Hello members! I must start my first newsletter post as ASB Secretary by giving a huge thank you to my predecessor (and possibly the most wonderfully organized person I know) – Dr. Kate Saul. She put in an immense effort during her tenure to improve society operations and uphold the institutional memory of our Society.
Three of the big efforts that were led by Dr. Saul and that I will be continuing in 2022 include:
1. Recording member service to ASB. We have a system to record those who have volunteered their valuable time and efforts to the Society, which will help both with member engagement and identifying individuals for awards. Please remember you can sign-up to volunteer for ASB at any time through Membership Toolkit!
2. Onboarding and Historical Memory of decisions. With the consistent turnover of our Society’s Executive Board, we now have a document for onboarding new Executive Board members to their roles and responsibilities of this non-profit organization. As Secretary, I will also continue to serve as a historian, maintaining records of decisions made to uphold continuity during our transitions.
3. Transition to Podium membership database. 2022 will be the last membership year with our current database Membership Toolkit. I look forward to working with Podium Conference Specialist, our new association and conference management company, to transition all membership data to their database. This database will hold both your membership and annual meeting registrations – more info to come!
Now for some reminders about your Membership (can you tell I love lists?):
1. In Membership Toolkit, you can renew your membership, buy journal subscriptions, donate to ASB, and sign-up to volunteer on committees! See instructions on our website here.
2. Membership runs on a calendar year, so take full advantage of your 2022 membership and sign-up or renew now. Only current members may serve as a sponsor for new members.
3. Take advantage of the Membership Directory to find potential collaborators and engage with other members!
I am honored to serve as your ASB Secretary and eager to engage with our members this year through re-starting the Membership Committee. This committee aims to improve member engagement and expand our membership – not only in demographics, but in the different disciplines and career paths of our members. We look forward to meeting with the many ASB affinity groups and student chapters to learn how we can better connect and engage our members. If you are interested in volunteering for this committee (or other ASB committees), please sign-up by going to the Membership Toolkit and selecting “My Member details” under “My Account” in the top bar. Under your member details, you should see a form entitled “2022 ASB Volunteer Interests” where you can sign up!
Finally, here are some membership statistics for the 2021 year:
2021 Members (n = 931)
Membership Category: Regular (61%); Student (38%); Emeritus (1%)
Primary Discipline: Biological Sciences (4%); Engineering & Applied Physics (47%); Ergonomics & Human Factors (4%); Exercise & Sport Sciences (25%); Health Sciences (20%)
Gender: Men (57%); Women (42%); Don’t wish to answer (1%)
Ethnicity: Hispanic (6%); Not Hispanic (89%); Don’t wish to answer (5%)
Race: American Indian/Alaska Native (<1%); Asian (13%); Black (3%); Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (<1%); White (74%); Other (2%); Don’t wish to answer (4%); Biracial (3%)
Disability: Yes (1%); No (95%); Don’t wish to answer (4%)
I look forward to supporting you and ASB this year. Please reach out if you need anything!