For Director-At-Large: Dennis Chamot

Chamot's Statement

These Are Challenging Times

As a member of the ACS Board of Directors, and especially as the chair of the Budget & Finance Committee for the past three years, I have seen in great detail the effects of the current economic downturn. Overall, ACS is very well managed, but this is not the time for flowery rhetoric or empty promises. The problems have been real and severe, and the board, as the ultimate authority for the entire organization, has been called upon to make very difficult decisions.

ACS as an organization, our members, and, indeed, the entire country have been facing very tough economic challenges over the past year. The meltdown of the financial markets has created widespread personal and corporate hardship and a great deal of uncertainty about the future.

What I Have Done

Several years ago, you honored me by electing me to the board, but this is not merely an honorary position. The ACS Board of Directors oversees a large and complex organization—one with 155,000 members, an annual budget of around $450 million, 2,000 employees, and major operations such as Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) and a Publications Division that puts out many world-class journals.

In addition to important routine board activities, I have been working to rationalize the executive compensation system, I have been involved in overseeing the development and tracking of annual budgets, I have helped in the search for new revenues by serving on the New Business Ventures Development Group, I serve on the Board of Trustees of the ACS Members Insurance Trust and chaired the committee looking for new plans and services to offer members, I chaired the board-level Task Force on Globalization, and more. Through it all, I have never forgotten that ACS is first and foremost a membership society and that keeping the society financially viable is necessary to preserve and protect a vibrant and varied set of member services.

And I have been open and candid, both in board discussions and with my council colleagues.

What I Will Do

In tough times we need to increase revenue (and revenue sources) and control costs. This requires weighing options and making decisions. In doing so I want to do all I can to preserve the membership character of the society and to ensure that we stay focused on member services and service to the broader chemical community.

I had been an active member of the council for more than 25 years before my election to the board, including chairing the Committee on Project SEED and the Committee on Economic & Professional Affairs. I have been open, approachable, and candid, and I have communicated regularly with the members of the council.

We have a large, vibrant, successful society, heavily dependent upon the activities of many volunteers in the local sections, the national divisions, and the council. I am once again seeking reelection to the ACS Board of Directors because I want to continue to have an opportunity to focus on the needs of the membership of the society while using my experience and skills to help take care of the "business" of the organization.

These are difficult times. I am up to the challenge. I would be honored to have your vote for my last term as a director-at-large.