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Message from the Chair, Prof. F. Peter Guengerich
 This is the last newsletter article I will be writing to you, the eighth of eight, for the better or worse. In some ways it seems like only yesterday that I started. I'll keep this one short.
I have had many things to think about this past year, aside from the Division. My wife Cheryl's unexpected bout with breast cancer was treated successfully. Shortly thereafter, I lost my mother and, more suddenly, my faculty colleague and friend, Jason Morrow. Our toxicology program at Vanderbilt had some setbacks and some successes. I'm a few dollars shorter after mid-September, at least on paper. In all of the professional settings we Division members work in, we face a time of many uncertainties. Yet I have much to be thankful for and for the success in my own research this year.. In my life I have realized that learning, strengthening, and success come out of the struggles. I had to work as a boy and in college and from it learned self-discipline and time management. Speaking more generally, you take the harder courses in college and learn more new things. Your manuscripts and grants are criticized and you learn to think and communicate better. You attack challenging research problems, struggle with them, and then make your most important discoveries. Maybe some of this applies to our Division as well. From our struggles we learn how to improve it.
I write this article with mixed emotions about ending my term. Of course, work was involved and we had some real problems to address when I began. I really appreciated all of the help and involvement of our members. I don't think anyone turned me down when I asked for help with offices and committees (well, not many, anyway). Younger members were ready to get involved. I will continue for two years in office as Immediate Past Chair, and I hope to be able to use this office to provide advice (when asked for it). Of course I will remain fully active and bring trainees with me to the ACS meetings to present their work. (After all, as I write this in November I am still in my early 50's and the prime of life!) I also plan to continue to teach in our Short Course program, at least until someone wants to take my lectures over. Griff Humphreys is working with the ACS to expand the course program we offer in the area of toxicology, one of my goals in the educational and financial development of our Division.
One of the good feelings about leaving the office of Chair is that the post is in good hands. Your next two chairs, Lisa Peterson and Dan Liebler, both trained with me at Vanderbilt in the 80's and I have every confidence that they will do well for you. "LP" has been thoroughly involved in the decision processes in the Division over the past year and has developed a number of ties with the ACS central office. These are two very conscientious people and I am proud of both of them and their accomplishments. You will be too. They will not do everything the way I did, which is good. I tell people in my research group that you cannot model your style only after your mentor (or in this case, the past Chair); you have to learn from how others do things and your experiences and then develop your own style (and, in this case, listen to the Division members).
Don't forget to check out the information about the program at our next meeting in Washington in August. Put the dates on your calendar now. We want to hold better and better meetings.
 As you can see from the photos Dick Loeppky added, I'm going to try to get back in the lab more now-really, I still do experiments myself-and also take some vacation (actually I do that anyway). Maybe take more pictures, too.
When you read this, Thanksgiving will be over and Christmas and New Year will be coming up (also Hanukah, Kwanza, and probably some other holidays if our membership is diverse enough). Have a nice holiday season, and I hope that you are able to celebrate with your families and also find some deeper meaning in all of it. All the best in 2009.
Thanks for the memories. Wiedersehen.
Regards, Fred Guengerich.
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