Volume 12, Number 1, Jan. 1990, p.1

President's Letter

A great deal of hard work and thoughtful planning by Debra Evans, the outgoing WAAC President, resulted in an outstanding meeting in Hawai'i this past October. A debt of gratitude is due both to Dr. Donald Duckworth of the Bishop Museum and Dr. George Ellis of the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

The traditional hula and luau event took place on the grounds of the Bishop Museum on the first evening of the meeting. This event was also generously subsidized by the Bishop Museum. Laura Word, Director of the Pacific Regional Conservation Center, as well as her staff members were responsible for organizing and hosting the event.

The talks for the meeting were given in the Academy Theatre, a space generously donated by the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Excellent staff support in the Theatre contributed to the smooth presentation of the talks. Others who assisted in meeting preparations included conservators at PRCC, Janice Mae Schopfer, Jane Bassett, Dale Kronkright, and Downey Manoukian, in addition to WAAC members, Julie Goldman, Pauline Mohr, and Marc Harnly. Finally, the speakers are acknowledged and thanked here for giving a highly informative and well-presented group of talks. Abstracts for all the talks are published in this issue of the Newsletter. The text for the presentation given by Veronica de Castro, "The Conservation and Restoration of Mural Paintings in Tomb No. 5 at Huijazoo, Oaxaca" is the feature article in this issue. The attendance of Ms. Castro, a conservator from Mexico City, at the annual meeting was sponsored by the Friends of Mexico as part of an ongoing scholarship/exchange program with our organization. Additional articles based on other talks presented at the annual meeting are in preparation and will appear in upcoming issues of the Newsletter.

I would like to thank outgoing WAAC Board members, Jerry Podany, Joanne Page and Karen Zukor as well as outgoing President, Debra Evans, and outgoing Secretary/Treasurer, Janice Mae Schopfer, for jobs well done this past year. Over 100 members (a record participation, I believe) voted in the most recent WAAC Board elections. Glenn Wharton was elected Vice President and Patricia Tuttle-Leavengood, Nancy Odegaard and Janice Mae Schopfer were elected Members-at-Large. I am thankful for Joanne Page's willingness to return as Secretary/Treasurer. Also, I am very pleased that Chris Stavroudis has agreed to continue serving as Editor for the Newsletter.

WAAC members attending the business session of the annual meeting in Honolulu expressed overwhelming preference for Catalina as the site of the 1990 meeting. Catalina is a charming island located approximately twenty-five miles off the coast of Los Angeles. In response to this expression, I have reserved space in a hotel located in Avalon, the main community on Catalina, in mid-October 1990.

Many thanks are due to Paula Volent for all her work on the production of the Membership Directory and mailing labels.

Work continues on the new Resource File by Tatyana Thompson, Zora Pinney, and Chris Stavroudis, as well as Michael Jaffe and Jackie Zak of the Getty's Conservation Information Network. The new Resource File should be available this spring.

Finally, an unhappy note. Keiko Keyes, an outstanding paper conservator, generous teacher and an enlightened individual, has passed away. Bob Futernick has written a remembrance for this issue.