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Greetings from the... We're having a party and you are invited! Raquel Alexander has put together an outstanding panel to discuss and debate the influential behavioral research of the past 25 years. Headed up by Jake Birnberg, there is no way that Joan Luft, Mark W. Nelson, Brian Spilker or even Dan Stone could make this anything less than the most exciting event in town! The panel, slated for 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon of the Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., will be followed by a free reception for all members. Please mark your calendars now so that you don't miss this fun opportunity to celebrate and look to the future. Raquel, with the assistance of Rich Houston, has put together quite a number of good sessions for our members in Washington D.C., so take time to thank her for her hard work. We will continue the party in October with the Mid-Year meeting hosted by Anne Magro in Portland, Oregon, October 6-7. With the deadline for submissions now past, I know Anne appreciates your help with providing quality reviews so that we can put together an excellent program and give every author useful feedback. Last year, my co-author Cindy Blanthorne and I agreed that we received the most useful feedback on our own paper from the ABO mid-year reviewers, reminding us of the excellent colleagues we enjoy in our section. Exciting new ideas for this year are a ½ day dedicated to PhD students organized by Bryan Church, and a new, more in-depth discussion format. We are also looking to the future, with Jim Bierstaker agreeing to host the 2007 meeting in Philadelphia. As we move into the future, just like the AAA as a whole, the ABO section leaders are always looking for ways to better define our role and fulfill it. As research becomes more interdisciplinary, what exactly constitutes "ABO" and what our section contributes to each of our members is bound to change. While an excellent mid-year meeting full of stimulating interdisciplinary interaction, useful sessions at the annual meeting, and a high quality journal will always be our core focus, there are definitely other ways this section can enrich its members' careers. So, I would like to challenge each of you. What is it that this section can contribute to your own professional development and especially your research fulfillment? Are there activities we should be doing that we are not? Please share your thoughts and ideas about what we can do with both me and our new president, Tim Louwers. Speaking of moving forward, I am excited about the enthusiasm and leadership that Tim is showing for the upcoming year. He has put together an excellent slate of officers and committee chairs that will continue to serve our members. I know that Sean Peffer as president elect and Mike Shaub as vice-chair regions will also serve you well as the sections most-newly elected officers. As of this writing, Tim is still searching for volunteers to head the Midwest, Ohio and Northeast regions. So, if you are interested, please let him know ASAP. Finally, this represents my last letter as President of the ABO section, so I want to make sure I let you know that it has been a pleasure interacting with all of our members and having some small part in keeping our section moving forward. As with so many active members of the section, the ABO section is where I enjoy coming together with friends and colleagues with common interests from all disciplines, not just my accounting information systems "cronies." Thank you for the opportunity. Stacy Kovar, Kansas State University |