President's Forum

In my past few columns in this newsletter, I have focused on the future of this Atlantic Geoscience Society. This resulted in a townhall session at our colloquium in Wolfville last winter and several follow-up discussions at council meetings since then. As a result of this exercise, the council will likely be recommending some minor changes to our by-laws at our next annual general meeting in Fredericton.

While change and rejuvenation of AGS has been the end goal of this process, many members have spoken out against major changes to the society. Some members have pointed out that our society runs well and there is no need to undergo massive alterations to how it functions. My time with AGS and other societies have certainly emphasized that the AGS does run quite smoothly compared to other volunteer organizations. People are willing to step up and take on different tasks and we have a number of members who answer the call time after time. While there is always a need for new members to come in and rejuvenate the society, it is perhaps unwise to force such rejuvenation at the expense of those who still wish to contribute.

We have also had reason to stop and contemplate the strength of geoscience in Atlantic Canada recently. During the past few months we have lost two prominent members of our community, Harold (Hank) Williams and Hans Wielens. Both made strong contributions to geoscience in the region and beyond and will be missed. On a more positive note, on October 20 an event was held by the Mount Allison Alumni in honour of AGS lifetime member Laing Ferguson at the Joggins Fossil Centre. Graham Williams, the only other lifetime AGS member, represented us at this event that celebrated Dr. Ferguson’s work at Mount Allison, volunteer efforts for numerous organizations and contributions towards the development of the Joggins Fossil Centre.

The contributions of these individuals and many other that have been associated with AGS over the past few decades have provided us with a strong base for us to move forward as a society. AGS has prospered and continues to do so because of the contributions from great geoscientists from the region. Contributions have been made from a diverse and evolving group throughout the nearly 40 years that AGS has been in existence. Questions remain about what AGS will look like in the future but ultimately it is up to those who wish to get involved. The fact that the society could welcome a black sheep like me, a hydrogeologist of all things, suggests that that door is wide open.

Grant Ferguson
President, AGS

AGS Council Executive
President Grant Ferguson Saint Francis Xavier University, Department of Earth Sciences P.O. Box 5000, Antigonish, NS, B2G 1C0 Phone: (902) 867-3614 Fax: (902) 867-2414 E-Mail:gferguso@stfx.ca		Secretary Rob Raeside Acadia University, Department of Earth and Environmental Science 12 University Avenue, Wolfville, NS, B4P 2R6 Phone: (902) 585-1323 Fax: (902) 585-1816 E-Mail: Rob.Raeside@acadiau.ca
Vice-President Jim Walker New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources Geological Surveys Branch P.O. Box 50, 495 Riverside Drive Bathurst, NB, E2A 3Z1 Phone: (506) 547-2070 Fax: (506) 547-7694 E-Mail: Jim.Walker@gnb.ca		Past-President David Mosher Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic) 1 Challenger Drive (P.O. Box 1006), Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2 Phone: (902) 426-3149 Fax: (902) 426-4104 E-Mail: David.Mosher@NRCan.gc.ca
Treasurer Ken Howells 27 John Cross Drive Dartmouth, NS, B2W 1X1 Phone: (902) 434-4884 Fax: none E-Mail: khgeoscience@navnet.net

editor:

David Mosher
Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic)
P.O. Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2
(902) 426-3149 dmosher@nrcan.gc.ca