Executive Message

One of the things I love about Spring is that it provides a welcome break for busy parents as we transition from our kid’s winter activities and sports to their summer equivalents. It is also a chance to compare some of the organizations that we are involved with. Certainly with kid’s sports, particularly at a coordinator level, you can find yourself the maitre de, waiter, cook and dishwasher in an awful hurry. Knowing this I was a little apprehensive about my first year on the CSEG Executive as Assistant Director of Member Services. The primary responsibility, other than attending the monthly executive meetings, is to organize the annual volunteer appreciation function. One hundred and eight volunteers were invited, from twelve different committees. The exciting thing to note about this is that between 5 and 10% of the CSEG members volunteer in some capacity. Even with the large number that were invited we still managed to miss a few volunteers, and can only promise to do better next year.

Having this many people participate as volunteers with the CSEG doesn’t happen by accident, there must be some secret that I hadn’t previously been privy too. So, by focusing on the assistant part of my title, I had a chance to sit back and watch my fellow executive members in action. Of course there’s no real secret, just your elected executive members and the CSEG administrative staff being the thoughtful, inventive and dedicated individuals they are. You certainly feel a part of a team with the soul aim of creating opportunities for CSEG members to grow. It all starts at the top, with the past, present and future CSEG presidents keeping our monthly meetings focused and on time. The other committees of Educational Services, Communications and Finance all contributing ideas to improve what the CSEG has to offer it’s members, while keeping it financially strong, not withstanding my own committees best efforts to go consistently over budget.

Each of the various executive positions has a myriad of other committees of dedicated individuals working with it. These various committees provide the social functions that many members attend, such as the Doodlebug, DoodleSpiel and Ski Spree. They organize conventions, luncheons, DoodleTrain, DISC Lecturers and publish the RECORDER. These are all wonderful endeavors that really enrich the CSEG membership. But there are also a number of committees toiling away in the background that are broadening the CSEG. One such committee is Outreach, which not only address’s students looking to get into geophysics, but also works diligently getting professors and students from universities all across Canada to become members of the CSEG. Essentially, making the CSEG a truly national organization as our name would suggest. They are constantly coming up with new ideas to accomplish this. The thing that I take away from observing all this is that with so much support within each committee you can volunteer and contribute without it becoming all consuming like many other volunteer organizations. It really makes volunteering enjoyable, as it should.

If you are reading this you are probably already a member of the CSEG and have had a chance to participate in a number the events I’ve mentioned. So I’d like to ask you to thank a friend or colleague who is currently volunteering with the CSEG and to think about volunteering yourself.