The Purpose of The AREMS Leadership Guide
The AREMS Leadership Guide offers the entire membership, and especially the officers of the Society, a list of the duties and responsibilities of the officers, the guidelines for the biannual meetings of AREMS , and a time-frame for important society functions. In its presentation, the leadership guide is not intended to be all inclusive in any one of these three areas, but it shall cover those matters considered to be of major importance and certainly most essential in the day to day functioning of the Society. In all of those matters, this document provides a more thorough and complete explanation than can be offered in the AREMS By-Laws, and unlike the By-Laws, it may be revised and amended by action exclusively of the Executive Committee so long as such revisions and amendments do not violate the general principles that define the society and that are recorded in the Constitution and By-Laws. As members of the Society perceive a need for addition to or clarification of any section of this guide, they should offer appropriate suggestions to the Executive Committee. The hope for this guide is that it will bring to the activities of the Society a measure of consistency that shall extend through the normal changes in leadership from year to year.
A Brief History of the Appalachian REgional Microscopy Society
AREMS started in the latter half of 1977 through discussions among several major industries, universities, and governmental agencies employing electron microscopy and located in western North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Although announced at the August 1977 EMSA meeting by the EM Facility at Clemson, the first informal meeting was a discussion dinner with 19 attendees hosted by Milliken Research in Spartanburg. The first formal meeting was in the spring of 1978 at Clemson, hosted by the Clemson University EM Facility. There were 6 presentations to 29 attendees with 4 exhibitors. The first newsletter issued later that spring under the society name of Mountaineers for Microscopy. The Appalachian Regional Electron Microscopy Society (AREMS) was adopted as the society name at the fall 1978 meeting in Asheville, hosted by American Enka (now BASF). In the new Constitution and By-Laws adopted by the Society in 1995, the name was changed to The Appalachian REgional Microscopy Society (AREMS). Today AREMS is a truly regional society with almost 150 members and affiliation with both the Microscopy Society of America and the Microbeam Analysis Society. It seems fitting that in 1998, 20 years after establishing a unique identity, AREMS will co-host the national Microscopy Society of America meeting in Atlanta.
Important AREMS Dates and Deadlines
December 1
All articles proposed for the winter issue of the Newsletter must be in the hands of the Newsletter Editor.
All articles proposed for the summer issue of the Newsletter must be in the hands of the Newsletter Editor.
1. The President-elect, with approval of the Executive Committee, will select the sites and appoint the Hosts of the biannual meetings which will be held during her/his presidential term.
2. The Host, with the advice of the President, makes all physical arrangements for the biannual meeting.
3. The President, Host, and the Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee arrange presenters and speakers for the Thursday workshops and Friday technical session.
4. The President and the Host should where appropriate take advantage of the following resources for meetings of the society: a.) Traveling exhibits provided at no cost to the society by the Microscopy Society of America. b.) Microscopy Society of America — Local Affiliate Society tour speakers. AREMS would provide expenses not covered by MSA. c.) Microbeam Analysis Society tour speakers. AREMS would provide expenses not covered by MAS.
5. The host and the President will prepare the Meeting Announcement and Registration Form for inclusion in the Newsletter.
6. AREMS meetings should be scheduled to avoid conflicting meetings: a.) The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Microscopy is held in late February or early March. b.) The North Carolina Furniture Mart occurs in April and October of every year. c.) Football games and other community or sporting events in the area of the meeting.
7. The Secretary-Treasurer, Secretary-Treasurer-elect, and host shall attend the registration table at each meeting.
8. Attendees at each biannual meeting should expect meeting costs of less than $50.00 to include dinner, lunch, and the general registration fee.
9. The hotel designated as the meeting headquarters should provide reduced, group rates for the meeting attendees. The name of a second hotel near the meeting headquarters, ideally one that also provides group rates, should be listed in the meeting announcement.
10. Encourage member and student participation in the meeting. The registration fees for scheduled speakers will be waived.
11. The meeting expenses for the keynote banquet speaker will be paid by the society.
12. Company and institution sites should be utilized for meetings where appropriate space is available and where there is a cost advantage for the society.
13. The Host should pass along any information on meeting arrangements to the Host of the next meeting.
14. At each biannual meeting, the President should preside over the paper session and the business meeting. He/she should announce the plans for future meetings, remind officers and committee chairs of their duties, and review important dates and deadlines.
15. The fees collected at the meeting should cover the meeting expenses.
1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and of the society membership.
2. The President should strive to assure the timely fulfillment of the responsibilities by all officers, committee chair, and other individuals engaged in the functions of the society. The Editor and Publisher of the newsletter should be appointed by the Executive Committee at the fall meeting. The Publisher should mail the winter issue between December 1 and February 28 and the summer issue between June 1 and August 31. The Willmarth Research Award Committee should select the recipient of the award in time for the Winter Newsletter. The Nominating Committee prepare a slate of nominees for approval by the Executive Committee at its winter meeting and submit the approved ballot in the Winter Newsletter.
3. The President shall request an annual grant-in-aid from the Microscopy Society of America. The request should be made normally as soon as possible after the annual MSA meeting in August.
4. The President shall serve as an advisor to the Hosts of the fall and spring meetings of the society.
5. The President shall administer all requirements stated in the By-Laws and propose appropriate By-Law changes to the Executive Committee.
6. The President shall forward all official correspondence to the Secretary-Treasurer.
7. The President shall write a "President's Letter" for the each Newsletter issue.
8. The President shall serve as the society's liaison to all affiliated societies. If the President is not a member of MSA and/or MAS, he or she should designate an AREMS member, with membership in the respective societies, to assist with these duties.
9. The President shall designate a AREMS member to attend the MSA — LAS meeting at the annual meeting of MSA.
1. The President-elect shall assist the President, whenever called upon, to perform her/his duties as the executive officer of the society.
2. In the absence of the President, the President-elect shall preside at all official meetings.
3. The President-elect succeeds the President when the President's term expires or when the President leaves office for any reason during her/his term.
4. The President-elect shall participate in the selection of future meeting sites.
5. The President-elect shall actively support the President's agenda
6. The President-elect shall administer the absentee exhibitor program for all meetings of the society.
7. He/she shall serve as Chair of the Audit Committee at the close of the Secretary-Treasurer's term of office.
1. In order to provide continuity in leadership from the executive office of the society, the Past President shall serve a an advisor to the President on all matters pertaining to that office.
2. The Past President shall serve as a nonvoting Chair of the Willmarth Research Award Committee. He or she will assist the Secretary-Treasurer with the preparation of the award plaque.
3. The Past President shall serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee.
Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer
1. The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain the present and past membership records and monitor the collection and expenditure of the Society's funds.
2. He/she shall provide financial and membership reports for all Society and Executive Committee meetings, for Newsletter mailings, and as requested by the President.
3. The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain copies of the Constitution, By-Laws, and the AREMS Leadership Guide on computer disc and shall have these documents present in hard copy at the biannual meetings for perusal by the membership.
4. The Secretary-Treasurer shall send mail items not associated with the newsletters the are required by the membership.
5. The Secretary-Treasurer shall attend the Registration Table at the fall and spring meetings.
6. The Secretary-Treasurer shall attend all meetings of the Executive Committee and the society or shall instruct the Secretary-Treasurer-elect to attend in her or his absence.
7. At the end of her/his term, the Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare a complete closing report to be examined by the Audit Committee and passed on to the Secretary-Treasurer-elect.
8. The Secretary-Treasurer shall direct the activities of the Secretary-Treasurer-elect and is responsible for training the Secretary-Treasurer-elect.
9. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare the check for the Willmarth Award recipient and shall assist the Past President with the preparation of the award plaque.
Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer-elect
1. The Secretary-Treasurer-elect shall carry out the functions and duties assigned by the Secretary-Treasurer (e.g., recording, assist registration).
2. He or she shall make an effort to learn all of the duties and responsibilities of the office of Secretary-Treasurer.
3. He or she will receive, count and retain the ballots for elections and have the count verified by the President.
Duties of the Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee
1. Each Member-at-Large shall represent the interests of the society component (Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, or Corporations) he or she represents.
2. Each Member-at-Large shall assist the President and Local Meeting host with the program for each meeting.
3. The Members-at-Large shall serve with the President-elect on the Audit Committee and with the Past President on the Nominating Committee and Willmarth Research Award Committee.
Duties of the Newsletter Editor
1. The Newsletter Editor will be responsible for collecting and editing items to be published and furnishing the Publisher with a copy-ready draft to be duplicated and mailed to the membership.
2. The Newsletter Editor shall meet with the President and Executive Committee as requested at any meeting.
Evaluation Guidelines
The award will be based upon original work done by an AREMS member in good standing. As the focus of our Society is that of microscopy, the utilization of that discipline will need to be a primary factor in the work done.
Judging will be based upon 3 principle areas: 1) Soundness of research and originality of work (35 points) a) Experimental design and thoroughness of the work done, problem clearly and concisely stated. b) Effectiveness of the use of microscopy methods and techniques, techniques are appropriate. c) Relationship of results achieved to a conclusion regarding the topic at hand, clear results and valid conclusions. 2) Quality of microscopy (40 points) a) Specimen preparation and/or presentation for analysis. b) Quality of data depicting items important to the results and conclusions, clarity of micrographs or other data. c) Considerations regarding the instrumentation used as related to the sample type analyzed or examined. d) Use of ancillary techniques or types of microscopy to validate the primary work. 3) Written description and oral presentation (25 points) a) Organization of the presentation. b) Clarity of the text, straightforward manner, concise. c) Effectiveness of communication, clearly spoken, illustrations appropriately explained. d) Grammatical correctness.
(Last revised 4/21/97 - D. Barr)