ACS Chapters

How to Start a New ACS Chapter

Are you living in a place without an ACS chapter nearby? Would you like to attend chapter meetings, attend interesting lectures on cetaceans and issues related to them, read a quarterly chapter newsletter, and participate in other chapter activities? You may want to consider starting your own chapter. Depending on your circumstances, it could be easier than you think.

The first thing you'll need in order to create a new chapter of ACS is motivation. Then it's time to find at least another 24 people to join you. If you already have a group of family and friends who are interested in cetaceans, then you're part way there. Maybe there is a local issue that involves cetaceans which people would rally behind. That was the case when I decided to restart the Puget Sound chapter. We had a loosely affiliated group of people who were opposed to the Makah gray whale hunt. Many of those people were very interested in joining ACS and helping to start our new chapter.

Next you can ask other ACS members-at-large who live in your community to join your effort. The National organization will be very helpful in finding existing, as well as former, members who live in your community. There may be more members in your area than you realize. The Puget Sound chapter board is comprised of members who were living in the Seattle area but I didn't know them until National brought us together. We were also fortunate because there had been an ACS chapter in Seattle a few years ago. If that's the case in your town, then you're sure to find many other former members who will be very excited to have the chapter going again!

Once you have the minimum number of people to start your chapter, you'll need to hold an organizational meeting. Someone from the National board will run that meeting. At the meeting you will need to appoint a board of directors to oversee the operations of the chapter.

There can be some growing pains with a new chapter, so choose people for your board whom you trust and who work well together. If you're lucky, you'll find people for your board who are as reliable and dedicated as those on the Puget Sound board. One of the first things your board will do after the chapter is officially founded is to draft bylaws for the chapter. The bylaws will set the framework for how your chapter operates. Again, the National organization will be very helpful in providing guidance for these procedural operations of your new chapter.

After you have the initial technicalities of starting the chapter out of the way, you can start planning all those fun ACS activities. The most important thing is to have fun! Good luck! For more information on forming a local chapter of ACS, contact ACS's National headquarters at (310) 548-6279 or via e-mail.