1998 Barbara Belmont

Barbara Belmont has been extremely active with the Southern California Section for nearly a decade. It has been said that no one has worked harder or more intensely than Barbara and that she “will do the dirty work when necessary, and at little notice to anyone else who is not involved.” She has made major contributions in communications, outreach, and directory publications. Barbara brought the Section into the computer age, setting up and providing technical support for the Section office computer hardware and software. She implemented and supervises the use of the database software which keeps track of our membership, SCALACS advertisers, outreach lists, and financial accounting. When the most recent directory was being published, she worked hard to coordinate the technical aspects of employer coding, area code corrections, cross-platform information exchange, and page layout. Barbara established an internet presence for the Local Section, including a web page, a Section email address, and email distribution lists for members and Section governance.

Barbara served as Southern California Section Chair in 1996 after being Program Chair and Chair-Elect the preceding year and an elected member of the Executive Committee from 1993-95. During her tenure as Section Chair, and in the following year when she served as Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, quite a few new faces appeared on the Executive Committee. She continues to be instrumental in recruiting new participants from industry and academe. She has continued to serve the Section well as one of the most dedicated and efficient contributors to our operations. As long-range planning Chair in 1997, she was instructional in the start-up of the Section’s Student Travel Grant Program.

Barbara also served as Registration Chair for the 1993 Western Regional Meeting and chaired the Section’s Women Chemists’ Committee in 1993 and ’94. More recently, she has been enthusiastically involved in public outreach activities. During several recent National Chemistry Week operations, she helped to design and coordinate activities for the Section at the California Museum of Science and Industry. Also, for a number of years, she has been a judge at the California State Science Fair. For the past several years Barbara developed and presented workshops for teachers and parents at the Expanding Your Horizons Conference designed to encourage girls in grades 6-10 to take more science classes.

Her cheerful cooperation and willingness to take a leadership position are appreciated by the Section. Barbara clearly deserves the 1998 Agnes Ann Green Distinguished Service Award.