Dear fellow ACPA members,

The year 2011 has seen many changes for the ACPA.

Have you visited our new website at www.pchem.ca? It has a new look and lots of great information about your professional association. ACPA members now have website accounts that allow them to register for courses, renew their memberships, pay by credit card, and submit PDC forms conveniently on line.

We are also delighted to introduce two different insurance programs for our members. First, reduced group rates for personal home and auto insurance are now available to ACPA members through TD Insurance Meloche Monnex. Second, very attractive rates for professional errors and omissions insurance as well as general liability and environmental liability insurance are now available through Christie Phoenix. Details for both programs will be mailed to you in your renewal packages and are also available on Membership Benefits page on our website.

Thanks to the hard work of Ken Schmidt, the rest of the technical seminar committee and the volunteer course instructors, the ACPA presented two successful short courses on the chemistry of scaling this year. The proceeds from these courses are expected to allow the ACPA to break even financially for 2011.

ACPA planning meeting in progress, Red Deer College, Oct. 2011.

In October, the Board of Directors had a landmark planning meeting in Red Deer with guests from industry, academia (including Dr. Peter Kusalik, Chair of the Chemistry Department at the U of Calgary) and chemistry student representatives from across the province. It was an exciting opportunity to work together to enhance the profession of chemistry! Many thanks to Alan Racey, Chemistry Instructor at Red Deer College, for his help in organizing the venue once again.

Participants in the Red Deer meeting.

Two of our student volunteers from the University of Lethbridge have set up ACPA Facebook and LinkedIn pages, so you can now keep up with the ACPA news and meet other chemists through these media. I encourage you to visit and sign up. Thanks, Breanne Kamenz and Andrea Millen!

For the first time in the history of our Association, we have had the benefit of a part-time Executive Director. Former Board member Stan Backs has filled in while a job description and a legal framework for the contract were being developed. Stan has worked many hours on our website, the insurance deals, the short courses, ACPA/IYC pins, a brochure and gifts for graduating BSc students, meetings and so on. Now we are finally in a position to advertise for an official Executive Director. If you know someone who would serve well in this job, please encourage them to apply through our ACPA office.

We are looking forward to a busy spring, as the CSC2012 conference will be held in Calgary from May 26-30. I'm sure that many of you will be attending, presenting or volunteering, so please feel free to drop by the ACPA booth in the exhibition hall.

On behalf of your Board of Directors, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, safe travels over the holidays and a prosperous New Year.
 

Kathy Janzen