In brief re National Meeting

The 255th National ACS Meeting was held in New Orleans March 18–22. One of our Councilors representing the Saint Louis Section at the meeting, Lisa Balbes, has helpfully provided the Councilor Talking Points, a summary of significant actions taken during the Council meeting on March 21.

Just a few highlights (from one person’s perspective of what constitutes a highlight):

• The requirement for Councilor representation on standing committees has been reduced from 2/3 to a simple majority, which opens up more places available to interested parties who aren’t Councilors. If you have a particular interest in the business of any of the national committees, contact Lisa, and she will be able to put you on the volunteer trail.
• The base dues rate for 2019 will be $175, which results from the application of the full inflation escalator clause against this year’s dues. No real surprise there.
• If you had no idea how big the American Chemical Society is, consider this: Revenues in 2017 were $553.1 million, with a net income after expenses of $28.6 million (a 20% increase over 2016). Most of the favorable changes in the balance sheet are attributable to Chemical Abstracts and ACS Publications. At the end of 2017, there were just over 150,000 ACS members worldwide.
• The Board of Directors approved a resolution that applauds the United Nations for proclaiming 2019 “International Year of the Periodic Table.” Expect periodic-table–themed activities ad nauseam in abundance.
• Our own Councilor Lisa Balbes, who doubles as our Career Resources coordinator, gave a featured presentation to the Board of Directors open session on Nontraditional Careers in Chemistry: Thinking Outside the Beaker.