“Pea-corn. Pop-nuts. Chewing gars. Ci-gum. Magazettes!” 

While my Dad (and my Grandfather before him) often belted out this line as if a food vendor at a ballpark, this column isn’t about peanuts or popcorn, or even the time at the ballpark. This is about what happens after the games are over and the season is complete; this is about evaluating the team. After every season, there is a time to reflect on the past year – on the wins, and on the losses, and what contributed to both. It is a time to celebrate the successes and embrace the lessons from the losses. It is a time to look into the future and to figure out what is needed to be even more successful next season!

The same is true for our Society. We take time to reflect on where we are, on how we got here, and, especially, on where we’re going. We take time to update our rosters. We’ve added Paula Kramer as Student Rep, Lisa MacFadden as Secretary, and Young-Hui Chang as Treasurer-Elect. And we’ve welcomed back Evan Dooley (Communications) and Kate Saul (President-Elect) in new roles.

We take time to evaluate our record of success – where we’ve done well and where we could use a bit of improvement. But it isn’t as easy as looking at a win-loss record. As a Society, I do hope that we’re winning more than we’re losing. You can see that in many of the columns in the Newsletter; we’re financially stable, we’re continuing to increase our membership, we’re expanding our network of Affinity Groups and Non-Profit Partners, and we’re extending our reach.

These wins are great! But our society is not just about numbers. It’s about the people and the value we provide to them. So we ask ourselves: Are we serving our membership in important and impactful ways now? And how will we continue to do so in the future, especially in an ever-changing scientific and funding climate? Just as many of our members have been affected by recent natural disasters (wildfires, floods, and hurricanes, to name a few), we are reminded of the importance of preparation and planning for the future, of aligning our efforts with our priorities.

And that is what strategic planning is all about. As highlighted by our President Ajit Chaudhari, we are in the process of planning for ASB’s next five years. We value your input in the process. Many of you have already contributed through our initial survey. Keep an eye out for upcoming opportunities to provide more feedback. And feel free to reach out to Ajit directly as well. We’re in this together!

So whether it’s about our baseball team, our lab group, or our ASB Society, as we reflect on the past and plan for the future, we look forward to many successful seasons to come!