. I am excited that we have a great slate of nominees who will be able to provide Coblentz leadership and direction into the future. In addition, you will receive information on the FACSS and EAS sessions for which Coblentz organization plays a vital role. These sessions are a direct result of the tireless efforts of Linda Kidder. Linda has been organizing these effort on behalf the Society for several years and for everyone who has not organized sessions at conferences before this takes a lot of volunteer time, including begging, chasing, harassing, cajoling, in some case threatening, listening, and compromise. These sessions don’t happen by themselves and I would like to take this opportunity to again thank her for her time and efforts. On the Newsletter front, the Society now has co-Editors. David Heaps is joined by Francis Esmonde-White and their first newsletter will appear in your mail/post box around the 25th of this month. Although if you can’t wait, please go either on-line to Applied Spectroscopy or to the Coblentz website where it will be available before the 25th. For those of you who keep track of the Coblentz Newsletter in Applied Spectroscopy you will have noted that the publication date has been changed from February and it will now appear in the March edition. This change was initiated after FACSS 2010 so that the Newsletter could appear in conjunction with the Pittcon meeting in the spring and FACSS in the fall. The plan is that this change will allow the Newsletter to report on pertinent activities at these conferences, as well as giving the Coblentz Society and its members wider exposure. I would like to thanks Rebecca Airmet, Managing Editor, at Applied Spectroscopy for the opportunity to adjust the Newsletter schedule to better meet our members’ needs For those that read all the discussions here on our LinkedIn site you will have seen Gloria’s post from December but for those you haven’t seen, it’s my pleasure to report that the Board has elected Professor Michael (Micky) Myrick as the next President of the Society. Our President-Elect is a Professor at the University of South Carolina, and has previously served the Society on the Board of Managers. Further details on Micky and the Society are in the full Newsletter – I invite you to take a look. Micky’s term starts on St. Patrick’s day (March 17th) and I for one will lift a beer (possibly a green one, possibly more than one) to wish him good luck. Before signing off, I would like to make an appeal for more Coblentz volunteers to participate in the many Coblentz activities and for volunteers to help organize and staff the Coblentz booth at the conferences Coblentz attends. The Society is here today due to the efforts of many volunteers; I urge you to consider volunteering—it is a rewarding experience that profoundly aids the Society. It is not a lifelong commitment and it will not take all your time. You can sign up for as little as 30 minutes of booth coverage and every little bit helps. During those times, you get to meet and recruit new members, network with existing members, and make your voice heard in discussions of Coblentz activities. However, if you are looking for a lifetime of commitment, I would be happy to point you toward plenty of Society tasks and a President-Elect who will happily match you to those tasks! And finally, Thank You for all of your Support. Ian R. Lewis President, 2009–2011 |