Hello everyone,
I would first like to add my thanks and
congratulations to the BSG Bristol 2009 conference team, led by Simon
Evans from the University of the West of England, for an excellent
annual conference this year. It is especially admirable that the team
organised the conference for two years in a row to such a high standard
and with great enthusiasm and energy. I very much enjoyed meeting with
so many BSG friends and colleagues.
I am also delighted to welcome our new members of
the Executive Committee. In 2009 there was a call for nominations for 5
positions on the Executive Committee. The election results, announced at
the 2009 AGM, are as follows:
-
Simon Evans (University of the West of England): re-elected as a Member of the Executive Committee.
-
Dr Alisoun Milne (University of Kent): elected as a Member of the Executive Committee.
-
Dr Suzanne Moffatt (Newcastle University): elected as a Member of the Executive Committee.
-
Dr Mary Pat Sullivan (Brunel University): elected as a Member of the Executive Committee.
-
Susan Venn (University of Surrey): elected as Secretary-Elect.
Many congratulations to you all – I welcome you to
the Executive Committee and very much look forward to working with you. I
would also like to thank Bernadette Bartlam, Angela Kydd and Randall
Smith for all your years of service and commitment to the committee –
you will be missed. The full membership of the current BSG Committee is available at via this link.
In the autumn we will be taking forward some key initiatives as part of our new strategy. These include:
1) Members’ Survey
Our new strategy will involve us developing and
promoting our identity to ensure that we communicate our goals and
objectives clearly. To ensure that our message and identity reflects our
membership we need to know about who you are, your interests, your
background, your links with BSG and to understand more about how the BSG
can work with and for you. Professor Sheila Peace is leading an online
survey (that will take approx 5 – 10 minutes to complete). We would be
very grateful if you will take a short space of time to complete this
survey and ensure that your voice and interests are heard as part of our
new strategy and identity. If you would like further information please
contact Sheila Peace at s.m.peace@open.ac.uk.
2) Development of the BSG website
The BSG website is central to how we communicate
our mission and identity with and between our members, to potential
members and the outside world. It is often the first port of call for
anyone interested in BSG. It is therefore essential that the content and
format of the website is up-to-date, reflects our aims and goals, and
links to the key activities of our members (e.g. research, teaching,
policy and practice). We will be in contact with members as we develop
this website and collect and collate new information. If you would like
further information or wish to contribute to the new website please
contact Sue Venn at
s.venn@surrey.ac.uk who is leading this group
On a personal
note, I myself have recently started a new permanent post as a Lecturer
in the School of Health Sciences and Social Care at Brunel University.
My colleague Professor Christina Victor has also moved following the
closure of our School at the University of Reading earlier this year. I
would like to take this opportunity to thank all my BSG friends and
colleagues for their encouragement and support during a difficult and
complicated year – in particular my colleagues Rachel Hazelwood and
Rachel Pitman, my fellow Officers Prof Judith Phillips and Dr Debora
Price, my co-editors of Generations Review Dr Veronika Williams and Dr
Samuel Nyman, and all members of the Executive Committee and the wider
membership. It really does bring to light the importance of wider
networks and the friendship and supportive role that a Society such as
the BSG offers: thank you to you all!
Christina and I have hit the road the running in
our new posts and we are already busy organising our next annual
conference from July 6th to 8th 2010 at Brunel University. The call for
abstracts and the conference website will be available from 1st November
2009. Click here for further information. We look forward to welcoming you all to Brunel University next year!
Our contact details are:
Email:
britishgerontology@yahoo.co.uk
Phone:
Please leave a message with your name and number on the BSG answering service on 07532 248 835. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Post:
British Society of Gerontology
PO Box 607
York
YO26 0EQ
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