[page one]     [page two]     [page three]   [page four]

SPEAKERS/Moderators:

Debora J. Fillinich, Senior Legislative Associate for Membership Involvement

Melissa R. Kuckro, Senior Legislative Associate for Federal Programs

American Chemical Society

Office of Legislative and Government Affairs

Unconfirmed, but Invited Panel Members:

Ms. Shirley Puchalski, staff member for Senator Paul Coverdell

Mr. Bill Chapman, staff member for Senator Max Cleland

Mr. Allan Hayes, staff member for Representative John Linder

Ms. Love Williams, staff member for Representative John Lewis

Ms. TreMayne Maxie, staff member for Representative Cyntia McKinney

Ms. Jeanette Hutchinson, staff member for Representative Bob Barr

A little more than one year ago, the Society's Board of Directors challenged the ACS Office of Legislative and Government Affairs (OLGA) to utilize the organization's greatest resources (155,000 members and 188 local sections) in furthering the government relations program. The Board recognized that in order to be more effective in impacting public policy and the legislation that affects the science and the scientists in this country, chemists needed to speak directly to their government representatives.

To facilitate and strengthen that communication, this mini government relations workshop will begin with an overview of government relations activities at the national ACS and identification of human and information resources on the Society's policy positions. Then, as a first step toward establishing relationships between the American Chemical Society in Georgia and the U.S. Senate and Congress, staff from the local offices of the Senators and Members of Congress from nearby districts will be invited to speak briefly on how ACS members can participate in the development of federal policies that affect science. Hopefully, the inevitable conclusion of the workshop will be to act on the recommendations of the Senate and Congressional staff, for which an easy to follow plan will be unveiled.

Debbie Fillinich works with local sections and individual members to implement government relations activities at the state and federal level. She has 15 years of experience at ACS in membership benefits, the Speaker Service, local sections, and government relations. The staff support in government affairs is very much a team effort. Ms. Fillinich and Melissa Kuckro collaborate on federal government issues, while Patty Vrabel is their counterpart in state government affairs. Together they develop and facilitate government relations activities that address the interests of individual members, the programming needs of local sections, and the public policy priorities of the Society.

[page one]     [page two]     [page three]
[page four]

[page one]     [page two]     [page three]
[page four]

Dinner: 10-Course family-style Chinese meal featuring: Three flavored salad, hot and sour soup, vegetable lo-main, hot pepper beef, jumbo shrimp with chili sauce, chinese green with black mushrooms, fried tofu with chinese vegetables, sweet and sour fish, kung pao chicken, and fresh fruit for desert.

Location: Pung Mie Chinese Restaurant, 5145 Buford Highway; Doraville, GA 30340, (770) 455-0435. From downtown Atlanta, take I-85 NORTH to exit number 103, on the left towards GREENVILLE. Take the I-85 exit number 33 towards DORAVILLE/SHALLOWFORD RD. Stay straight to go onto I-85 N. Turn LEFT onto SHALLOWFORD RD NE. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto BUFORD HWY NE. Pung Mie will be on your right after 0.3 miles.

Cost: $25 per person, full-time students with ID and high school teachers, $20. Payment should be made to the ACS Georgia Section and will be collected at the door.

RSVP: Paul Franklin, 404-651-1988 (chepjf@panther.gsu.edu) or Rigoberto Hernandez (hernandez@chemistry.gatech.edu), 404-894-0594. When making reservations, please state your name, choice of entree, professional affiliation, and telephone number. Reservation deadline is 5:00 PM on the Thursday preceding the meeting. If you make a dinner reservation but fail to attend, you must still make payment for your meal to treasurer Angus Wilkinson, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400 (404) 894-7452.

[page one]     [page two]     [page three]
[page four]

Attn: Tom Netzel

Georgia Section

American Chemical Society

We would like to thank the Georgia Section of American Chemical Society for the generous financial contribution that helped make the recent "Teaching Science is Experiencing Science" workshop possible. We had invited science teachers from the Atlanta area elementary, middle, and high schools to participate in a day of entertaining hands-on workshops. The workshops featured chemistry, biology, and physics experiments covering topics from how to extract DNA from vegetables over issues of hard water versus soft water to density. The experiments were chosen or designed so that they are easy to perform using only cheap and readily available materials. These workshops were accompanied by an introduction to some of the science and education resources that are available in the Atlanta area and on the Internet. The goal of the workshop was to help the teachers with new ideas on how to make science more accessible and fun for their students.

The workshop took place in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Institute of Technology Saturday, November 14 from 10 AM to 2:30 PM. We had 12 science teachers representing 9 schools from the greater Atlanta area participate. They all expressed great satisfaction with the workshop. With your financial contribution we were able to assemble a notebook of full of experimental instructions but also a variety of other information, copies of "WonderScience," "Chem Matters," and a Periodic chart. Furthermore, you made it possible for us to hand out a variety of fun things to both the participating teachers and the volunteers. These notebooks will make it easier for the teachers to carry out hands-on experiments in their own classroom and they helped us make a very successful presentation.
 
 

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Jane K. McIninch

Georgia Institute of Technology 

1. Establish a local committee on legislative and goverment affairs (COLGA). The ACS Office of Legislative and Government Affairs (OLGA) will give us a kick start in the January meeting, in which we will learn how to use our expertise in chemistry to make an impact on government decisions, and meet staff members from the offices of our local federal congressmen. In the long run, I hope that COLGA will make a difference in city, regional and state government as well.

2. Create opportunities for dialogue between industry and academia. We have a lot to learn from each other, but many of us, particularly those who are young or new to the area, don't have a mechanism for meeting each other. One such opportunity will be the March meeting, featuring presentations by Dr. Charles Liotta (Vice Provost for Research at Georgia Tech) and Dr. Dennis Liotta (Vice President for Research at Emory). They will discuss how the research enterprises at their respective universities interface with each other and with industry. Hopefully, the lively format will draw a diverse cross-section of our membership to the March meeting.

3. Support the Georgia Section's Women Chemists Discussion Group, (WCDG) which is part of the ACS Women's Chemist Committee. Jodie Grosklags (zce7@cdc.gov) and Jennifer Beall (jcbeall@emory.edu) are chairing the planning committee for WCDG events in the coming year. In the fall of 1999, we hope to have the WCDG coordinate one of our section's monthly meetings. One aim is to broaden our section's awareness of women's issues in the chemical profession.

4. Maintain the current activities in our section. In the past few years, our section has been involved in many outreach programs. The members who have been involved in these activities have done a great job, and I hope that their work will continue to be supported by new volunteers.

These activities are possible only if you are interested and willing to be involved in them. Please let me know how you wish to be a part of your local section, and visit our website for up-to-date meeting and event information (chemistry.gsu.edu/ACS).

Rigoberto Hernandez

(hernandez@chemistry.gatech.edu)

[page one]     [pagetwo]     [page three]     [page four]