The main subject of this letter is COMMUNICATION . The Cincinnati Section is changing the ways it disseminates information. Key actions by the Board this year have addressed tbe significant shortcomings of our bulk mail and mailing list. Further, the Board has acted to take advantage of emerging electronic communication technology.
PROBLEM: The bulk mail is delivered over a period of as long as two weeks. Members at some locations have trouble receiving bulk mail at all. This has caused some members to miss out on meeting information.
PROBLEM: The Cintacs is only issued quarterly. It is difficult to provide timely information with this publication.
PROBLEM: The mailing list for local members is provided by the national ACS in Washington, D. C. We purchase labels for several months at a time from the ACS. It can take almost a year for a new member of the Section to begin receiving Cintacs or the monthly meeting announcements.
PROBLEM: For many members, print information is becoming less desirable as reliance on computer communication grows.
SOLUTION: Cintacs will no longer be presented in the quarterly format. Monthly single-page meeting notices will no longer be sent. Instead, a monthly newsletter will be sent September through May. The newsletter will contain meeting information as well as information previously incorporated into Cintacs. The newsletter will have a more impressive appearance and shape than the old meeting notices [i.e.; it will retain the layout currently used for Cintacs]. Based on our observations over the past year, we think this will improve the likelihood of delivery by the bulk mail system. The information provided by the monthly newsletter will be much more timely than could be provided by the old publication schedule of Cintacs. The Section will continue to seek support for publications and mailings by selling advertising space in the newsletter. [See From the Editor ]
SOLUTION: The Section will maintain a Home Page on the World Wide Web. This already exists (URL http://www.che.uc.edu/~nauss/acs/cinacs.html). It was created by the efforts of Dr. Jeffrey Nauss, Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, and will be maintained by him. Thanks Jeff! All of the information sent in the monthly newsletters will be available. Also, a directory of Section officers will be included. A number of ideas for fuller utilization of the Web capabilities are still under consideration. For example, we may want to offer a listing of positions available in the greater Cincinnati area.
When a new member lets us know of his/her existence, we will immediately inform this member of the Web page. Instead of waiting several months to get on the mailing list, important Section information will be available instantly.
Some folks (me for example) are a bit intimidated by the Internet. An informal survey of Section Board members revealed that most industrial members did not have access to the internet at their workplace until very recently. Some still do not have workplace access, although most will gain access in the foreseeable future. Some members (for example, retired members) can only gain convenient access if they own a home computer/modem/commercial service. This may be too great an emotional or financial barrier. Not to worry! The Section will continue to make the same essential information available by print media/bulk mail as we have in the past. Workshop-style discussion groups are being contemplated at some upcoming regular Section meetings to instruct internet neophytes. The bottom line is this: If you don't wish to use the WebPage, you need not miss out on anything. If you want help learning to use this communication service, the Section will help you get started.
I started playing around the World Wide Web recently. I was quite intimidated by the technology. I think the computer actually bit me! My wife assures me that my imagination is overactive. Anyway, I didn't bleed much.
Deanna Ashing is your Section Chairperson for the 199-1996 year. If you will give her the support and guidance that you gave me, it will be a fun and exciting year for the Society. I thank the members of the Board and those who served on the committees for your diligence through the past year. I owe a debt of gratitude, yea even servitude, to my wife Susan for helping me out whenever I asked and withholding all her grievances with the Chairman until July 1, 1996.
Respectfully Submitted,
James Hershberger 1994-1995
Chairperson Cincinnati Section American Chemical Society.