I know it’s been a while since I last published a newsletter, and I apologize. However, there is a lot of exciting news to report, so it’s time to catch up. I am pleased to report on two initiatives we have worked on this year:
Election of New Trustees
Due to a variety of circumstances, as of April of this year, we had three vacancies on our Board of Trustees, and it was the considered opinion of the rest of the board that we should fill these positions immediately rather than leaving them vacant until our Annual Meeting in September. Thus, we decided to use online procedures to expedite the process To do so, we proceeded as follows:
- A Zoom Meeting was set up with all BSC members invited, to discuss the process and select a nominating committee.
- The nominating committee worked diligently and expeditiously to identify five candidates.
- The credentials of each candidate were posted to the BSC website, and Zoom interviews between each candidate and members of the Board were conducted.
- An online ballot was then made available to all BSC members, on which voters could select their three preferred candidates. The election closed on May 20, and the ballots tallied
The three candidates selected by this process were Luis Chiriboga, Liz Chlipala, and Eduardo Rosa-Molinar. All three bring expertise and experience to the Board, and we look forward to their active involvement with the commission.
Speaking personally for a moment, I am very pleased with the outcome of this process. Not only were we able to attract very strong candidates, but the level of participation by BSC members (32% of active members voted) higher than we typically have at in-person annual meetings. Moving forward, I am hoping that we can identify more ways that we can engage members online.
45th Annual Meeting
Planning for our next Annual Meeting is proceeding apace. As we have previously announced, it will be in conjunction with the National Society for Histotechnology on Saturday, September 26 in San Antonio Texas, Our one-day session will consist of a plenary session presented by Dr. Michael Giacomelli of the University of Rochester Medical School, followed by a morning session in which we will present a series of talks focused on staining practices and techniques. In the afternoon, our Vice President Dr. Sheila Criswell will conduct a hands-on “wet” lab, in which participants can conduct several special stains and observe their results. We will also have an information booth highlighting what we do on the exhibition floor of the convention, which will be open September 26 and 27. Details of the meeting can be found here.
Registration for the meeting is being handled by the NSH. Members can register for either the morning session alone ($75.00) or for both the morning and afternoon sessions ($175.00). They can also register for the entire NSH program at a discounted rate. Their registration page is here; from it you can proceed through the registration process, selecting the option that is best for you. The NSH also has reserved blocks of hotel rooms, should you wish to reserve one for an overnight stay.
In conclusion, we are excited about both of these developments, and we hope that they will lead to future growth of the BSC, in terms of membership numbers, development of new resources for members, and opportunities for engagement. Thanks as always for your support, and we look forward to seeing you in San Antonio.
