Sun shines on Norman Lloyd fundraiser

On Saturday 12 September RSC Belgium held an appropriately socially-distanced fundraising event for our Norman Lloyd Scholarships. The afternoon picnic event kicked off from 16h00 in blazing sunshine and continued into the early evening. The event was well-attended and supported with some EUR 870 raised for the fund on the day!

The venue for the fundraiser was Section Treasurer Julie Tuppeny's house in the countryside near Lasne, south of Brussels. Her house is a renovated old water mill and with gardens and other outside spaces at multiple levels that enabled us to organise a 'COVID-compliant' event.

Prior registration for the event was required and the number of participants was limited to comply with COVID19 regulations. But for a suggested contribution of EUR 25 per person to the fund, a sumptuous spread was provided with free drinks etc. Julie was the main caterer for the event but section secretary Tim Reynolds also provided his famous Timms aperitif and some blackberry ice cream to accompany Julie's Lemon pavlova. 

Members of the committee also provided drinks and prizes for a top-notch prize raffle. The raffle was drawn by Setsuko Lloyd, Norman's wife and a special friend of the section.

The Norman Lloyd Scholarships

The Norman Lloyd Scholarship Fund was established by RSC Belgium in memory of Dr Norman Lloyd one of our founding members and a great supporter of our activities. So far, the Fund has supported six first year Chemistry students at Cardiff University with scholarships worth £1000. The funds raised at this event and those from previous activities will ensure that the scholarships can continue.

If you were unable to come to the event, but would like to make a donation to the Norman Lloyd Fund, then you can do so by making a bank transfer to the RSC Belgium ING account BE91 3630 8144 4876 with the message ‘Norman Lloyd Fund donation’. Thank you.

RSC Belgium 2020 AGM and Annual Dinner

The 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the RSC Belgium International section took place on the evening of 17 January 2020 at Les Amis Dinent restaurant in Wezembeek-Oppem from 19h30. This was followed by the section's Annual Dinner.

The meeting kicked off with the approval of the Minutes of 2019 AGM which were moved (Matt Andrews), seconded (David Terrell) and unanimously adopted. The meeting then recieved the secretary's report on the section's activities in 2019.

2019 activities

Tim Reynolds presented the report saying that 2019 was another very good year for the section with seven public lectures organised, including a Café Chimique, plus a major schools’ tour, a fund raising social and our two annual school outreach events: the Chemistry Challenge and annual Top of the Bench Eliminator. In addition, we supported a Memorial Symposium for our good friend Prof Istvan Marko. To complete the year RSC Belgium was represented once again at RSC Kent’s curling day. According to HQ, section membership currently stands at 115, a decrease of some 15 over the year.

The report was unanimously approved (proposed by David Terrell and seconded by Julie Tuppeny).

2019 finances

Julie Tuppeny presented the 2019 financial report and accounts. On 1 January 2019, the net assets of RSC Belgium Section were €10 311.51. The Annual Grant for 2019 received in June 2019 from RSC UK was €1 900.00 with an additional instalment for the Outreach Grant received on 25 October of €210, somewhat less than the requested €7 668.

Major items of expenditure are listed below. 

• € 1 906.70 hotel cost for the Istvan Marko Symposium
• € 905.00 to organise the Chemistry Challenge of which € 400 was prize money
• € 1 578.00 to organise and run the Kitchen Chemistry tour
• € 1 051.00 for the Café Chimique

For the Year ending 31 December 2019, the net assets of RSC Belgium International Section amount to €5 929.46.

The meeting moved (Tim Reynolds), seconded (Bob Crichton) and unanimously adopted the presented accounts and the Treasurer’s report.

Chairman’s Remarks (Bob Crichton)

The Chairman thanked the committee for their hard work and support during a very successful year. He gave specific thanks to Tim Reynolds for his work in making the Kitchen Chemistry tour a particular success.

Bob looked forward to working with the new committee in 2020.

Committee election

Two ordinary members were elected to the committee: David Terrell and Jane Downing.

Election to the committee is for a two-year term. Bob Crichton (Chair), Tim Reynolds (Secretary), Julie Tuppeny (Treasurer) and committee members Rita Woodward and Matt Andrews are mid-way through their current term on the committee.

At the first committee meeting of 2020 Bo Dahlqvist and Fabio Lucaccioni will be co-opted onto the committee. The membership of the 2020 committee can be found here.

Auditor 

Having reviewed the section rules (which state the section auditor could be any member of the section who was not a current member of the committee) and the financial audit requirements for the section reports to RSC HQ (no formal audit required) it was decided to review the need to appoint an auditor to the section at the first committee meeting of 2020.

With no further business to discuss the meeting adjourned at 19h55. The first meeting of the 2020 committee took place on 4 February 2020.

You can access the full draft minutes of the 2020 AGM here.

Annual dinner

The AGM was followed by the 2020 Annual Diner of the section, which was a resounding success.

Chairman Tim elected to Chair RSC's International Steering Group

RSC Belgium Chairperson Tim Reynolds has been elected as the Chair of the RSC's International Steering Group. Tim received over 50% of the votes cast in the ballot for the position that attracted a good number of nominations from RSC's various international sections. 

Tim will be attending the RSC General Assembly in Manchester on 13 and 14 November including the Membership Networks Committee (MNC) meeting on Friday 13 November where he will be representing the interests of RSC international members. He will also be attending the International Delegates Day on 12 November.

One of the MNC's main tasks at the moment is a regional review that is working to build a more representative and responsive governance structure for the RSC.

RSC Global community 

Tim believes that it is increasingly important that the views of members of RSC international sections are heard and fully represented in RSC decision-making. As chairman of the International Steering Group he will look to canvass the views of all international sections and consult widely with international membership to ensure the diverse needs of the RSC's international global community is represented.

"Today more than one in five of RSC members live and work outside the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland: for example ‘continental’ Europe represents 7% of total RSC membership. And international membership will be the main area for growth in the future," says Tim.

"A key element of RSC strategy is to ‘bring together and empower our global chemistry community for the benefit of science and humanity’, so it is vital that the voice of international members is clearly heard by decision-makers in the Society," he continues. "As the newly elected chair of the International Steering Group I will work hard to ensure that the views of international sections are heard and fully represented. With increasing globalisation I believe that the distinction between ‘local’ (i.e. UK/ Eire-based sections) and ‘international’ sections is increasingly irrelevant: all sections should be equal."

Tim has been a RSC member since May 1993 and has served on a number of RSC committees including the Committee for Promotion of Chemistry to the Public and the International Strategy Group. He is currently a member of the RSC Government Affairs Committee.