Honouring our longest-serving members
Our Manchester & District Local Section held its inaugural Gold Badge lecture in April. Local section secretary Christopher Blanford reports.
The Gold Badge is available to all members with at least 40 years of service to the RSC and its predecessor societies. On 3 April 2017 we held a special lecture to honour our latest Gold Badge members – over 100 of our longest-serving members and 60 guests attended.
Dr Imogen Riddell (right) delivered a lecture entitled "Platinum anticancer drugs: the last 50 years and the future” to align with the spirit of the event. Dr Riddell is a research group leader and Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Fellow in the University of Manchester’s School of Chemistry. She carried out postdoctoral research with MIT’s Prof. Stephen Lippard, a world leader in metal-based anticancer agents.
One of the attendees, Dr Ian Macnab of Bolton, was astonished by the choice of topic. "Two years ago I was receiving platinum drug chemotherapy", he said. "I am happy to still be here and keeping up-to date!"
Dr Frank Mair, the local section’s chair, conceived of the lecture event at the committee’s January meeting. "I thought this would be an excellent way to recognise the loyalty shown by our most senior members," he said. "I was pleased to see so many familiar faces remaking old acquaintances; I know we encouraged a dozen members to become more involved with the future events that the local section plans."
Getting members together
"I thought it was a fabulous way of getting members together. The turnout was very impressive and it was good to see so many of them enjoying catching up with their contemporaries," added Dr David Barr, Head of Membership at the Royal Society of Chemistry, who addressed the attendees at the start.
This sentiment was echoed by many of the attendees. "I personally met up with a colleague who I had not seen in about 15 years," said David Hardman of Bolton. "We have re-established our contact addresses and hope to attend appropriate RSC events together in the future." All those who received a Gold Badge were invited to join the local section’s biannual social activities organised by Walter Cuthbert.
Over 100 eligible members who could not attend were sent their badge by post along with a certificate to commemorate their long service to the Society.
Renowned fluorine chemist and local section member Professor Eric Banks, who sadly passed away on 4 February, received his badge posthumously.
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