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| Chair's Letter As Chair of the ABO section of the AAA, I am pleased to comment on the research conference held this past fall and on our fiscal position. We held a successful midyear conference October 6-7, 2000 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. Research conferences are an opportunity to meet old friends, make new friends, refresh perspectives and get new ideas. The conference represented 75 members from Europe, the U.K., Australia, Asia, Canada and the U.S. It was, in that sense, very much an international conference. There were eight concurrent research sessions with approximately 23 paper presentations and another 14 papers in the forum. Hopefully, many left the conference feeling that they had learned something. The conference was also a financial success. Attendance was slightly greater than budgeted and revenues exceeded expenses for this event. I'd like to thank Dennis Bline and Tim Fogarty for their leadership in planning this conference and also the many people who reviewed the conference papers, and who volunteered to serve as moderators and discussants. A successful conference depends critically on this "behind the scenes" work. Plans are currently underway for the next research conference. Ralph Greenberg is heading that effort. I urge you to give him the same enthusiastic response when he calls you to review papers and to moderate session or to serve as a discussant. Thank you for your work Ralph! Thanks also to Jordan Lowe and Kathryn Kadous who have been working for the section to set up concurrent sessions at the Annual Meeting. To date they have received 41 submissions. Again, you may be called upon to serve as a reviewer or a discussant! The financial position of the section continues to be healthy. We currently have a cash balance of slightly more than $29,000 and anticipate finishing the year with a positive cash flow of more than $9,000 for the year. Thus, we should have adequate cash to support upcoming issues of BRIA and to finance the upcoming research conference. I see these as the two primary activities of the ABO section and the reason for our loyal and increasing membership. It has been an honor to serve you this year. In closing, I'd like to urge others to get involved in the section by volunteering to serve in an officer position or to work on the newsletter, or web site. We are always looking for new talent and energy. Please think about it and contact me (Jane Kennedy, Chair), Tim Fogarty (past Chair), Charles Davis (Chair-elect), or Stacey Whitecotton (Secretary/Treasurer). Thank you. Jane Kennedy |