ACS Logo Pensacola Local Section
of the
American Chemical Society
Pensacola Section Logo

Officers' Duties

Chair
Chair-Elect
Secretary
Treasurer
Councilor and Alternate-Councilor

Chair

The supervision, coordination, and overall direction of section activities are the primary and on-going functions of the Section's Chair. The Chair provides leadership for the Section's officers and committee chairs, while encouraging these persons to participate actively in both the decision-making process and in the day-to-day operation of the Section.

Accountabilities:

  1. Presides at all section meetings.
  2. Presides at all Executive Committee meetings.
  3. Convenes Executive Committee meetings frequently to monitor and assess the progress of section activities.
  4. PREPARES and ensures that the Section's Annual Report is filed timely to receive its annual monetary allotment -- submitted before a February 15 deadline.
  5. Appoints committee chairs for the Section, preferably in advance of taking office.
  6. Guides, supervises, and assists committee chairs to carry out their committee assignments.
  7. Serves as Chair for the symposium committee.
  8. Serves as an ad hoc member of all committees.
  9. Updates The Officers' Handbook . The Chair-elect on assuming the Chair position will have received from the outgoing Chair the digital file (floppy disk) of The Officers' Handbook. The minimum annual changes are pages 2 and 3, which list respectively the members on the Executive Committee and the current Meeting Schedule.
  10. On occasions, the Chair or his/her designee may be asked to voice an opinion on matters related to a public scientific interest. Though a representative of the Section, comments made by the Chair or any other officer should be considered personal. When an official position or identifying source is known, it should be cited.

A list of past officers of the Pensacola Section is tabulated in Appendix III

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Chair-Elect

The Chair-Elect serves as program chair and has the principal responsibility for arranging the details of the Section's meetings.

Accountabilities:

  1. Serves as chair for the program committee.
  2. Selects speakers for section meetings, keeping in mind the varied interests of the section members, as well as the appeal of the speaker for other science professionals and for the general public.
  3. Provides a calendar of section meetings to the Secretary, preferably early in the year for publicizing to the local membership.
  4. Informs the Secretary of Local Section meetings and special events in a timely manner to keep the local membership informed.
  5. Selects other invited speakers as necessary.
  6. Plans for special events, such as symposia or awards banquet.
  7. Serves as host for invited speakers, including giving assistance in travel and hotel arrangements if needed.
  8. Selects three to four ACS tour speakers, usually handled at the Local Section Officers Conference in February.
  9. Coordinates speaker visits with the Speaker Tour Service, including providing necessary information and feed-back on the tour speakers.
  10. Prepares a meeting schedule for the next year.
  11. Writes thank-you letters to invited speakers following the visit.
  12. Prepares to become Chair of the Section by working with the current Chair and officers to learn about the Section and members.
  13. Regularly attends Executive Committee meetings and section meetings.
  14. Arranges section meetings, including the selection of meeting site, menu, and cost.
  15. Appoints committee members as needed.
  16. Works closely with the Secretary and chairs of the publicity and newsletter committees to coordinate roles.
  17. Serves on the newsletter committee.
  18. Performs additional duties, as assigned by the Chair and the Executive Committee.
  19. Serves on the hospitality committee.
  20. Assists the Chair in the preparation of -- and signs-- the Annual Report.

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Secretary

The section Secretary has a broad range of responsibilities, among the most essential being those of maintaining the membership list and other section records. The Secretary is also depended upon for recording and maintaining a complete file of minutes of all general membership and Executive Committee meetings, and writing regular section correspondence.

Accountabilities:

  1. Maintains the membership list, recording names, addresses, and other necessary details.
  2. On a bimonthly basis the Secretary should receive a complete alphabetical list of members' names and addresses, and separate addenda pages detailing address changes, new members, and other section roster amendments to the previous edition. Upon receipt, names of members (new or transferred into the Section) are provided to the Membership chair.
  3. Makes necessary changes to the membership list in a timely manner.
  4. Responsible for printing labels of local membership for mailing purposes.
  5. Mails meeting notices in a timely manner to the local membership.
  6. Helps newsletter chair distribute the Section's newsletter.
  7. Records minutes of the Executive Committee meetings and issue copies to the Executive Committee members.
  8. Writes regular section correspondence.
  9. On or before December 1 of each year, certifies to the ACS Executive Director the names and terms of office of all section Councilors and Alternate Councilors [ACS Bylaw III, Section 1 (a-4 and e-2)].
  10. This certification is required for both newly-elected Councilors and alternates and those continuing to serve non-expired terms.
    Note: The December 1 deadline is necessary to ensure that the complete list of Councilors is available for consideration by the incoming ACS President in making committee appointments. The committee selection process is conducted in mid-December, and only certified councilors are eligible for appointment to council committees. A section that delays its report may be deprived of the recognition that comes from such an appointment, and a committee may lose a member who could offer much to the SOCIETY and to the profession.
  11. Assists the Chair in making council committee appointments.
  12. Submits biographies for re-elected and newly elected Councilors to the national office along with the certification forms.
  13. Receives appropriate forms for certification and biographies in October from the ACS Records Office. (Note: additional forms are available upon request.)
  14. Certifies the credentials of Alternate Councilors and/or temporary substitute Councilors chosen to represent the Section at ACS council meetings in the absence of the elected Councilors. Detailed instructions on the procedures for this certification are sent with the council agenda to section Secretaries approximately six weeks prior to each council meeting.
  15. Notifies the ACS Executive Director of newly elected local section officers and committee chair appointments as soon as possible.
  16. Reports promptly the names and addresses of these individuals to ensure that all official correspondence and other communications from the national office staff are directed to the proper Local Section personnel.
  17. PRESERVES WITH PROPER CARE THE LOCAL SECTION'S DOCUMENTS of permanent importance, properly labeling the materials and maintain the records in a readily retrievable file. Documents include:
    1. The CHARTER.
    2. List of original members.
    3. Historic documents with increasing value.
    4. Set of the LOCAL SECTION'S BYLAWS bearing the signed stamp of the ACS Secretary;
      i.e., the official approved bylaws.
  18. Regularly attends Executive Committee meetings and Local Section meetings.
  19. Works closely with the program, newsletter, and publicity chairs to ensure that information is distributed in a timely fashion.
  20. Serves on the newsletter committee.
  21. Serves on the hospitality committee.

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Treasurer

First and foremost, the Treasurer receives and disburses the Section's operating funds and is responsible for accounting for all section monies, including annual ACS allotments, local membership dues, and other revenues and expenses.

Accountabilities:

  1. Maintains the accounting for all section money.
  2. Maintains accurate financial records for the Section.
  3. Prepares periodic and annual reports on the Section's fiscal condition.
  4. Files the Internal Revenue Service Form 990 and all other necessary IRS forms.
  5. Maintains the annual allocation of funds provided by ACS from members' national dues for the operation of the Local Section.
  6. The ACS bylaws require that the section Treasurer makes a formal request to the SOCIETY for payment of funds.
  7. Obtains the formal request form (usually sent to the section Treasurers in early November) indicating the allotment amount for the succeeding year.
  8. Signs the formal request form and return it to the national office by December 1.
  9. Prepares the Annual Financial Report-- with a February 15 deadline.
  10. Obtains the appropriate forms (usually sent to the section Treasurers in early November).
  11. Returns the forms to the national office by February 1.
  12. In January, prepares a budget for the year (usually with the help of the previous year's Treasurer).
  13. Regularly attends Executive Committee meetings and Local Section meetings.
  14. Serves on the hospitality committee.

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Councilor and Alternate-Councilor

The Councilor serves as a liaison between the National ACS and the Local Section. The Councilor should give guidance to the local Executive Committee to follow National ACS guidelines. The Alternate Councilor fills in for the Councilor if the Councilor is unable to attend various meetings or activities. Both Councilor and Alternate-Councilor are positions which have three year terms (Note: the election process should be in alternate years for Councilor and Alternate Councilor to ensure continuity on the Executive Committee.)

Accountabilities:

  1. Attends the National ACS meeting. Note: in the event that the Councilor cannot attend, then the Alternate Councilor or a substitute may be chosen by the Executive Committee.
  2. Represents the views of the Local Section.
  3. Has the opportunity to serve on the National ACS committees.
  4. Having overall oversight of Section's affairs, signs the Section's Annual Report.
  5. Reports on activities of National ACS meetings at the Local Section monthly executive meeting, typically done at the first meeting immediately following the National meeting.
  6. Ensures that the Local Section follows National ACS Guidelines.
  7. Gives guidance to the Local Section Chair and the Executive Committee.
  8. Regularly attends the Local Executive Committee meetings.
  9. Regularly attends the Local Section meetings.
  10. Serves a three year term in this position.
  11. Serves on the hospitality committee.

The publication, Handbook for Councilors: Your Role in ACS Governance, 6th ed. (1997) or, preferably, a later edition, is available from the National Office.

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Last Updated June 19, 2002 .

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