As incoming CSEG President for 2012, I would like to first thank outgoing President Larry Herd for all his help and guidance in getting me up to speed on the internal workings of the CSEG. Larry did an excellent job of summarizing last year’s activities in the March issue of the RECORDER and I would encourage you, our membership, to refer to that article for insight into the scope and breadth of what the CSEG achieves as a whole in a single year.
With the exception of the President, your directors volunteer for a two year term in order to provide continuity and mentorship. The President volunteers for a three year term plus continued involvement in the President Advisory Council.
In addition to our two full-time staff of two: Managing Director Jim Racette and Admin Services and Marketting coordinator Sheryl Meggeson, please welcome your current executive:
- Rob Kendall (President)
- Ron Larson (Vice President)
- Larry Herd (Past President)
- Glenn Malcolm (Director of Finance)
- Wade Brillon (Assistant Director of Finance)
- Patrick Tutty (Director of Member Services)
- Kim Nevada (Assistant Director of Member Services)
- Jason Noble (Director of Communication)
- Jason Schweigert (Assistant Director of Communication)
- Hugh Geiger (Director of Educational Services)
- Shawn Maxwell (Assistant Director of Educational Services)
The contact information for each of the executive can be found at our website at www.cseg.ca and inside the front of each edition of the RECORDER.
The contact information for each of the executive can be found at our website at www.cseg.ca and inside the front of each edition of the RECORDER.
It’s also important to recognize and thank the outgoing executive of John Townsley (Past President), Kelly Jamison (who served two years as Director of Finance), Barrie Jose (Director of Member Services), Cheran Mangat (Director of Communication) and Mike Perz (Director of Educational Services).
You can find the CSEG organizational chart [on the CSEG website] that will help guide you through the many activities of the CSEG and how they are reported back to the Executive.
It’s been stated before and will be stated again, but it is absolutely overwhelming the number of volunteers that help keep the CSEG and all its various sub-committees going. One of the best examples of volunteerism in our society is the annual GeoConvention.
This May the CSEG is once again partnering with the CSPG and CWLS to bring the annual convention back to the TELUS Convention Centre and ERCB Core Research Centre. From May 14 – 18 GeoConvention 2012: Vision will draw an expected 4,000 delegates to Calgary to enjoy a convention that will be remembered for years to come.
The technical program has been finalized and the Technical Committee, consisting of General co-chairs Satinder Chopra (CSEG), John Cody (CSPG), Roy Benteau (CWLS) and Technical co-chairs John Fernando (CSEG), Nathan Bruder (CSPG), Simon Corti (CWLS), is confident that they have put together a strong program of traditional, integrated and honorary sessions; in all, there are 51 sessions this year, covering 33 individual topics. The poster program stands at 95 presentations. All acceptance and scheduling letters have been sent out and the online technical program is fully populated with author and abstract information. This year’s core conference will have 19 presentations. The exhibits and sponsorship programs have both exceeded budget. The Special Events committee is working on ways to improve the convention networking events for delegates, and is pleased to announce two exciting luncheon speakers for 2012 – on Monday, May 14 Professor Michael Byers will discuss sovereignty issues in the Arctic, and Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire will address delegates on Tuesday, May 15. Tickets for these and other special events are selling briskly.
This year the convention floor will be open from 4:00-6:00 PM on both Monday (Icebreaker) and Tuesday for networking and socializing. New this year is the Student Luncheon on Wednesday, May 16. This event will allow students to access an unparalleled array of networking and social events, including the Student Luncheon, Icebreaker, Social Evening and the ever popular Challenge Bowl to be held on Wednesday afternoon.
Remember to visit www.geoconvention.com for more information on any of the above, and follow the convention on twitter @geoconvention for updates and exclusive prize draws.
While I don’t want to repeat what Larry had to say last month, I do feel there are two points in his article that merit further emphasis. The first is the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences (CFES). For the first time ever, the incoming president for a two year term will be a CSEG member and Past President. Doug Uffen has graciously accepted the challenge of heading up the CFES and taking them to new heights of fiscal responsibility and prosperity. The timing couldn’t be better since Canada is in the running to host the 36th International Geological Congress in Vancouver in 2020. This will be the third time that Canada would host the IGC and we will find out if we are successful in August at the 34th IGC in Brisbane, Australia. This is the pre-eminent world-wide meeting for geoscientists and draws upwards of 10,000 delegates. Congratulations to Doug and please go to the CFES website at www.geoscience.ca. Of interest on the website is the CanGeoRef, GeoVistas, GeoParks and the new book Four Billion Years and Counting.
Lastly is the CSEG Foundation. The Foundation is the charitable arm of the CSEG. The Foundation manages general and student outreach for the society and provides scholarships, travel grants and learning bursaries to students. The Foundation has just initiated a major fundraising initiative under the Chairmanship of Perry Kotkas. Brian Russell and John Boyd are co-chairs and I am sure you will be hearing from these gentlemen and the Foundation in the future. Please consider the Foundation for your future philanthropic attention.
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