—by Diana Haskins, Zone 14 Associate Councilor

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The American Center for Physics, College Park, MD (photo by Diana Haskins).

The 2005-06 SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma National Council Meeting took place at the American Center for Physics (pictured at left) and the Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport Hotel, September 22-25, 2005.

The American Center for Physics houses The American Physical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, and the parent organization of SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma, the American Institute of Physics.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel is conveniently located in the Washington DC area for meetings at the American Center for Physics and sightseeing in downtown Washington DC.

The National Council is made up of the 7 member Executive Committee and the 36 member National Council. The National Council Members hail from 18 Zones; each Zone represents a section of the country and is represented by a faculty Councilor and a student Associate Councilor. This is a brief report of my experience at the National Council meeting as the Zone 14 Associate Councilor.

The National Council Meeting

Thursday, Sept. 22

SPS Council members get acquainted during the welcome reception at the Crown Plaza Hotel (photo by Sacha Purnell).

Thursday evening was our first meeting as the National Council. During the reception we had an "ice-breaker" competition consisting of a questionnaire about different activities others participated in. The goal was to be the first to learn a fun fact about other Councilors and hand in your sheet to win a prize. I don't think Gary White, the Director of SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma, was prepared to have everyone complete their sheets!

After the reception, we gathered in a meeting room for a wonderful dinner. I was fortunate to sit with Christy Covington Hyde, the SPS Associate Councilor Representative, and Steve Feller, the President of Sigma Pi Sigma, along with several other Zone Councilors (AZ) and Associate Councilors (AZC). Christy explained to us that her position is the AZC representative on the Executive Committee and that her position is elected by the AZCs. The position is limited to 1 term, and we would be electing a new Representative at the end of the Council Meeting. Steve Feller kept the conversation flowing over dinner by asking where everyone was from and about their major field of interest.

After dinner, Thomas Olsen, the Sigma Pi Sigma Historian, gave a great presentation about the history of SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma. And then Gary White used the forms we filled out during the reception to open the room for individual introductions. He took great care to try and get everyone to say a little something about his or her background and share an interesting story about themselves.

(Left to right): SPS Council members Cheri Hall, James Borgardt, and Yu Hou enjoy dinner at the Crown Plaza Hotel (photo by Sacha Purnell).

After dinner concluded, the AZC and the ZC broke off into separate groups. Christy Hyde sat down with us and gave us more information about her position as the SPS Associate Councilor Representative. She told us to about some of her experiences and that we should all strongly consider running for the position. Then it was time to go out! There is a tradition that on the first night of the Meeting, the AZCs all go out for a drink or two to get to know each other in a more relaxed setting.

Almost all of the AZCs decided to gather for a drink at a local Sports Bar. It was great fun to sit with my fellow Councilors and to learn more about their colleges, programs, and future goals. Everyone had a great time while we had a few drinks and played pool. A long day of travel did not seem to lower the excitement level that we all felt to be together and participate in this important event.

Friday, Sept. 23

The SPS Council is called to order at the American Center for Physics on Friday morning (photo by Tracy Schwab).

The next morning began the actual Council Meeting. We all gathered at the American Center for Physics. It was awe inspiring to enter the location of so many important Associations. The Meeting started at 9:30 am and ended around 8:45 pm with breaks for a delicious lunch and a wonderful dinner served at the Center. The morning session dealt mostly with information about the Society, for example, the State of Societies, Zone Meeting Reports, and Awards Reports. I spoke briefly about the SPS Reporter Program. The afternoon session is when we broke out into our Committees (we selected which committee we wanted to work with before arriving in DC) and worked on the goals charged to the committee.

Since I had participated in the trial SPS Reporter Program, I was asked to be a member of the Publications/Communications Task Force. I answered many questions for the Committee as they gathered information on whether they wanted to recommend to the National Council to expand the Reporter Program. I, of course, recommend to my committee that they should endorse this program. We also discussed the fact that many students who join SPS are not fully aware that they receive the Observer, online access to JURP, or the frequency of the publications. It was during this first initial Committee meeting that we were to discuss issues that we thought we should be concerned with. At our next Committee meeting later in the evening we would finalize our recommendations to the Council. The Council reconvened to continue on with other business. A representative of each Committee presented an outline of their goals and possible motions they might bring to the council after dinner.

Next, we began an interesting debate on the theme for the 2008 Sigma Pi Sigma Congress. Steve Feller, Gary White, and Thomas Olsen presented possible themes and titles. This turned out to be a very lively debate with many AZC and ZC speaking about the success of the 2004 Congress and how they wanted that to carry over to the 2008 Congress. We then broke for dinner.

After dinner, we again took up the debate on the 2008 Congress, and it was decided to revisit the issue the following morning. Each Committee presented their motions, followed by discussion of the motions. This took up the rest of our meeting until we finally adjourned.

The day was certainly long. It also was something I felt honored to participate in. Each suggestion or topic of discussion put forth by either a ZC or AZC was met with respect and attention. No suggestion was too small, nor did it matter if it came from a student or a faculty member. It was my impression that the members of the Executive Committee and staff went out of their way to make sure that the students participated fully in the proceedings.

Saturday, Sept. 24

The council broke out into groups such as this for committee discussions (photo by Tracy Schwab).

Our last official meeting as the National Council began Saturday morning at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It was basically a wrap up of the whole experience, and we revisited the issue of the 2008 Congress. It was during this meeting that Justin Stimatze, the AZC from California State University-Chico gave a Power Point presentation he developed with a fellow AZC about their thoughts on the theme for the 2008 Congress. It was an excellent presentation that the Council, as a whole, embraced.

Our last order of business required the AZC to break away from the Council, so that we could elect our new SPS Associate Councilor Representative. Three highly qualified students ran for the position. With a platform of greater communication between the students and the Executive Committee, Krystle Williams was elected as our new Representative. The Council gathered as a whole so that we could announce our choice for the Representative, and officially adjourn the meeting. The rest of the afternoon was spent as tourists in downtown Washington DC.

Our final social meeting as the National Council was held at the Red Sage Restaurant, just a few blocks from the White House. We were able to have one more social gathering with all of our new friends that we made during the Meeting. It was a great way to end.

Overall my thoughts on the meeting again return to the absolute feeling of welcome that all of the SPS National Staff, ZC, and Executive Committee members extended to the students. I think that I can speak for the other students when I say that they made us feel that our suggestions for SPS were welcomed and of extreme importance. I cannot give enough thanks to Gary White and Liz Caron, the Project Administrator for Education, American Institute of Physics, for their hard work. Gary White always knew everyone's name, and took time to speak with each AZC about their thoughts and any ideas they may have. A special thanks goes to Liz for all her effort in see that the student’s needs were met and that the input of the students was heard about the whole experience. I do not think I can convey how impressed I am with the SPS National Staff. They definitely care about students and SPS.