18	Incoming President's Address By ERIC A. WILLIAMS

INTRODUCTION


Mr. Chairman, Honourable Prime Minister and Mrs. Manning,
Other members of the head table, Esteemed Colleagues, Guests, Members of the Media. It is my task as incoming President of the Geological Society of Trinidad and Tobago, to indicate the manner in which the in-coming general executive officers intend to conduct the business of the Society, for the year 1992-1993. But first, it would be remiss of me not to indicate the deep humility and sense of honour with which we have accepted the trust placed in us by our professional colleagues.

Ladies and gentlemen, the theme which will guide our activities is SERVICE TIIROUGH PROFESSIONALISM.

The Geological Society of Trinidad and Tobago (GSTT), since its inception, is an Association of Professional Geoscientists in which membership is entirely voluntary, though the Society has reserved the right to classify membership status and/or to refuse membership.

One definition of a profession attributed to the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta, Canada is:
"An occupation characterized by high levels of technical competence and the degree of responsibility inherent in its practice. It requires the application of mature seasoned judgement to situations where many alternative actions are possible and where many persons can be significantly affected by the ultimate decisions taken."

Consequent to membership in any particular profession, professionals are:
"Those recognized to have a high level of technical competence which they beneficially apply to those requiring their services. Their conduct is characterized by responsible performance and their dedication to service is evident in the application they make to their special position of technical privilege. In the pursuit of their professionalism, the preservation of the professional 's personal integrity and credibility is of the highest order."

The socio-economic impact, therefore, of our profession on this achepelagic island state which is so dependent on the cost effective exploration for, and exploitation, of its mineral reserves (notably oil and gas) can never be understated.

PROFESSIONALS AND EMPLOYERS

It is to be noted that the overwhelming majority of the members of the GSTT provide their services as professionals through employers; be they Governmental departments, State or Privately Owned Corporations (there are, in fact, one or two exceptions to this). The professional is generally characterized as being:

a. COMPETENT:
Responsibly and ethically applies their knowledge.

b. INDEPENDENT OF THOUGHT:
Would prefer that tasks be set in terms of results desired rather than in terms of actions to be carried out.

c. COMMITTED TO THEIR PROFESSION:
That is, in terms of its usefulness to society and its development.

Several members have commented that these characteristics, though desirable, quite often place the practicing professional at odds with his employer. Indeed one international writer has been moved to describe this conflict as follows:
"In the case of the employed professional, many of the traditional amenities of professionalism are lacking. For example, employers are perfectly, willing to substitute their own judgement as to who is qualified to perform certain functions, thus replacing the concept of professional control base don individual expertise. Institutions feel perfectly competent to judge what they think are adequate standards of performance. They say to their employed professionals, "Not you, but I will decide adequate standards of performance, and I will tell you how your work is to be organized and what you should do on a dav-by-dav basis, and how much you will be paid for it., This problem is only partially alleviated by selecting supervisors among the professional staff Supervisors, even if qualified professionally, are typically chosen by the employer and normally feel a closer identification with management than with the employed professionals. In summary, employers are likely to insist on controlling compensation and salary levels, the schedule of work and the assignment of duties. Employers may even organize the performance of the entire range of professional tasks so thoroughly as to de-professionalize the occupation."

Ladies and gentlemen, the GSTT is not, nor will it ever be a union or a bargaining unit. However, it remains committed to the practice and the development of professionalism among its members in addition to technical advancement of geoscientific knowledge and its usage. Accordingly, the GSTT will, to the best of its ability, continue to provide an open forum for the discussion of topics which affect both its members profession and their professionalism. It will at all times attempt to maintain a dispassionate and
ethical stance in the conduct of its business. Therefore, members both individual and corporate, are asked upon their honour, to respect, to nurture, and to encourage this.

SPECIFIC AFFAIRS OF THE SOCIETY-SERVICE TO MEMBERS

Given the continued growth in professionalism of its members, the increasing sophistication of their professional needs, and with today's climate of increased competition to supply those needs, the GSTT must become that much more service oriented to its membership. Let me therefore outline some of the specific areas which will be attended to over the next year.

a. TECHNICAL MEETINGS:
It is proposed that the format for and the times at which these meetings are held should be changed to make them more appealing to members. Accordingly, the Technical Committee, to be headed by Mr. Stanley Wharton, is already at work seeking to address this. Consideration is being given to having quarterly lunch and or dinner meetings. Also, preliminary enquires have begun into scheduling talks by distinguished lecturers from both the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

b. REWARDS FOR MEMBERSHIP:
Most Financial members will received their new gold coloured membership cards in the near future. This new format was a project of the outgoing executive and is to be congratulated. It is our intention to build on this by approaching the business community to give discounts to card bearing members at establishments which agree to cooperate with us.

c. MANAGEMENT OF THE SOCIETY:
It has been the practice in the past that both standing and ad hoc committees reported to the Executive Board on the whole. It has been observed that these committees sometimes lose touch with the executive and even cease to function. When the committee structure of the Society is finalized, committees will have a reporting function to one of the Vice Presidents of the Society who will, in turn, report to the Executive Board at each Board Meeting. The President will be an Ex-officio Member of all committees. This measure is expected to improve the communication between the Executive Board and its Committees, in addition to in-creasing these Committees' effectiveness.

d. NOMINATIONS:
A nominations committee will be set-up on an ad hoc basis this year. This committee will have as its mandate the nomination of at least two (2) persons per elected position on the Executive Board and the nomination of members of the Society who are to be honoured. This measure is intended to provide to members a choice of individuals who are willing to serve in a leadership role. In addition, those members deserving of recognition by the society will be so honoured.

C. SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE:
The GSTT has undertaken to fund a bursary to an undergraduate student at the UWI Geology Department, in the amount of TT$5,000.00 per annum. Currently, these funds are being drawn from interest which accrue to existing fixed deposits. It is proposed that a Scholarship Committee will be established to seek alternative sustained funding for this project. In addition, the Chairperson of this commit-tee will be the GSTT's nominated representative on the University's Selection Panel.

As the year progresses, these and other changes will be implemented. The objectives set out tonight will serve, hopefully, for better. In addition, this would be the yardstick by which this Executive Board's stewardship of the Society will be judged.
However, you the membership are being put on notice that your participation in the running of the business of the Society via Committee work is sorely needed. Further, specific members will be targeted by virtue of special skills or positions of influence that they have so that all the available talent of the organization could be harnessed for the overall enhancement of the profession specifically and the nation generally.

Mr. Chairman, Honorable Prime Minister and Mrs. Manning, Members of the Geological Society of Trinidad and Tobago (GSTT), Ladies and Gentlemen, let me reiterate on behalf of the members of the Executive Board for 1992- 1993, that we are deeply honoured to have been chosen to lead the Society and give you our p1 edge that we will do so with the utmost humility and to the best of our abilities.

Thank you.

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