March 28, 2024
Hello Everyone,
The ABRF Executive Board met on March 14, and we're pleased to share this summary of our discussions:
ABRF Strategic Plan Discussion with ABRF Leaders
The April 3 quarterly leadership meeting will focus on reviewing the updated Strategies and Success Measures for 2024 with ABRF Research Group, Committee, and Chapter leaders. Breakout sessions will be organized for each of the four strategic goals to collect input on the proposed activities. Board members were requested to lead the discussion in each breakout room.
Executive Board Retreat to work on new ABRF Strategy
An extended meeting will be scheduled (potentially in conjunction with one of the October Chapter meetings) to serve as a Board retreat to focus on the update of the ABRF strategy, led by VistaCova. The retreat would be combined with the monthly Board meeting for a 2-day in-person meeting. A poll will be conducted to identify the preferred dates.
2024 Annual Meeting Update
Sponsorship support exceeds the 2024 meeting budget, with more than $900,000 raised. Final program details are being added to the meeting schedule. The mobile app is set to launch the first week of April. Meeting registration is on track with the 2023 annual meeting. A schedule of Executive Board events and activities will be circulated. The Board agreed to remove food and beverages from the Members' meeting to help streamline the meeting schedule.
Support for new ABRF Chapter
The Executive Board agreed to fund the incremental costs for AMR to support the new regional Chapter, SC3, for the balance of 2024.
Code of Conduct Training for ABRF Leaders
A virtual training session for ABRF leaders to apply the Code of Conduct will be scheduled following the annual meeting, prior to the start of the 2024 Chapter meetings. All ABRF volunteer leaders will be invited to participate.
Research Groups/Committees Issues Updates
The Board discussed updates to the liaison roles for Research Groups, to be finalized at the 2024 Annual Meeting.
ABRF Awards
The Board reviewed the set of nominations received for the Research Group/Committee Member of the Year and selected Stuart Levine in recognition of his contributions to the NERLSCD chapter, Research Groups, and Annual Meeting Program Committees.
Luellen Fletcher was approved to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Board also approved the Career Development Committee's recommendation to present the 2024 Mentor of the Year Award to Beth Cimini. Award recipients will be notified and invited to accept the Awards at the 2024 Members' meeting.
ABRF Collaboration with QUAREP
The Board discussed the opportunity to collaborate with this group, which includes over 600 members in the microscopy field across several countries and agreed to hold a preliminary meeting to determine possible collaboration options.
ABRF Leadership Succession Planning
Marie agreed to lead a task force to review ABRF's succession planning preparations and identify any information needed. Board members were asked to join the task force or recommend other members.
Feel free to contact me if you have questions or suggestions to help the Executive Board continue to lead ABRF's efforts to serve our members.
Thank you for your support for ABRF.
Best regards,
Marie ------------------------------
Ken Schoppmann
ABRF
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