Following longstanding practice, ANTEC 2011 marks the beginning of one-year terms for new officers of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), it was announced today by Susan Oderwald, SPE executive director.
 
The Society installs Russell C. Broome as its new president, succeeding Ken J. Braney. A resident of North Carolina, Broome joined SPE as a student while he was obtaining a Mechanical Engineering degree from North Carolina State University. Broome is a strategic accounts manager for PolyOne Corp.       
 
At ANTEC 2012, Broome will be succeeded by the new president-elect, James S. Griffing, who is a Technical Fellow for The Boeing Co.
 
SPE has also announced the membership of its 2011-2012 Executive Committee, including the following positions:
 
President: Russell C. Broome, PolyOne Corp.
Executive Director: Susan E. Oderwald, SPE
President-Elect: James S. Griffing, The Boeing Co.
Senior Vice President: Jon Ratzlaff, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP
Vice President/Secretary: Brent F. Strong, SP Mold LLC
Vice President/Treasurer: Vijay Boolani, Boolani Engineering Corp.
Vice President/Operations: Scott E. Owens, Chemtrusion Inc.
Vice President/Event Management: William D. Arendt, Emerald Kalama Chemical Co.
Vice President/Marketing: Olivier Crave, O.C. Team
Vice President/Membership: Dr. Raed S. Al-Zubi, Radiusenaat (Pipes And Fittings) LLC
2010-2011 Past President: Ken J. Braney, Thermoforming Solutions Ltd
Ad Hoc Member/Council Relations: Lance M. Neward, Turner Group
 
An SPE member since 1992, Broome held the positions of president-elect in 2010-2011, senior vice president in 2009-2010, and secretary of the Society from 2007-2008. He has been involved with the SPE Piedmont Coastal Section since 1994, serving as its president in 1997-98. 
 
The world has changed a lot since SPE was founded in 1942,” said Broome.  “And we all know the pace of that change has accelerated – for the world, for our industry and for all of us personally. Within our industry, the need for collaboration to both share information and ideas has never been more important or pervasive. In the coming year as president of SPE, I will seek to embrace the changes we see in our industry, technology, and social interactions. Specifically, I will focus on fostering and mentoring the incoming generation of SPE members. They are our future.” 
 
Prior to joining PolyOne in 2008, Broome successfully ran his own business and held engineering and marketing positions for both small local companies and global corporations.
 
“A key strategic issue for SPE in the coming year is to look at how we should be operationally structured for the future,” said Susan Oderwald. “Jim’s participation on our core leadership team is particularly important, as he has worked tirelessly on developing new methods of operation that will allow SPE to keep up with the evolving changes in our industry.”
 
“SPE has adopted many of today’s exciting new methods of communicating technical information, enabling broader networking opportunities, and running organizations,” said Griffing. “I will focus on leveraging these modern methods to further our mission and continue our growth throughout the world.”
 
Griffing has worked for The Boeing Co. since 1987, where he specializes in polymer and composite processing. He has been awarded two Boeing Special Invention Awards.
 
The Society Of Plastics Engineers (SPE) is the premier source of peer-reviewed technical information for plastics professionals. For more information, please visit www.4spe.org.