(Continued from front page)

S.S.: I have some simple plans. Number one is trying to get a good idea of what the members want going forward. We’re coming into a momentous time, our tenth anniversary year—and though, as a society, we’ve accomplished quite a lot and grown quite a lot, now is the time for us to move to a new level of maturity and professionalism. Knowing what the members are thinking and expecting of the society will help propel us in the right direction. In addition, I want to elevate the level of our two most important products, the annual conference and our peer-reviewed journal, as well as SBS News and our new products in development. We need to do this for our members and for the good of the society, particularly since we now have an international presence.

So the focus will be on these three pieces: what the members want, how to enhance our stature and the quality of our products, and creating alliances. This is what I hope I can start setting some direction for, along with the board and SBS’ executive staff.

You’ve stressed the importance of member involvement. How can they do so?

S.S.: Members who can spare the time need to tell us how they would like to get involved. They can join existing committees or we can set up new ones. They can come to our general business meeting on Tuesday, September 23 from 11:50 am to 12:50 pm or to one of the special interest groups that are meeting between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm. They can also send an e-mail to email@sbsonline.org to let the office staff know of their interest.

Since we are a non-profit society, we rely on our members to help make things happen. In fact, meeting attendees should not be surprised if I come up to them between sessions to talk with them about how they can help. We have been fortunate to have a core group of members who continually volunteer, but we want to reach out to bring in new ideas from other members. I want to get some of these new members involved and bring them into the fold, because I think they may just need a little nudge, and I’m prepared to do that!