PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Opportunities to develop your leadership skills
Shanna Schmitt, CPG-11781
shanna.schmitt@
state.mn.us
Welcome summer! As this third issue of TPG hits your inbox or
mailbox, it’s a sign that it’s time to register for the AIPG Annual Conference! You’ll find information in the Apr/May/Jun 2024 edi- tion of TPG, and we’re looking forward to seeing you in Durango, Colorado.
Getting involved At the conference, I’ll begin my work for the Nominating
Committee soliciting nominations for our 2026 national officers (President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Editor, and Early Career Professional). Although the national officers are the most visible, AIPG cannot function without our dedicated volunteers at all levels. You don’t have to jump straight into volunteering at the national level; there are officer and committee opportunities in each Section. However, if you’re willing to volunteer at the national level, we have several committees and officer positions available:
• National Officers – defined in the Bylaws and elected each year.
• National Advisory Board Representatives – elected during the annual business meeting from Section representatives (elected or appointed).
• National Committees you can join:
Screening (CPGs only) – review all applications for AIPG Certification; oversee and review the work of the Section Screening Committees.
Ethics (CPGs only) – promote ethical conduct and educate members on ethics topics; review ethical mis- conduct allegations and follow appropriate disciplinary procedures as needed.
Honors & Awards - review applications for national awards and recommend award recipients.
Membership – follow the Strategic Plan and create initiatives to increase and retain members in all mem- bership categories.
Academic Education - review National and Foundation scholarships, student chapter of the year award, and applications for CEUs.
Diversity and Inclusion - help promote a supportive and welcoming Institute in which geoscientists of all backgrounds and demographics can work together to strengthen and advance geoscience professions.
Exploratory - explore possible options and mechanisms to form a collaborative agreement between AIPG and other geologic organizations.
www.aipg.org
Why get involved? At a recent Geoscience
Caucus facilitated by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), we dis- cussed "Growing the leadership pool: strat- egies for increasing diverse, engaged, quali- fied, committed peo- ple to serve on boards and committees." Persuading members to volunteer their time and effort to AIPG isn’t easy. We all lead full lives with various commitments. During our dis- cussion, no one person or organization had an answer, but we all had parts of an answer. An outcome of the discussion is that AIPG will be drafting position summaries, a bit more detailed than the information in the Bylaws and Executive Committee Handbook, and we will include approximate time commitment numbers. We’ll also update our national committee descriptions. Stay tuned and let me know if you have other ideas!
A major benefit that often comes to mind for volunteering at AIPG section and national levels is leadership experience. And this is a benefit, but there are several other reasons to volunteer.
• Learn skills – When I first started volunteering with the Minnesota Section in 2011, I was drafting meeting minutes, tracking registrations, payments, and communicating with caterers. I learned how the section worked from the inside out. I also quickly met many of the section members while checking them in for our technical talks.
• Share your strengths – I like organizing. Whether that’s organizing thoughts, files, or schedules, I can dive in. And who doesn’t love the serotonin boost of checking something off a to-do list?
• Learn to work with a diverse group of geoscience profes- sionals across the country – AIPG is unique because we represent the wide-range of professional geoscientists. When you volunteer, you’re almost guaranteed to work with people in a different sub-discipline. At the national level, even when I’m working with other environmental geosci- entists or hydrogeologists, their perspectives are different because they’re working under different state/regional cir- cumstances or laws. I’ve learned so much from others, and I believe this positions me well to work in different areas
Continued on p. 44
Jul.Aug.Sep 2024 • TPG 39
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