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Serving an organization like MSERA as President is a special privilege
because it affords you the opportunity to work closely with a group
of people who are the real leaders of the organization. John Petry has
provided a unique leadership for the past several years in his role
as Executive Secretary of MSERA. John has such a remarkable memory of
the history and structure of the organization that he is an invaluable
resource to people like me when we don't know exactly what the precedents
are. Cliff Hofwolt is the Past-President of MSERA, a position to which
I aspire. Actually the Past-President assumes the important responsibility
for handling the nominations of officers as well as being an official
advisor to the President. It has been greatly reassuring and helpful
to have Cliff as near as a phone call or e-mail message when I needed
some counsel. The other person to whom I am especially grateful is Ernie
Rakow, our Secretary-Treasurer. Managing the membership database and
the finances of the organization is a full-time task, which Ernie has
handled efficiently and effectively.
There is another group deserving of recognition, and these are the elected
board members, who serve their constituencies and the organization by
providing leadership and by being our "ambassadors" within their respective
states or agencies. Our board this year included: Jean Newman Clark
(Alabama); Nola Christenberry (Arkansas): Antony Norman (Kentucky);
Jane Nell Luster (Louisiana); Linda Cornelious (Mississippi); Cynthia
Gettys (Tennessee); Arlene Amos (LEA); Linda Morse, Kathy Franklin,
Gahan Bailey, Scott Bauer (At-Large) and Glennelle Halpin (MSER Foundation).
Much of the work that goes into making MSERA a successful organization
is conducted between our Annual Meetings as well as during our Annual
Meeting. That work is entrusted to our committee chairs, and I am proud
to say that the chairs who have graciously agreed to serve this year
have done so in excellent fashion. The two committee chairs most deserving
of recognition and appreciation are Scott Bauer, Program Chair, and
Kathy Franklin, Local Arrangements Chair. I mention them together because,
in a very real way, their work has been closely coordinated over the
past year and longer, and each has depended on the other to provide
timely information and assistance. Having communicated extensively with
both chairs, I know that they have worked hard, and that their efforts
have been unstinting as they have developed a first-rate program and
arranged a top-notch meeting for us all.
At the same time there are many other committees that help make MSERA
an exceptional organization. David Morse once again handled our archives.
Harry Bowman chaired the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. Qaisar Sultana
chaired the Outstanding Papers committee. John Petry provided ERIC liaison.
Bill Spencer handled Evaluation this year. Tony Norman took over the
Future Sites Selection committee. Jennifer Good chaired the Graduate
Student Advisory committee. Cynthia Gettys is already working on Local
Arrangements for Chattanooga in 2002. Gahan Bailey chaired the Membership
committee. Cliff Hofwolt chaired the Nominations Committee, as well
as the Budget Analysis committee.
One other group I would like to publicly thank for their contributions
are the editors of our professional journal, Research in the Schools,
James E. McLean and Alan Kaufman; the editors of our newsletter, The
Researcher, Nola Christenberry and Lynn Howerton; the editor of
our Annual Meeting Proceedings, John Petry; and the "editor"
of our webpage, David Morse.
Obviously most of these people that I am publicly acknowledging have
in turn benefited from the contributions of time, energy and expertise
given by so many of you, whom I cannot acknowledge individually. Your
efforts are nevertheless deeply appreciated.
Thank you all for helping to make this a very rewarding year for me
and for MSERA.
Sincerely,
Jim Flaitz,
2001 MSERA President
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