Welcome to the October Edition

Written by Tamsin Collins 

Published October 2022

 Welcome to the RACI WA Branch October Newsletter. 

October is a big month for the RACI. On 24th October Roger Stapleford will step down as our longest serving CEO with Shenal Basnayake taking up the position. 

Shenal comes to us having served most recently as the CEO of the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA). Previous roles include Director of Major Programs within the NSW Department of Industry, CEO of the Northern Territory Farmers Association and overseeing economic recovery efforts for the Cassowary Coast Regional Council following Cyclone Yasi in 2010. He has also worked pro-bono for an Indigenous Corporation building business resilience for Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Prof. Pall Thordarson who will take over the RACI Presidency in November 2022 has welcomed Shenal saying ‘Shenal’s proven record in engagement with industry, community groups and government will be a great asset for RACI’.
We look forward to celebrating Rogers’ substantial contribution to RACI during the upcoming Annual Award Ceremony / AGM in late November. 

I would also like to welcome Melissa Johnson as our new WA Coordinator who is all settled in and is already off to a great start helping to ensure our Newsletters get out on time, ensuring our events are properly advertised and keeping our website up to date. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. 

We are grateful to Pam for all her efforts while stepping in, taking on additional duties to support WA during a Congress year while we were without a Coordinator of our own.  

In November, we too will be holding our WA Branch & Groups AGM. A number of positions on our Branch and Group committees are up for renewal. If you are interested in getting more involved, we would love to hear from you. 
The available positions on the Branch this year are the President Elect, Secretary and 9 general Committee members. We are planning some exciting events for next year and beyond; having a few more helping hands would help enormously to achieve these ambitious plans. To access the Branch nomination form, click here. 

As part of the AGM, we seek to award deserving RACI members with the Batty Medal. We are looking to award RACI members who would not normally have opportunities to publish their work but have made outstanding contributions to chemistry applied to industry or commerce, to the environment or to the quality of human life. Nominations should include a statement of contribution (500 words) and the nominees’ current CV. 

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