Volume 18, Number 2 .... May 1996

PRESIDENT'S LETTER

It never ceases to amaze me just how dedicated our colleagues on the WAAC Board of Directors truly are. The WAAC mid-year board meeting was held on March 11, in the Department of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum hosted by Member-at-large Marc Harnly. We had a very productive meeting. Vice-President Liz Welsh presented proposed Bylaws changes for final discussion before submission to our membership. Once again, I cannot overemphasize the importance of these proposed changes for the future operation of our organization. After much discussion and participation by the entire board, the final proposal is ready for presentation. I hope you will take the opportunity to carefully review these proposed changes, make any suggestions available to us as quickly as possible, and be prepared to vote on these changes at the meeting in Las Vegas.

Part of the proposed changes in the Bylaws are to increase the number of Members-at-large from the current three to four, with two-year terms and alternating elections of two Members-at-large per year. This is to provide continuity to changing boards, provide an odd number of board members for purposes of voting, and to provide additional operational support for our organization as we continue to expand. This is only one issue which is addressed in the changes, but a very important one. Liz Welsh is to be credited for her energy and perseverance which she has demonstrated throughout this process. She certainly is going to make a great President for our organization, and all of the current board members on behalf of our entire membership wish to commend her for her efforts.

Previously, our Newsletter Editor, Carolyn Tallent, and Secretary-Treasurer, Chris Stavroudis, were asked to track their hours which they devote to their respective positions. The amount of time they actually spend is considerable. Chris spends at least twenty hours a month specifically on WAAC business, and Carolyn spends well over one hundred hours per issue editing the Newsletter. I have a feeling that even the hours they indicated were trimmed in our favor. For their modest stipends, this equates to significantly less than minimum wage for the work that they do for us. They could do better financially working in a hamburger joint. I must say that while the board voted to modestly increase their respective stipends, we were still embarrassed. I would recommend to the entire membership that you personally thank each of these extraordinary individuals for their contributions at your next available opportunity.

The Newsletter reached a new height in the last issue with the color illustrations, a first for our publication. I believe it reflects the professionalism of our organization and our members. I believe Carolyn also deserves congratulations for the amount of extra work that the issue required. Chris Stavroudis also demonstrated during the board meeting how the Newsletter now will appear on the Internet complete with photographs, which was most impressive. Both Chris and Walter Henry are to be commended for their continuing efforts to bring our organization onto the electronic highway. (See page 1 for latest news on this!)

Once again, it is time to consider formally getting involved in WAAC, as the election for new officers is upon us. Liz Welsh will chair the nominating committee, and if you are nominated, I hope you will consider running for office. As always, nominations are also welcomed from the membership, but if you are going to nominate someone, please check with them to make sure they are interested in running before you submit their name.

Of course, the other event on my mind is our annual meeting in Las Vegas, October 6-9. Over the past few years, there seems to have evolved a particular theme or topic for each of our meetings, with at least one day devoted to that subject. Again this year, some topics were suggested, but during the board meeting it was agreed that we would like to keep this meeting more generalized, with a mixture of presentations not limited to any single topic. Many of us felt that AIC with their specific pre-session, post-session, and general session presentations, provided enough topic oriented meetings, and that perhaps a general meeting would be welcomed. Therefore, the Las Vegas meeting will return to a general format of various papers and presentations intermingled. Some members have already contacted me about presenting papers, and I encourage any member to present a paper at the meeting. Our annual meeting has always proven to be a good forum for presentations by interns and preprogram students, and I especially encourage these individuals to consider presenting a paper. Following this letter is a listing of board members to contact for your particular specialty or you may always contact me directly.

Please remember it's up to you to make your own hotel reservations! Again, I encourage you to call the convention hotel, Jackie Gaughn's Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas at 1-800-634-6575 at your earliest convenience. Our hotel convention rates are guaranteed through September 6, after which rooms are available only on a first come, first served basis during the most busy convention period of the year. Also remember when making your reservations to tell the hotel representative that you are with the Western Association for Art Conservation Annual Meeting.

An annual meeting packet will be sent to you this summer with plenty of information, but in the meantime, consider presenting a paper, and I'll look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas!