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We are approaching the end of our Society year. Election of new officers and directors will have been completed, as will the selection of award recipients. This is my last President's Message for Journal of System Safety, and my last chance to speak to all members. It has been my great privilege to serve you as your president.
We have faced challenges that seem to keep coming. Some have been resolved quickly and on point; some have not been resolved and linger for the Society to resolve in the future. Most of our challenges are a result of unclear responsibilities and interface relationships among different entities within the Society. We need to focus our attention on resolving these misunderstandings and formally documenting relationships so that our Society operates smoothly. We are all volunteers and, as such, our time to devote to the Society is limited by our employment and home life.
We have revised the Society Bylaws and obtained approval from the Society Executive Council (EC) to reflect incorporation of the Society's Constitution into the Bylaws and the Operations Manual. The Operations Manual has been expanded to reflect the Society's processes and obligations. Appendices have not been significantly modified, except for the Travel Policy. Our Articles of Incorporation establish us as a Society, our Bylaws establish our organizational structure and fiduciary responsibilities, and our Operations Manual identifies how we will conduct our business. The main focus of changing our documentation was to reflect how we were operating, to expand definitions of authority and to eliminate or reduce duplication within our documentation. These efforts bring us in line with other non-profit organizations. Our next target of opportunity is to finalize the chapter and Conference manuals to reflect the resolution of relationships between the chapters of the Society and the Society itself. You will have an opportunity to participate in those endeavors.
Our second near-term goal is to develop the Society's Strategic Plan into a living document, to fund it where possible, and to accomplish the Society's goals of spreading the influence of system safety. We also want to grow our Society to enable us to be better stewards of the knowledge and skill that help so many people. Please join me in accomplishing these efforts or in participating in other tasks to assist the Society.
My personal goal has been to focus on the Society as a whole, and to do my best to support those persons before us that had the foresight and caring to establish this System Safety Society. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.
— Jim Wiggins
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