FSCT adopts new bylaws, restructures governing bodies; new Board elections scheduled for January 2006: Drs. Rose Ryntz and Yasmin Sayed-Sweet elected to two-year terms as officers.

In an historic vote at its November 6 meeting in Las Vegas, the Board of Directors of the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology unanimously approved sweeping changes to the organization's bylaws that significantly revised the structure of the FSCT's governing Board and eliminated its Executive Committee.

Effective in February 2006, the restructure will replace the current 36-member Board of Directors with a new a nine-member Board that will be selected directly by the membership in an election scheduled to take place January 2-22.

The Board also elected for two-year terms Dr. Rose Ann Ryntz, of Visteon Corp., as President, and Dr. Yasmin Sayed-Sweet, of Alberdingk Boley, Inc., as Vice President. Joseph Pontoski, FSCT Controller, was elected to a one-year term as Secretary-Treasurer.

Member Ballots

Ballots and voting instructions for the Board election will be mailed to all FSCT members in mid-December. All members current as of Friday, December 30, 2005 will be eligible to vote. Completed ballots may be returned to the FSCT Headquarters by mail or fax. The deadline for receipt is Sunday, January 22, 2006, at which time voting will end.

Members may also vote electronically on the FSCT Members Section of its website (www.coatingstech.org). Electronic voting will be available beginning Monday, January 2, 2006 and ending Sunday, January 22. Members must log-in to the FSCT Members Section with their username and password. First-time users should allow 24 hours from initial log-in to access the ballot section.

Votes will be tabulated and the current Board of Directors will confirm the results. The results will be made public and the candidates will be notified by January 27.

Board Candidates

The FSCT Nominating Committee has submitted a slate of 10 candidates for the nine Board positions. An additional 10 candidates were submitted separately by individual member petitions. The list of all candidates and their background information will accompany the ballot and are also published here (see page 8).

President Rose A. Ryntz

Rose A. Ryntz (Detroit Society) is Senior Manager for Advanced Material and Fastener Engineering, as well as Staff Technical Fellow (technical scientist position), for Visteon Corporation, Dearborn, MI.

She has served on the FSCT Executive Committee and Board of Directors, and chaired the Professional Development and Annual Meeting Program Committees, as well as the Industry Relations Task Force. Dr. Ryntz was instrumental in the development of the FSCT's ACSeries programs, and has been a member of the FSCT Events Steering, Technical Advisory, Operating, Nominating, Paint Industries' Show, and Technical Events Coordinating Committees, and was a Trustee of the CIEF. She is a member of the FSCT Publications Committee and serves on the Editorial Review Board of JCT RESEARCH and the Advisory Board of JCT COATINGSTECH.

Dr. Ryntz was the Technical Chair of the Detroit Society from 1988-1994.

She has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit/Mercy, the University of Wisconsin, Kent State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi. A prolific lecturer and author, Dr. Ryntz has chaired many industry conferences. She is recognized as one of the world's leading experts in the area of automotive plastics coatings and has developed new techniques to study paint on plastic performance, including scratch and gouge resistance.

In recognition of her contributions, Dr. Ryntz has received a number of awards, including the 2000 FSCT George B. Heckel Award--FSCT's highest honor--as well as first place in the 2000 FSCT Roon Foundation Award Competition, the 2003 Roy W. Tess Award from the PMSE Division of the American Chemical Society, and the 2004 Women's Automotive Association International's Professional Achievement Award. She was the recipient of the Henry Ford Technology Award, as well as the Gold Award from Ford Motor Company, and the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Engineering Society of Detroit. Dr. Ryntz is listed in Strathmore's Who's Who in the World.

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Dr. Ryntz earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Wayne State University, a Ph.D. in Organic Polymer Chemistry from the University of Detroit, and an M.B.A from Michigan State University.

Vice President Yasmin Sayed-Sweet

Yasmin Sayed-Sweet (Baltimore Society) is Strategic Business Director with Alberdingk Boley, Inc., in Greensboro, NC. Prior to this position, she was employed with Cook Composites & Polymers for 10 years.

Dr. Sayed-Sweet was elected FSCT Secretary-Treasurer in 2004-2005, and has served on the FSCT Board of Directors, both as an officer and a Society Director, since 2000. Her contributions to FSCT include membership on the Technical Advisory (1997), Society Support (1999-2001), Structure and Governance Task Force (2003-2004), and the Technical Events Coordinating (2004-2005) Committees. She served as a Trustee of the Coatings Industry Education Foundation (CIEF) in 2004-2005. In addition, Dr. Sayed-Sweet was Chair of the Kansas City Society Technical Committee in 1998.

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A member of both the American Chemical Society and the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, her areas of expertise include new market development and strategic sales.

Dr. Sayed-Sweet earned a Ph.D. Degree from the University of Wyoming and an M.B.A. Degree from Michigan State University. She also completed postdoctorate studies at Eastern Michigan University and at the Michigan Molecular Institute. She is the recipient of the Sara Rhodes Ph.D. Award.

Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Pontoski

Mr. Pontoski is the Controller and Director of Administration for the FSCT. He has held that position for almost 10 years. During that time, Mr. Pontoski has participated at Board and Executive Committee meetings, providing financial reporting and analysis.

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Mr. Pontoski, a certified public accountant, recently earned his M.B.A from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia and has a B.S. in Accounting from Penn State University. Prior to his employment with the FSCT, Mr. Pontoski worked for Ernst and Young, and as the Comptroller of a small bank in Philadelphia.