ABRF continues to grow steadily in both membership and the scope of activities. This newsletter highlights a number of new directions for the organization in addition to reporting on the continuing activities of our research subcommittees and other ongoing organizational activities.
One exciting development is the establishment of a local chapter program which we hope will expand ABRF functions, especially informal facility staff education and networking of members, on the local level. This program was developed in response to substantial interest in several regional areas to establish local organizations. Major advantages of local meetings include expanding contact with colleagues in neighboring institutions as well as providing a forum for participation of facility members who may not have the opportunity to attend national or international scientific meetings. Further details are given below.
A new research subcommittee has been formed which will focus on nucleic acid synthesis and sequencing. A brief article which includes the members of this new committee is on page 5. Another new feature is an expansion of our "POSITIONS AVAILABLE" column to include advertising used facility equipment (see page 8). Further expansion of this section to other categories is also under consideration.
To assist with the expanded scope of our steadily growing organization, we have recently hired a part time business manager, Lauren Kim (see page 8). Ms. Kim's assistance has already been invaluable to members of the Executive Committee and the establishment of a business office will allow the centralization of many tasks. One of the business manager's more important functions will be the receipt of 1992 dues and management of the mailing list. This reorganization will consolidate responsibilities that were previously handled at three different locations which often lead to substantial delays in crediting dues and updating the mailing list.
David W. Speicher
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