Volume 15, Number 2, May 1993, pp.1-2

President's Letter

Plans for the 1993 WAAC Annual Meeting are well underway. As reported in the last newsletter, the meeting will be held at the Marconi Conference Center in Marin County, California. An information packet will be sent to you shortly which describes the Center and the surrounding area, the accommodations available, and a tentative meeting schedule.

This year is unusual in that WAAC must collect all fees for the meeting (registration, and room and meal costs) well in advance. Because this is a retreat center and not a hotel, the room assignments are made by the organization using the facility. Therefore it is important to read carefully the instructions concerning room assignments and to make your reservations early. Selection is on a first-come, first-served basis. For those not wishing to stay at the Marconi Conference Center, there are numerous B&Bs, inns, and hotels within a short driving distance.

While the Marconi Conference Center is, indeed, a retreat site, it offers many of the amenities of resort facilities without the high costs. It is located along a beautiful stretch of Tomales Bay, surrounded by miles of hiking trails and a short drive from the spectacular Pt. Reyes National Seashore. The rooms are spacious and pleasant, and the daily meals are prepared in a sophisticated kitchen headed by the former chef of the Creekside Restaurant in Glen Ellen, Sonoma County. The unique menu options of healthful food prepared with fresh regional ingredients are said to be superior to all conference centers in northern California.

Also planned is an optional banquet, to be held at Manka's Restaurant in nearby Inverness, and a wine-tasting, featuring small local wineries.

The program for the meeting promises to be stimulating and informative. There will be a half-day symposium, "The Practice of Loss Compensation," which will explore the historical, ethical, psychological, and aesthetic foundations of reintegration and loss compensation in conservation practice. Speakers from various speciality groups will make presentations that examine current thinking in their field, the underlying assumptions that guide reintegration decisions, and the effects of these decisions on the object, the viewer, and the art historical record. Following the presentations will be a panel discussion and questions and comments from the audience. The goal of the symposium is to question current habits and orthodoxy, to attempt to locate our present practices within the historic continuum, and to derive inspiration and fresh eyes from our colleagues' considered observations.

Please watch for your Annual Meeting packet in the mail, and respond as soon as possible if you wish to stay at the Marconi Conference Center; we anticipate that the room reservations will go quickly. See you in Marin County!