Palynology The AASP Distinguished Service Award

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Palynology

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The AASP Distinguished Service Award James B. Riding; Thomas D. Demchuk Online publication date: 23 May 2011

To cite this Article Riding, James B. and Demchuk, Thomas D.(2011) 'The AASP Distinguished Service Award',

Palynology, 35: 1, 1 — 3

To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/01916122.2011.557247 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01916122.2011.557247

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Palynology Vol. 35, No. 1, June 2011, 1–3

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD AASP – The Palynological Society bestows upon DR THOMAS D. DEMCHUK

The AASP Distinguished Service Award

Downloaded By: [Riding, James B.][Riding, James B] At: 08:25 24 May 2011

For his long years of service and dedication to AASP – The Palynological Society as Secretary-Treasurer, and the organizer of numerous society meetings.

DR THOMAS D. DEMCHUK PRESENTATION BY JAMES B. RIDING

It gives me great pleasure to present Thomas D. Demchuk with the AASP Distinguished Service Award for the sustained and tireless service he has given, and continues to give, to AASP. Thomas D. Demchuk was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His long and distinguished history with AASP began in 1984 when he joined the society while a graduate student at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. In 1985, he was awarded an AASP student scholarship. Two years later, in 1987, he was bestowed with the L.R. Wilson Best Student Paper Award for the best oral presentation given by a student at the annual meeting held that year in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This presentation was entitled ‘A modified Momipites – Caryapollenites palynofloral lineage: Central Alberta Paleocene zonation’ (see Palynology, Vol. 12, p. 236; 1988). The ISSN 0191-6122 print/ISSN 1558-9188 online British Geological Survey Ó 2011 NERC DOI: 10.1080/01916122.2011.557247 http://www.informaworld.com

abstract of his Ph.D. dissertation entitled ‘Palynology, petrography and geochemistry of the Ardley coal zone at Wabamun, Alberta, Canada’ was published in the AASP Newsletter (Vol. 25.4, p. 16–17) in 1992. At this time, Thomas was working at the Amoco Production Company, Houston, Texas. In 1997, Tom moved to Conoco in Houston and he still works for the merged ConocoPhillips. Tom rapidly became active in the society, and his long years of service on the Board of Directors of AASP began in 1994. In that year, he was elected as a Director-at-Large together with Rosemary A. Askin; this was a two-year term which concluded in 1996. He could not keep away from the Board and, in 1998, Thomas took over from his good friend David T. Pocknall as Secretary-Treasurer. At the time of writing therefore, Thomas has been Secretary-Treasurer for an


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Distinguished Service Award

unprecedented 13 years. This has easily beaten the previous record of seven years held by Gordon D. Wood (1986–1993). It is clear from this prodigious tenure of such a pivotal role that Thomas has been a key player in the society at all levels. The position of Secretary-Treasurer is an extremely demanding one and it takes up much of Thomas’s leisure time. As Treasurer, he efficiently administers all membership payments and other income and expenditure. Tom is constantly sending out reminders to members who are not up-to-date with their subscriptions. Up to last year, he had the not inconsiderable task of dealing with all our library subscriptions. This function was taken over by Taylor and Francis in 2010. Thomas also prudently looks after our investment portfolio (largely mutual funds), and his record in maximizing the growth of our assets is first class. He could be a successful investment banker in another life! Every year, he diligently fills out our annual return to the IRS. In his other role as Secretary Tom distributes AASP communications on time and deals with the many and varied items of correspondence that are sent to the Board. Those of us who have served on the Board know that Thomas has an encyclopedic knowledge of the minutiae surrounding the yearly AASP cycle of the mid-year Board meeting, Board nominations/elections, awards, and the annual meeting. This knowledge is so comprehensive that he co-wrote the book! (see Palynology, Vol. 32, p. 83–100; 2008). Because of all this experience, Thomas is often the one who gently reminds other officers (mainly the President!) about the timing of their duties. If Thomas was not there in his informal role of society coordinator, there is a good chance that some items would fall through the cracks. It is Thomas who oils the wheels of the AASP machine, and keeps everything going and on time. Tom is excellent in committee meetings and maintains a balance of allowing adequate discussion with the need to make decisions. He is very decisive, has superb judgment, and can always be relied upon to balance the good financial health of the organization

with the need for investment in the scientific goals of AASP. Thomas maintains a keen interest in all aspects of AASP activities. He is something of a polymath in that he sees a need and takes the job on. Tom has been closely involved with the organization of many annual meetings in the last decade including San Antonio, Texas (2001). One of his other ‘‘off-piste’’ activities was his scanning all the past issues of the AASP Newsletter, and making them available on a CD in 2002 and later on the website. Tom is very proactive in student support and always advocates helping deserving students to attend AASP and other meetings. He is extremely active in the support of training in palynology. An example of this is the ‘‘Pollen and Spore Master Class’’ held in Utrecht, The Netherlands during August 2010. Tom was the driving force behind this event, and he organized it together with James Eldrett and Timme Donders. He is also a very enthusiastic supporter of the Advanced courses in dinoflagellate cysts (‘‘Dinocourses’’) organized by Henk Brinkhuis and colleagues from Utrecht. Furthermore, Thomas has always maintained a keen interest in the AASP Center for Excellence in Palynology (CENEX), and has attended many meetings at Louisiana State University as part of the CENEX committee. He was instrumental in obtaining substantial funding from his employer, ConocoPhillips, to support CENEX. Thomas rarely misses an annual meeting and, as was mentioned earlier, has helped organize many of them. In short, he is the person in the phrase ‘‘if you need anything doing, ask a busy person’’. In summary, Thomas D. Demchuk is a rock for the organization; he is the glue that keeps it all together. Tom has given unprecedented service to AASP in his role of Secretary-Treasurer and in many other ways. He is a pleasure to work with, and is absolutely and unequivocally deserving of the AASP Distinguished Service Award. James B. Riding January 2011

Palynology

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RESPONSE BY THOMAS D. DEMCHUK


Dear AASP Members It is my pleasure and honor to accept the AASP Distinguished Service Award and have my name placed alongside previous winners who have provided stellar volunteer service to the Society over many years. I feel a bit guilty accepting this award at this time knowing that I still wish to serve the Society for many years to come, continuing as Secretary-Treasurer and any other service as deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors. Over the years as Secretary-Treasurer, my duties have changed with technological advances allowing dues and publication payments to be made online and funds deposited directly into the AASP accounts. I have never considered my Secretary-Treasurer duties to be taxing or difficult, albeit periodically timeconsuming. Many late nights have been spent in my den processing credit card payments, updating the membership spreadsheet, or reconciling the AASP accounts before and after a Board meeting. The

Secretary-Treasurer position has never been a hardship, and I enjoyed the fact that I was providing a necessary service to the Society, with further knowledge that I was conducting these services in an honest and ethical manner. As for my additional AASP activities, I very much look forward to the camaraderie of my fellow AASP members at the various functions. I am proud to be part of such an outstanding Society. Many thanks to Jim Riding, the Awards Committee, and the Board of Directors for this award. Thanks also go to my employer, ConocoPhillips, who allow me to attend various Board gatherings and Annual Meetings, and encourage me to participate in AASPsponsored activities. Most importantly, my loving thanks to my wife Marta for her patience all these years for my time spent conducting AASP duties. Thomas D. Demchuk January 2011