Welcome ToThe Syntex Syva Alumni Association
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Welcome To
The popular Armadillo Willy's buffet may return and there will be the usual tasty beverages.
Member survey - please click to create an e-mail: ssaa@syntexsyvaalumni.org and vote if you would prefer the picnic to have a buffet or have the bagged lunch.
Please put the date on your calendars and plan to attend.
Check back later for the flier and entry form.
There were 45 members attending and catching up with former colleagues. This was a successful turnout considering the indoor venue and lingering health concerns.
The Michael's buffet and beverages were enjoyed as always.
SSAA members Howard and Sally Peters presented their fun and informative talk "Chocolate, Food of the Gods". This was very well-received and as an extra treat, chocolate samples were included for everyone as well as having three lucky chocolate raffle winners.
A link to download the Power Point slides from the talk can be found here.
An abstract of the talk can be found here.
Click here for the ARGM photos, courtesy of Bill, Bonnie, Rick and Vel.
The Roche consolidated retirement plan has a new administrator as of September 1, 2020. The information sent by Roche in their mailer describing the transition to Alight Solutions as the pension and post-employment healthcare administrator is provided in a pdf file here.
Please contact Alight Solutions for any questions regarding your current benefits.
The Roche drug prescription plan provider for non-Kaiser members transitioned from CVS to OptumRx last year. The information sent by Roche in their mailer describing a change in the branded versus generic drug benefits, as of January 1, 2020, is provided in a pdf file here.
Please contact OptumRx for specific questions as necessary.
The Board continues to meet using ZOOM online.
SSAA events will be held as is reasonable and consistent with Covid-19 guidelines, such as the 2022 picnic, 2023 ARGM and the planned 2023 summer picnic.
Future Newsletters and Directories are planned to be published, although this will be a great challenge without Gerri. Please send personal news including about how you have been coping with sheltering and social distancing.
Thank you for your continuing membership and participation, especially during these troubling Covid-19 times.
Board Officers:
President: Velimir Kuftinec
Vice President: Larry Reynolds
Recording Secretary: Mary Mulkins
Corresponding Secretary: Bonnie Wagner
Treasurer and Membership: Carolyn Lyon
Board Members:
Jackie Brown, Linval DePass, David Ellis, Kim Graham, Tom Moran, Rick Salazar (Memorabilia Chair), Kent Stormer, Bill Taylor (webmaster & photographer).
Contributor:
Newsletter Editor - OPEN
The SSAA is seeking a newsletter editor for future editions to be published twice a year. For more information please see a notice about the position in the Fall 2020 Newsletter.
Anyone interested in this position, please contact one of the Board officers or members or e-mail: ssaa@syntexsyvaalumni.org.
In the meantime, we thank Bonnie and Phil Wagner who have created the recent Newsletters in addition to their other Board duties.
The SSAA needs your help!
We are frequently surprised to hear from former Syntex/Syva employees that they have never heard of the SSAA or believe that it is just for retirees (it's for all former employees). The only means we have to 'advertise' is through word of mouth. Please forward our web address, http://www.syntexsyvaalumni.org, to ex-Syntexers/Syvas whom you know to inform them of the organization and our activities. Also, if you are attending the picnic or the ARGM, please tell others about the event.
Additionally, if you are interested in serving on the SSAA Board, please e-mail SSAA.
In Memorium obituaries are located in the Members Only Section.
ID and Password required, both case-sensitive.
This is a private, members only section. It contains a Members page that provides various information including links to the SSAA Newsletters page and Membership Directory page. The Newsletters page has all of the Newsletters, beginning with issue #1, presented in numerical order as pdf files. The Directory is a pdf file of member contact information in alphabetical order by last name.
Adobe Reader, or a similar PDF reader, is required to open and view the pdf files.
The ID and Password to access this private section are sent to all current SSAA members in each Newsletter. Please look for this information under Useful Information near the end of the Newsletter and save the ID and Password for continued access. If the ID or Password are lost, then contact webmaster@syntexsyvaalumni.org.
If a password change is determined to be necessary in the future, then members will be informed of the new password in the Newsletter prior to the change being made.
To maintain member privacy, please don’t share this information, Directory or Newsletters with non-SSAA members.
MEMBER DUES
Members ask how to know if they owe dues.
Look at the mailing label on your Newsletter or Directory envelope. The year through which dues have been paid will be in parentheses after your name. If the number that appears by your name matches the current year, then you've paid. If not, use the form to renew your membership. For lifetime members, the number on the envelope will be 2040.
If you do not have the Newsletter or Directory envelope, send an e-mail with your name to ssaa@syntexsyvaalumni.org to inquire.
A remittance envelope and dues reminder is sent to those who owe in early January.
The focus of the Life Sciences Foundation was to tell the story of Biotechnology. The SSAA collected Syntex memorabilia and the Life Sciences Foundation agreed to archive it as a historical collection and for publications.
In October 2015 the Life Sciences Foundation merged with the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Their statement: "CHF continues to collect, preserve, and exhibit historical artifacts; engage communities of scientists and engineers; and tell the stories of the people behind breakthroughs and innovations".
As part of this merger the Chemical Heritage Foundation became the Science History Institute in February 2018. They cover the history of the life sciences and biotechnology together with the history of the chemical sciences and engineering. Their website is here.
The SSAA continues to work with the Institute on preserving the history of Syntex/Syva.
The Institute has an interesting series of films titled Scientists You Must Know.
One segment is about George Rosenkranz that can be viewed at this link.
Another segment is about Carl Djerassi.
There is also a segment about Larry Knox, an Afican-American with a PhD in organic chemistry from Harvard University. In the late 1950's Larry took a position with Laboratorios Syntex S.A. in Mexico City. From 1960 to 1965 he coauthored 10 papers and was awarded over 40 patents related to steroid chemistry.
Also, a keyword search of 'Syntex' gives several other interesting articles.
Laszlo Tokes, a scientist with a long career at Syntex, has written an article that will be of interest to the general SSAA membership. Although the article has sections that are oriented to scientific specialists (just skip those), there are several sections that capture engaging aspects of Syntex history.
Please click here to send us an e-mail and tell us of an activity that would be of interest to you and whether you would volunteer to be the activity leader.
Possibilities include, but are not limited to: *VMWare tour; *Filoli Gardens Tour; *Golf Tournament; *Rosie the Riveter Museum; *Asian Art Museum; *Casino Bus Trip; *Beach Blanket Babylon; *Wine Country; *Treasure Island; *Symphony/concert; *Monterey Bay Aquarium; *Financial Planning seminar; *Biotech lecture; *USS Hornet.
Notice: Designated sites, graphics, articles, trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners and may be protected by copyrights, trademarks or other proprietary rights and laws.
SSAA assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or appropriateness of the information provided above and shall not be liable for its content, or for any errors or interruptions in the transmission of data.
The SSAA is a private organization. All activities and events referred to on this web site and in the SSAA Newsletter are available to members in good standing and their qualified guests only. This web site is for informational purposes with proprietary information intended for members only. General information is available to the public at large, but should not be construed to be a solicitation for membership or communication.
This web site is an initiative of the SSAA, and is not sanctioned by the Roche Corporation or any subsidiary thereof.
