CHEMICAL CONSULTANTS NETWORK ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2006
The
Chemical Consultants Network (CCN) is a topical group of the
Philadelphia Section of the ACS that has also been recognized and
supported by the National AIChE. It was organized in December 1994, and has held monthly meetings since February 1995. It is run by a Steering
Committee consisting of its elected officers, committee chairs and two
members at large. We believe that CCN is the first and only organization for consultants within the American Chemical Society. The name “Chemical Consultants Network” was adopted to reflect the purpose of the group which is to enhance members’ opportunities to use their professional expertise as consultants.
MISSION: To form a volunteer organization to support members in
expanding the meaningful use of their expertise, by:
2006 SUMMARY:
CCN held ten monthly meetings with attendance ranging between 25 and 45. During the year, membership was an estimated 530 consultants. We continue to attract new members at our monthly meetings as well as directly through our web site.
The membership is about 60% chemists and 40% chemical engineers. Most members reside in the area between Wilmington, DE, and Princeton, NJ, although there are a few US members from as far as Florida, Oklahoma and the West Coast. In addition, we now have international members residing in Canada, UK, Australia and Japan. Meeting notices are published in the publications of the Philadelphia, Delaware, Princeton and Trenton ACS Sections, the Philadelphia Section of AIChE monthly newsletter and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The CCN website ( www.chemconsultants.org) continues to provide member data for all interested in CCN member skills, meeting notices and other information about CCN in an attractive, user-friendly format. An additional purpose of the site is to function as a self-service consultant resource for potential clients. More than 260 of our members (a 13 percent increase) have information about themselves on the site, which receives an average of 209 visits per day (a 30 percent increase). Many members have reported inquiries and jobs that originated from the web site.
In addition to the web site, a paper directory, that includes key words about each member's specialties, is distributed to all members and currently contains information on over 530 chemists and/or chemical engineers.
MEETINGS
Ten meetings were held in the evening, usually the second Wednesday of the month, at the Cynwyd Club in Bala Cynwyd, PA. They consisted of a social hour, a dinner, a business meeting, and a talk.
| Date | Topic | Speaker |
| January | Four Secrets To Effective Communication | Dr. John Leslie |
| February | Joint meeting with AIChE, DVS Vaccine Development | Mr.Brian Lange |
| March | Creative Thinking and Innovation in Consulting | Dr.Michael Bigwood, Mr. Don Koestler |
| April | Seven Deadly Sins Committed by Technology Startups | Dr. Patrick J. Foley |
| May | Realigning Our Commitment to Science and Technology | Dr. Catherine Hunt |
| June | Annual Picnic | |
| September | Success factors for a Consulting practice in Chemistry | Dr. William C. Golton |
| October | Chemical Heritage Foundation Programs | Mr. Rick Sherman |
| November | Consulting Opportunities in the Hydrogen Economy | Dr. Kathy Bullock |
| December | Joint Meeting with the Joseph Priestley Society at CHF |
OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES:
Mr. Don Koestler served his first year as Chairman of the Steering Committee.
Dr. Stan Bell served the first year of his two-year term as Chair-elect.
Dr. John Newport served as our Secretary.
Dr. William Retallick served as Treasurer for a part of the year and was replaced by Ron Bihovsky
Wolf Karo and Kathy Bullock served as Members-at-Large.
Committee chairs were:
Janice and Stanley Bell (Meeting Arrangements),
William Reuter (Publicity),
Mark DeLuca (Webmaster),
William Golton (Website)
David Vahlsing (Membership).
The Steering Committee also serves as the Nominating and Program Committee.
All committee chairs serve on the Steering Committee.
During the year William Reuter resigned as the chairman of the Publicity Committee. His replacement has not yet been named.
Mary deLesdernier was named Assistant Webmaster at the June meeting of the Website committee.
The following were elected in this year’s election:
Treasurer Ron Bihovsky Member-at-Large Roger Singer
MEMBERSHIP:
After a reasonable period of time for receipt of late dues, all names scheduled for removal from the CCN web site were reviewed by the membership chairman and the treasurer. The membership committee was called on several times to review the qualifications of applicants who are not chemists or chemical engineers. Those reviewed were accepted as members due to the fit of their business expertise with the objectives of the CCN. The Steering Committee will review and rule on all future non-chemist and/or non-chemical engineer applicants in the same manner.
PUBLICITY:
Our weekly ad in C&E News ran throughout the year.
The Steering Committee is searching for William Reuter’s replacement. William Reuter has given the CCN many years
of dedicated service.
FINANCES:
In 2006, CCN continued its policy of charging dues to members who want to have their own web page on the CCN site - $25 for
ACS and/or AIChE members, $35 for non-members.
The dues are used to pay for the website and publicity, and to complement the annual ACS and AIChE grants that supports
program and mailing expenses. This year there are 206 dues paying members in the CCN.
In addition to the support from the Philadelphia ACS, the National office of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
also provided funding in 2006 to help with program, publicity, web site expenses, mailing expenses, guest speaker dinners
and supplies and equipment.
PLANS FOR 2007:
Ten monthly meetings will again be scheduled. The success of joint meetings with the Delaware Valley Professional Societies including the Joseph Priestly Society will lead to more such meetings.
We will continue to consider means of improving the CCN and it's services. The website will be updated regularly and publicized more effectively.
Dues will be collected from CCN members to support web site activities and member web pages and we will again apply to the Philadelphia Section of the ACS and the National AIChE for financial support. It is expected that dues will be unchanged from previous years.
We will continue to work with ACS and AIChE officials at the local and the National level to improve services for and recognition of consultants in the chemical professions.
Respectively Submitted,
Donald J. Koestler, Chairman, Steering Committee