David Willoughby
One of the most important responsibilities of members of the CMS Executive Committee is to visit the various annual meetings of the Regional Chapters. Budget limitations, however, have so far precluded sending even the CMS President to a meeting of the European Chapter! It's worth noting, however, that several members of the European Chapter attended the 1986 CMS Annual Meeting in Miami; these members included its President, Paul Terse, Vice-President, Vojislav Kovacevic, and Secretary, Richard Doren.
Each Executive Committee visitor is asked to "bring greetings" from the Society and to present a report of current national programs and issues. The visitor usually attends the Chapter's business meeting and other sessions and mingles with the participants, thus gaining information and perspective related to topics, people, and issues of concern to the Chapter. The visitor then files a report with the CMS Vice-President, currently Douglas Moore, who compiles them and shares information and insight with the Executive Committee each fall.
I, as President and a member of the Executive Committee, attended the annual meetings of five Regional Chapters from February through April, 1987. I attended the highly successful inaugural meeting of the Southwest Chapter, the second meeting of the Rocky Mountain Chapter, and meetings of more established ones: the Southern, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Great Plains Chapters. This collective experience affirmed for me the value of the Regional Chapter network to the Society and renewed my commitment to facilitating new or improved formats for regional/national interaction and exchange of information and ideas.
The Chapters continue to provide new leadership at the national level, evidenced by the fact that the two most recent members of the Executive Committee-Roger Foltz and Douglas Moore-were at one time Presidents of their respective Regional Chapters. Also, of the four newly elected officers and board members, two were officers in their Regional Chapters: Douglass Seaton and Barbara Reeder Lundquist.
The general high quality of presentations, the obvious enthusiasm among members for their Chapter, and the commitment of their officers speak well for the future of the Society. The national and regional leadership will continue to strive for a structure and a relationship that provide a balance between national policy and practice that affect Regional Chapters and the Chapters' ability to maintain individual identity.