American Chemical Society
The ACS provides training for local section organizers of regional meetings and Region Board members to ensure that the ACS Regional Meetings provide maximum benefits for ACS members, students, and other meeting attendees.
2025 In-Person Training Details:
Location: ACS Offices, 1155 16th Street Northwest Washington, DC 20036
Dates:
Day 1: Thursday, Feb 27: Arrival in DC and Evening Reception (food and drinks provided)
Day 2: Friday, Feb 28: Full Day Training, Breakfast, Lunch, and Breaks provided
Day 3: Saturday, March 1: Half-Day Training (ending by 1:00 PM), Breakfast, Lunch, and Breaks provided
2025 In-Person Training Invitees and Support:
ACS will provide travel support (plane/milage/train, ground transportation, meals, and hotel) for up to four trainees per region (additional participants may also attend at the region’s expense).
An upcoming Regional Meeting General Chair and one Region Board Officer should be among the four invitees. Trainees should attend a training session early enough in the meeting planning process that they will be able to take full advantage of the information available, for some regions this is 2-3 years in advance of the meeting, for other regions it is 1-2 years in advance of the meeting. The exact timing will depend on the needs of each region.
Recommended attendees include:
1. Meeting General Chairs. The general chair of a meeting holds primary responsibility for the organization of a meeting, it is strongly encouraged that the chair attend.
2. Region Board Members: Region Boards are the primary source of institutional memory for a region and a well-informed board member can provide invaluable assistance to meeting organizers. A board officer who has previously served as a general chair might refresh their planning insights by attending, while a less experienced board member with an intent to serve for an extended period might develop crucial professional contacts.
3. Technical Program Chairs: The heart of a regional meeting is the technical program. Program chairs can learn how to work with divisions to find keynote speakers and obtain financial support. Other aspects of the program can be enhanced by training sessions focused on undergraduate programming, high school teacher programming, outreach events, professional development, committee activities and many others.
4. Other Key Organizers: Depending on the structure of an organizing committee, other volunteers might wish to attend the training sessions. These individuals should be people responsible for multiple aspects of the meeting and leading other volunteers.
Next Steps
- The 4 individuals identified by their region should register for the training click here; the registration deadline is February 1, 2025.
- Information about hotel reservations is included in the registration form.
- After registering, registrants will receive additional information about booking travel (registrants should not book travel until instructions are received).
- Hotel reservation confirmations and the training agenda will be emailed to registrants at the beginning of February.
Contact
If you have any questions please contact ACS Staff Member, Naeemah Raqib at N_Raqib@acs.org.