Minutes of the Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the Potomac Division,
American Phytopathological Society
March 1980
The thirty-seventh annual meeting of the Potomac Division's American Phytopathological Society was held at Lakeview Inn, Morgantown, WV on March 19-22, l980. It was hosted by the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences at West Virginia University Discussion sessions on Plant Disease Resistance, IPM and Extension Plant Pathology were held the evening of March 19. Sixty-five scientific papers were presented on March 20 and 21. Total registered attendance was 159.
Prior to Session I, President J. R. Stavely introduced Dean D.W. Zinn, Director of the West Virginia University Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station who welcomed the Division to West Virginia University.
The business meeting was called to order by President Stavely at 4:15 p.m., March 20. The minutes of 1979 were approved as read. The Treasurer's report was read and approved following the report of the Auditing Committee by Dr. W.H. Wills.
The report of the Nominations Committee was presented by Dr. S.A. Ostazeski, Chairman. Drs. G. J. Griffin, VPI & SU; T. Van der Zwet, USDA; and R.J. Young, WVU were nominated for Vice-President. Drs. F.M. Latterell, USDA; C.W. Roane, VPI & SU; and J.R. Stavely, USDA were nominated for Councilor. There were no nominations from the floor. Drs. Young and Latterell were elected Vice-President and Councilor, respectively.
Dr. G.C. Papavizas, Chairman of the Ad hoc committee concerning the Potomac Division Constitution, presented proposed changes in Rules 4, 5, and 7 of the Standing Rules of the Potomac Division, APS.
Original Rule 4. Election of Officers. The Vice-President at the end of the term of office, shall automatically become President. The Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Councilor shall be elected at the business session during the Division's principal meeting. Should the office of Vice-President become vacant, a President shall be elected at the next principal meeting. Officers shall assume office at the close of the meeting at which they are elected. Nominations will be made preceding the election by a Nominating Committee and from the floor at the time of the election. Members may suggest names of candidates for office to the Nominating Committee prior to the meeting. Candidates shall be nominated for each office by the Nominating Committee. Voting shall be by a single ballot and the nominee for each office who receives the largest number of votes shall be elected. In the event of a tie vote, the two highest shall participate in a run-off election.
Proposed Rule 4. Election of Officers. The Vice-President at the end of the term of office shall automatically become President. The Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Councilor shall be elected by mail ballot sent to the members in good standing of the Division by the Secretary-Treasurer. Should the office of Vice-President become vacant a President shall be elected at the next principal meeting. Officers shall assume office at the close of-the meeting at which they are elected. Nominations will be made preceding the election by mailing to the members of the Division a nominating ballot together with the first announcement of the Division's annual meeting. The nominating ballot should be returned by the membership at dates specified by the Nominating Committee. For the final ballot the Nominating Committee shall choose candidates for each office. One of these will be the person receiving the highest number of nominations. The second candidate for the office in question will be chosen by ballot of the Nominating Committee from the five (or more in case of tie for fifth place) nominees with the next highest number of nominating votes. If the same person should receive sufficient ballots to qualify for nomination to more than one office, this name shall be placed on the final ballot only as a candidate for the office for which ballots he or she receives the greater number of ballots, and in the case of an equal number of ballots he or she shall be entered only as a candidate for the higher office as listed in ARTICLE 3 of the Constitution. The Chairman of the Nominating Committee will distribute the final ballot to each member of the Division together with the second announcement for the annual meeting, and ballots will be returned by mail. The Nominating Committee shall count the votes and the Chairman will present the names of the elected officers to the Executive Committee before the annual meeting. In the event of a tie vote the two nominees shall participate in a run-off election during the business meeting.
Original Rule 5. Ratification of the Action of Executive Committee. The accounts of the Secretary-Treasurer shall be audited by an Auditing Committee appointed by the President and a report of this audit made to the Division. The report of the Secretary-Treasurer and the audit report shall be posted at the time of the principal meeting. Recommendations of the Executive Committee proposing action by the Division, and reports of committees may be posted. Acceptances of reports and ratification of Executive Committee recommendations may be made without detailed presentation except as discussion is requested by a member.
Proposed Rule 5. Ratification of the Action of Executive Committee.* The accounts of the Secretary-Treasurer shall be audited by an Auditing Committee appointed by the President and a report of this audit made to the Division. The reports of the Secretary-Treasurer shall be circulated to the members of the Division before the annual meeting. The audit report shall be posted at the time of the principal meeting. Recommendations of the Executive Committee proposing action by the Division and reports of committees may be posted. Acceptances of reports and ratification of Executive Committee recommendations may be made without detailed presentation except as discussion is requested by a member.
Original Rule 7. Graduate Student Research Award. An award consisting of $50.00 and a certificate shall be given to the graduate student presenting the best paper at the principal meeting of the Division. A graduate student competing for the award must (1) be a graduate student enrolled in an accredited graduate school at the time the abstract is submitted, (2) be sole or senior author of the paper presented, and (3) present the paper at the principal meeting of the Division. The President shall appoint a committee of active members to judge the papers which shall include the Vice-President, who shall act as Chairman of the Committee. Students submitting papers for the graduate student research award competition shall be exempt from payment of meeting registration fees.
Proposed Rule 7 Graduate Student Research Awards.* The Division shall authorize one award or two equal awards up to an amount not to exceed $l00.00 each and certificates for the graduate awards for the best graduate student paper(s). The Potomac Division Awards Committee shall have the option to designate one or two awards as the committee deems appropriate. A graduate student competing for the award must (l) be a graduate student enrolled in an accredited graduate school at the time the abstract is submitted, (2) be sole or senior author of the paper presented, and (3) present the paper at the principal meeting of the Division. The president shall appoint a committee of active members to judge the papers which shall include the Vice-President who shall act as Chairman of the Committee. Students submitting papers for the graduate student research award competition shall be exempt from payment of meeting registration fees.
*As revised following discussion.
All changes in Rules 4, 5, and 7 as presented by Dr. Papavizas and/or modified by Drs. Delp, Barnett, and Lawson and presented above were approved by the membership. (A complete copy of the current Constitution and Standing Rules is attached). *The membership approved changes in Rule 7 effective with the 1980 meeting.
Dr. C. R. Curtis who attended the mid-year APS Councilors meeting for Dr. Klarman reported on the activities of the Society. The dates and locations of future APS meetings were announced. Dr. Curtis outlined procedures to follow for nominations to APS Committee membership and particularly encouraged graduate students to become active in the committees of the Society.
Dr. L. H. Purdy, President of APS, extended greetings from the parent Society. He reviewed a number of items of interest including: the transfer of Plant Disease Reporter to APS; subscription to the journal; the 75th anniversary of the Society; ISCPP, and the constitution of APS.
The Division members stood in silence in memory of John A. Stevenson who passed away since our last meeting. (After the business meeting the Secretary-Treasurer was notified that Eugene W. Golsen had also passed away.)
Dr. C.W. Roane as Chairman of the Division Ad hoc Committee on the APS Constitution distributed a report of the Committee. The Committee presented the following recommendations to the Division:* (1) A Constitution which empowers the Council to operate the A.P.S. while guaranteeing the rights of members; (2) The adoption of a published manual on parliamentary procedures as its official rules of order (in By-Laws); (3) Provision for appointment of a Councilor to serve as parliamentarian (in By-Laws); (4) Provision for right-of-petition to amend the Constitution (in By-Laws); (5) a. A statement providing for publication of the minutes of the annual meeting (Art. IX) b. A statement providing for the publication of Annual Meeting Abstracts (S-R.2 should become a By-Law and be amended); (6) Deletion of Standing Rules, rewriting By-Laws to accommodate the intent of Standing Rules or delete "Approve by Council." (move to By-Laws) or; (7) Relegate Standing Rules to status of a Council manual of procedure; (8) The foregoing be transmitted to the A.P.S. Constitution Revision Committee.
Dr. Klarman asked that members contact him prior to the summer Councilor's meeting if they have comments concerning the APS Constitution.
Dr. W. L. MacDonald, the Division's delegate to the Association of Department Heads and Chairman in Plant Pathology' reported on the activity of ADHPP.*
Old Business:
None
New Business:
President Stavely discussed the possible need to extend the Division's meetings to two days.
Dr. George A. Bean extended an invitation from the Plant Pathologists at the University of Maryland for the Division to meet at the University of Maryland in 1981 A motion to accept the invitation was made, seconded and passed.
The business meeting was adjourned at 5:54 p.m.
President Stavely served as M.C. at the banquet attended by 141 members and guests. He extended the Division's thanks to the committee chairman and committee members. Vice-President C. R. Curtis presented the Division's Eighth Annual Graduate Students award to Judy L. Trimble (VPI & SU) and Karen E. Peterson (Maryland). This was followed by a report of the Resolutions Committee chaired by R. W. Goth, the installation of the new officers, and entertainment by the WVU Jazz Ensemble.
Respectfully submitted,
Laurence D. Moore
Secretary-Treasurer
Potomac Division-APS
March 24, 1980
Minutes of the Thirty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the Potomac Division,
American Phytopathological Society
April 1981
The thirty-eighth annual meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society, was held at the Center of Adult Education, University of Maryland, College Park, MD on April 15-17, 1981. Discussion sessions on Innovations in Disease Control and Plant Pathological Research on a Cellular and Molecular Level organized by Dr. J. A. Lewis and Dr. J. F. Rissler, respectively were held the evening of April 15. The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. G. A. Bean and Dr. N. R. O'Neill. Seventy-one-scientific papers were presented. Total registered attendance was 167.
Prior to Session I, President C. R. Curtis introduced Dr. Larry Vanderhoef, Provost of the Division of Agricultural and Life Sciences, who welcomed the Division to the University of Maryland.
The business meeting was called to order by President Curtis at 4:26 p.m. April 16. Dr. Curtis introduced Dr. Bean who greeted the Division. The Minutes of 1980, the 1980 Treasurer's Report and the Report of the Auditing Committee chaired by Dr. S. A. Alexander were approved as distributed.
The report of the Nominations Committee was presented by Dr. J. R. Stavely, by the absence of the chairman, Dr. A. L. Morehart, who could not attend. The new Vice-President is Dr. L. D. Moore, VPI & SU; the new Secretary-Treasurer is Dr. R. W. Goth, USDA-Beltsville. This report was accepted by the membership.
Dr. H. D. Sisler, Chairman of the Ad hoc committee on the Memorial Fund presented the following recommendations to the membership: It is suggested:
· a) that awards not be made from the fund for several years until it has increased in size.
b) that a list of contributors or contributions be maintained and available to the membership each year.
c) that the fund be publicized and that contributions by the membership and others be encouraged.
d) that the officers of the Division would be responsible for management of the fund.
These recommendations were seconded and approved.
Following additional discussion it was also recommended that contributions to the fund be solicited via the dues notices and the registration sheets used at the annual division meeting. The general memorial fund should have no one's name on it but members should be able to designate in whose memory monies are being contributed to the Memorial Fund.
Dr. H. Waterworth the Division's representative to the Washington Academy of Sciences reported on the activities of the Academy. He discussed their monthly programs and activities.
Dr. G. R. Hooper the Division's delegate to the Association of Department Heads and Chairman in Plant Pathology reported on the activity of AHPP. AHPP discussed the 4-H Plant Pathology option for youth, funding in biological control areas, and the Elm Disease Compendium.
The Division members stood in silence in memory of George H. Coons, William D. McClellan, Robert Pristou and Joseph F. Worley who have passed away since our last meeting.
Dr. Wiley Garrett, President of APS, extended greetings from the parent society. He reviewed a number of items including: the number of papers present at the national meeting and the use of poster sessions, publication of Plant Disease, the compendia series, and the payment of travel expenses for the Divisions councilor at the midyear meeting of the parent society.
Dr. F. M. Latterell the Division's Councilor distributed an extensive report, copies of which are available from the Secretary-Treasurer. She discussed the need for extra income and the problems with "Plant Disease". A motion was made that the President establish an ad hoc committee to determine the role of the Division in supporting the travel expenses of the Division's Councilor. This motion was seconded and approved.
Old business:
None.
New business:
Dr. Myron Sasser extended an invitation for the Division to meet at the University of Delaware in 1982. A motion to accept the invitation was made, seconded and passes.
Dr. Steve Hopkins discussed the need for the Society to evaluate the employment situation citing a letter he wrote to Phytopathology News (see Phytopathology News 13(3):24, 1979). Dr. Hooper was asked to bring this matter before the APHH and Dr. Latterell to bring this matter before council.
The business meeting was adjourned at 5:48 p.m.
President Curtis served at M.C. at the banquet attended by 103 members and guests. He extended the Division's thanks to the committee chairmen and committee members. Dr. N. N. Ragsdale presented the report of the Resolutions Committee. Vice-President R. J. Young presented the Division's Ninth Annual Graduate Students Awards to Mary L. Casadevall-Keller and Steve Leath, both of the University of Delaware. President Curtis then installed the new officers. Entertainment for the evening was provided by Dr. R. Jay Stipes at the piano.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert W. Goth
Secretary-Treasurer
Potomac Division, APS
/dde
Minutes of the Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting
of the Potomac Division,
American Phytopathological Society
April 1982
The thirty-ninth annual meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society, was held at John M. Clayton Hall, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware on March 31-April 2, 1982.
The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Myron Sasser and Dr. Konrad Kmetz. Sixty-four scientific papers were presented of which 15 were graduate student papers for award consideration.
On the afternoon of March 31, the attendees participated in either a tour of the Haskell Laboratory of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, which was organized by Dr. Konrad Kmetz, or a tour of some mushroom growing facilities which was organized by Dr. Claude Fordyce and Dr. Kenneth L. Deahl. Discussion sessions on Responses to Current Crisis Diseases, and Advances in Application Technology organized by Dr. Harvey Spurr and Dr. Konrad Kmetz, respectively, were held the evening of March 31.
Prior to Session I, on April 1, President Robert J. Young introduced Dr. Myron Sasser who introduced Dr. Donald F. Crossan, Dean, School of Agriculture, University of Delaware, who welcomed the Division to the Diamond State and The University of Delaware.
The business meeting was called to order by President Young at 4:20 p.m. on April 1. Dr. Young introduced Dr. Sasser and Dr. Kmetz who greeted the Division. The minutes of the 1981 meeting, the 1981 Treasurer's Report, and the Report of the Auditing Committee chaired by Dr. George A. Bean, were approved as distributed.
The report of the Nominations Committee was presented by Dr. Charles R. Curtis. The new Vice-President is Dr. Stanley A. Ostazeski. This report was accepted by the membership.
Dr. H. D. Sisler, Chairman of the ad hoc committee on the memorial fund presented his report. The recommendations presented to the group in 1981 w amended as follows:
1) A list of the contributors and/or contributions will be maintained and made available to the membership each year, and
2) the officers of the Division will be responsible for management of the funds.
The motion to accept these recommendations was seconded and approved.
Additional discussion followed regarding the name of the fund. It was moved, seconded, and approved that the Fund be entitled: The Potomac Division memorial Fund for Research and Education.
Dr. Howard Waterworth, the Divisions representative to the Washington Academy of Sciences, reported on the activities of the Academy. information concerning membership, budget, programs, awards, and other activities of the Academy.
He presented
The Association of Department Heads Report was given by Dr. L.D. Moore for Dr. G.R. Hooper, who could not attend. The Department heads did set up a committee to evaluate the job situation for Plant Pathologist.
The Division members observed a moment of silence in memory of Dr. Wilson L. Smith, who passed away since our last meeting.
Dr. J. Artie Browning, President of APS, extended greetings from the parent society. He commented on the balance of our program, the quality and number of graduate student papers, and the enthusiasm shown by the membership of the Potomac Division. His comment, "The Potomac Division may be small geographically, but is great in many respects" was well received by the membership.
Dr. F.M. Latterell, the division Councilor, distributed an extensive report concerning the status of the society, copies of which are available from the Vice-President. A motion was made, seconded, and passed, to accept the Councilors report as distributed.
President Young invited APS President Browning, to report on the status of the Society. A report on the financial status of the Society was also presented by Mr. Raymond J. Tarleton, Executive Vice-President.
OLD BUSINESS:
Dr. J. Rennie Stavely presented the report of an ad hoc committee to determine the role of the Division in supporting the travel expenses of the Division councilor to the winter business meeting. The committee suggested that the division pay directly to the councilor up to $200. Following the discussion, this committee report was put in the form a motion which was subsequently amended to state that "The Potomac Division would pay all travel expenses of the councilor to the mid-winter business meeting." This motion was approved by the membership. Should this additional expense result in the deterioration of financial condition of the Division, the executive committee is empowered to request a raise in dues to cover any foreseeable financial problems.
NEW BUSINESS:
Dr. L.D. Moore proposed an addition to standing rule #1 regarding Abstracts of papers published by the Division which states "One author of the scientific contribution must be a member of the Potomac Division". He further proposed a change to standing rule 47 regarding Graduate student research awards, this change states that "the presentation must be made within one year after the receipt of the degree for which the research was performed. He proposed an addition to standing rule #7; item #5, which states that "a student may enter only one paper per year for consideration for the graduate student award". The changes proposed by Dr. Moore were approved by the membership (A copy of the amended constitution is attached).
Dr. Burton Y. Endo extended an invitation to the Division to meet at Beltsville in 1983. A motion to accept the invitation was made, seconded, and passed. the business meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
President Young served as M.C. at the banquet attended by members and guests. He extended thanks of the Division members, to the members to the various committee. Vice-President L.D. Moore presented the divisions Tenth Annual Graduate students Award to E.V. Podleckis of the University of Maryland and J.A. Micales VPI & SU. Dr. R. Jay Stipes presented the report of the Resolutions committee. President Young then installed Dr. L.D. Moore as the new president of the Division. Entertainment for the evening was a sing-along led by R. Jay Stipes at the piano.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert W. Goth
Secretary-Treasurer
Potomac Division, APS
Minutes of the 40th Annual Meeting of the Potomac Division,
American Phytopathological Society.
March 1983
The 40th annual meeting of the Potomac Division of the APS was held March 23 to 25 at the Ramada Inn, in Beltsville, MD. It was hosted by the USDA and chaired by A. Graves Gillaspie of the Plant Pathology Laboratory, USDA, Beltsville, Maryland.
It was a well attended meeting with 153 persons registered. There were forty-seven research reports, including 10 in graduate student competitions. The meeting began with a choice of a tour to either the American Type Culture collection facility at Rockville, MD or the U.S.D.A. Plant Disease Research Laboratory at Frederick, MD.
The Wednesday evening's program consisted of two discussion sessions. A session on, "Role of Tissue Culture Techniques in Plant Pathology," was moderated by Lowell Owens, USDA, Beltsville. Steve 8aenzinger (USDA, Beltsville), John McGrew (USDA, Beltsville), Steve Sinden (USDA, Beltsville) and Freddi Hammerschlag (USDA, Beltsville) discussed anther culture, meristem culture, protoplasts, and cell selection respectively.
Another session dealt with mildew control in soft red winter wheat, and was moderated by Erik Stromberg (VPI & SU, Blacksburg, VA). John Moseman, (USDA, Beltsville) presented information on the biology of Erysiphe graminis and sources of genes for resistance. James Frank (USDA, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA) led a discussion on powdery mildew epidemiology. Thomas Starling (Agronomy Department VPI & SU), dealt with strategies for the identification and deployment of genes for resistance to powdery mildew. Finally, a panel consisting of James Kantzes (University of Maryland, Salisbury, MD), Herb Cole (Pennsylvania State University), David Babineau (VPI & SU) and James Frank (USDA, Pennsylvania State University) discussed different aspects for chemical control of powdery mildew.
The paper sessions were preceded by a welcome by Jerrel Powell, Assistant Director, USDA, Beltsville, MD.
The business meeting was called to order by President L. D. Moore at 4:00 P.M. on March 24. The minutes of the 1982 Division Meeting and the 1982 treasurer's report and the report of the Auditing Committee chaired by Dr. Jack Lewis were approved as distributed. In the absence of Chairman Dr. Robert J. Young, the report of the Nominations Committee was presented by Dr. R. B. Carroll. The new Vice-President is Dr. R. Jay Stipes (VPI & SU). The new Councilor is Dr. L. D. Moore (VPI & SU). This Nominating Committee report was accepted by the membership.
At this time changes to Standing Rule #4 of the constitution was discussed. The membership agreed that this standing rule should be revised to state; "The chairman of the Nominating Committee will distribute the final ballot to each member of the Division. Ballots will be returned by mail to the chairman or designated representative." As previously stated, the ballots were distributed with the second mailing for the annual meeting. The change in this standing rule was approved.
Dr. G. R. Hooper, the Division Delegate to the Association Heads and Chairman, reported on the activity of the AHPP. During the past year, AHPP discussed the use of elements for word processors that would be compatible with the APS system. This would aid in preparation of manuscripts, etc. They surveyed faculty salaries and solicited archive materials and information concerning Emeritus Professors.
Dr. Roger Lawson, Division representative to the Washington Academy of Science, reported on its activities. The Academy is composed of 44 affiliated societies. He pointed out that Potomac Division member Dr. Robert Davis was recognized at the Awards Banquet for his contribution on research of Spiroplasmas. And he strongly urged that Potomac Division members become active in this organization.
The Division members stood in silence in memory of colleagues who have passed away since our last meeting.
President Moore introduced Dr. Richard E. Ford, President of APS, who extended greetings from the parent Society. He reviewed a number of items including the number of papers presented at the Salt Lake Meeting. He also discussed APS affiliations with CAST, AIBS, and AAAS. These affiliations will be monitored carefully and representatives will report to Council each year. He discussed finances of the Society and pointed out that in the future compendia and their anticipated earnings will not be included in the budgetary process until the society has received a final draft of the respective compendium. He also pointed out that there will be no second billing for APS dues. A new directory is being planned for 1984. Council voted to take out a liability policy. He concluded these informative and timely remarks with an invitation to attend the meeting at Ames, Iowa and provided a synopsis of the planned program.
OLD BUSINESS
President Moore reported on the AD HOC committee on the financial status and the alteration of the existing dues structure chaired by Dr. J. R. Stavely. Due to our current financial status the committee found that our current dues structure is adequate. The AD HOC site selection committee chaired by Dr. Thomas Barksdale developed a 5 year rotation which is as follows.
- VPI & SU 1984
- WVU 1985
- U of MD 1986
- U of DE 1987
- USDA 1988
This report was accepted by The Executive Committee. The 1984 meeting will be held at VPI. The Division was invited to meet at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WVA in 1985 by Chairman William MacDonald. The business meeting was adjourned at 5:00 P.M.
During the annual banquet Vice-President S. A. Ostazeski presented the graduate student awards to Anita Miller for the paper, "A diallel analysis of the inheritance of resistance to tomato anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum dematium" and to Margaret A. Roy for the paper, "Evidence for involvement of active oxygen in tobacco resistance to a bacterial pathogen". President Moore installed new officers for 1983-1984. They are President, S. A. Ostazeski, USDA, Beltsville, MD; Vice-President, R. Jay Stipes, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, VA; Robert W. Goth, USDA, Beltsville, MD, continues as Secretary-Treasurer. Laurence D. Moore, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, VA will be the new Division councilor. For the evening's entertainment A. A. Piringer, Chairman of the Horticultural Science Institute, USDA, Beltsville, MD, presented an informative and interesting slide-show and talk entitled PhytoPhilately.
Respectfully submitted,
ROBERT W. GOTH
Minutes of the 41st Annual Meeting of the Potomac Division,
American Phytopathological Society.
March 1984
The 41th annual meeting of the Potomac Division of the APS was held March 21 to 23 at the Donaldson Brown Center for Continuing Education on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. It was hosted by the Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science of VPI & SU and was chaired by Erik L. Stromberg of that department .
It was an excellent meeting with 132 person registered. There were 50 research reports, including 13 in graduate student competition. The meeting began Wednesday evening with a choice of three discussion sessions. A session on Mode of Action and Performance of New Fungicide Groups was moderated by H. D. Sisler, University of Maryland, College Park and N. N. Ragsdale, USDA-Washington, DC presented information on Biochemical and Cellular Effects of Ergosterol Biosynthesis Inhibitors (EBI). K. S. Yoder, VPI and SU, Winchester, addressed the Prospects of EBI Fungicides for Control of Fruit Diseases. H. D. Sisler, University of Maryland, College Park, presented information on Mode of action of Dicarboximides and Melanin Biosynthesis Inhibitors.
The session on Conservation Tillage Systems and Plant Disease was moderated by D. E. Babineau of VPI & SU, Warsaw. E. G. Jordan, USDA, Beltsville, discussed Enhanced Biodegradation of Agricultural Chemicals. F. M. Latterell of USDA, Plant Disease Lab, Frederick, Maryland, presented information on Observations on the Relationship Between Conservation Tillage and Gray Leaf Spot of Corn. D. P. Schmitt, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, presented information on Soybean Cyst Nematode Control as Influenced by Straw Management Practices and Nematacides.
The third session Overcoming Barriers to Professional Advancement was co-chaired by S. S. Hearon, USDA, Beltsville, and S. A. Tolin, VPI & SU, Blacksburg. Judith H. Johnson, Director, Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Programs, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, Virginia addressed Lawful and Unlawful Questions in the Interview Process and Sexual Bias in the Work Environment. Janet Phillips, Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, College Park, discussed Two Career Families. G. R. Hooper, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, described Personality Traits of Successful Scientists. F. M. Latterell recognized Contributions and Activities of Women in the APS.
Prior to the Thursday morning paper sessions, Erik L. Stromberg welcomed us to VPI & SU.
The business meeting was called to order by President S. A. Ostazeski at 1:35 p.m. on March 22, 1984. The minutes of the 1983 meeting were approved as distributed. The treasurer's report presented by Secretary-Treasurer R. W. Goth was approved as presented. The auditor's report presented by E. M. Dutky was accepted as presented. Results of the election was presented by chairperson L. D. Moore. The new Vice-President is R. W. Goth, USDA, Beltsville. The new Secretary-Treasurer is R. B. Carroll, University of Delaware. Dr. L. D. Moore, at the request of G. R. Hooper, presented the Association of Department Heads report.
Members stood in silence in memory of Mr. Robert E. Wester and other colleagues who have passed away since our last meeting.
Councilor L. D. Moore distributed an informative concise report of the status of the National Society. The members present were requested to vote on options concerning the alteration of both National and Divisional meeting policy. The location of National meetings were also discussed and the membership was requested to vote on their preference of hotel meetings vs. campus meetings.
President S. A. Ostazeski introduced Dr. R. James Cook, President of the American Phytopathological Society who extended greetings from the National Society. He reviewed a number of items including the increase in the number of papers presented at the National meeting which rose from 480 in Salt Lake City in 1982 to 600 in Ames, in 1983. He discussed the decrease in circulation of Plant Disease from 5800 to 5620 and stated that the reason for this 180 decrease is being examined carefully. He mentioned that dues will increase by $1.00 to meet the CPI. C. R. Curtis, Chairperson of The University of Delaware discussed the possibility of APS developing an information program concerning the role of plant pathology in today's society. This information program would be used to inform and recruit prospective graduate students. W. L. MacDonald, Chairperson of West Virginia University, commented that in times of decreased graduate student enrollment smaller department are disproportionately affected. He suggested that this be considered in the development of an APS information program. Dr. Cooke stated that Past President Ford developed a planning committee to research the position and potential of plant pathology graduates in today's job market.
Old Business
President Ostazeski called on Dale Hindal, West Virginia University, to comment on the status of the 1985 meeting. Dr. Hindal stated that plans have been made to hold the 1985 meeting at the Lakeview Country Club on March 20-22, 1985.
New Business
Alan Collmer invited the Division to meet at the University of Maryland in 1986. A motion which stated "The program chairman, with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, has the prerogative of covering expenses up to $100.00 for each of 2 non-plant pathologist as discussion group speakers" was presented by Erik L. Stromberg. This motion was seconded by Alan Collmer and was passed by the membership.
The program committee, especially Erik L. Stromberg, chairman, and his associates at VPI & SU were complimented for developing and directing an excellent program.
The business meeting adjourned at 2:55 p.m.
During the annual banquet Vice-President R. Jay Stipes presented the graduate student awards to D. L. Roeder, University of Maryland, for the paper entitled "Expression of an Erwinia chrysanthemi Pectate Lyase Isozyme Gene in Escherichia coli" and to D. L. Hobbins, West Virginia University for the paper entitled "Interactions Between Virulent Cankers of Endothia parasitica and Sources of Virulent and Hypovirulent Inoculum on American Chestnut". This was followed by a report of the resolutions committee chairman J. Rennie Stavely. President Ostazeski then complimented Erik L. Stromberg for his superb job as program chairman. and he also acknowledged the efforts of the program committee and our VPI & SU hosts for their gracious hospitality. President Ostazeski installed the new officers for 1984-85. They are President R. Jay Stipes, VPI & SU, Blacksburg; Vice-President Robert W. Goth, USDA, Beltsville; Secretary-Treasurer R. B. Carroll, University of Delaware, Newark; and Laurence D. Moore, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, continues as the Potomac Division Councilor.
Minutes of the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Potomac Division
American Phytopathological Society
March 21, 1985
Morgantown, WV
The 42nd annual meeting of the Potomac Division of APS was held March 20-22, 1985, at the Sheraton Lakeview Resort and Conference Center at Morgantown, West Virginia. It was hosted by members of the Department of Plant Pathology and Agricultural Microbiology of WVU. D. F. Hindal was Chairman of the Program Committee.
The meeting was outstanding with 162 persons registered. There were 68 contributed papers including 19 in graduate student competition. The meeting started Wednesday evening with 3 Discussion Sessions. Session I on "Transfer Technology in Plant Pathology" was moderated by S. A. Ostazeski and included C. Sutula (Virus Diseases), B. C. Joyner (Diagnostics), M. J. Weaver (Computers) and P. M. Phipps (Advisory Prescription Systems). Session II was devoted to "Career Opportunities for Graduate Students" with C. R. Curtis as moderator. Speakers included D. Ginsburg (APS Placement), P. L. Hunst (Monsanto) and R.A. Hamlen (DuPont). Session III dealt with "New Plant Disease Situations" and was moderated by E. L. Civerolo. Panelists and subjects included: R. P. Kahn (Karnal bunt), L. R. Krusberg (corn cyst), F. M. Latterell (Cercosporoid leaf spot of corn),T.D. Leininger (Acid precipitation), S. A. Tolin (Peanut stripe) and E. L. Civerolo (Citrus canker). All sessions were well-attended and resulted in good discussions.
Prior to start of the paper sessions on Thursday morning the group was welcomed to WVU by D. F. Hindal who introduced E. Gordon Gee, President of WVU and R. H. Maxwell, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Forestry.
The business meeting was called to order by President R. J. Stipes at 11:00 A.M. on March 21 with 65 in attendance. The minutes of the 1984 meeting were approved as distributed. The Treasurers' report was approved as presented by Secretary/Treasurer R. B. Carroll. A motion was made and passed to have the Treasurer place the Memorial Fund into an account that will yield higher interest. The report of the Auditing Committee was approved as presented by G. Bean. S. A. Ostazeski, Chair of the Nominations Committee presented results of the Vice-Presidential election which was won by T. van der Zwet and Ostazeski complimented the membership on the high percentage of voter participation. L. D. Moore presented a report for the "Department Heads" in which he discussed, among other items, job prospects for graduate students in relationship to faculty retirements, etc. A report of the Necrology Committee was presented by W. H. Wills and members stood for a moment of silence in memory of departed colleagues including Dewey Stewart (USDA), Floyd F. Smith (USDA), and Robert Adams (WVU).
L. D. Moore distributed copies of Councilor's report to update the Division on Affairs of the National Society. Emphasized in his presentation was that the 1989 National meeting will be in the Northeastern-Potomac region, that the Society and journals are in good financial health and that National headquarters is considering expanding. He also indicated that "Standing Rules" were being eliminated and that the membership will now vote on any changes regarding abstracts.
President R. J. Stipes introduced J. L. Lockwood, president of APS who extended greetings from the parent Society and congratulated the Potomac Division on the excellent meeting. He reviewed a number of items related to APS affairs. He indicated that Plant Disease would like to expand to 2 or 3 feature articles per issue and that Phytopathology is in a good state of health. A committee is reviewing the quality of Phytopathology. He emphasized the importance of APS Press to the annual income of the Society and how much it helps our "image." Phytopathology News has begun publication of a membership directory on an annual basis. In the future, production of slide sets will be handled through APS headquarters which should reduce some of the problems encountered in the past. He indicated that Council had endorsed the "Doctor of Plant Health" degree and that he would present more on this subject via an editorial in the July issue of Plant Disease. He invited everyone to attend the Reno meeting which has an excellent program planned. President Lockwood concluded by saying the health of the Society is excellent! Finances are sound, membership is growing slowly but steadily, committees are active, attendance at annual meetings is increasing and Divisions are strong in fulfilling the needs of the Society.
Old Business
None was transacted.
New Business
A. Grybauskas extended the invitation for the Division to hold the 1986 meeting at the University of Maryland on April 2-4. R. B. Carroll read a letter from D. F. Crossan inviting the Division to the University of Delaware for the 1987 meeting.
President Stipes adjourned the meeting at 11:56 A.M.
Banquet
During the annual banquet Vice-President R. Goth presented the graduate student awards to K. J. Lewis, VPI and SU for the paper entitled "Soil-borne propagules of Verticicladiella procera: their density, distribution and association with colonized roots of Christmas trees" and to D. P. Roberts, VPI and SU for the paper "Cloning of Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora DNA fragments mediating the production of cellulase, protease and pectolytic enzymes." This was followed by a very entertaining report of the Resolutions Committee chaired by C. Roane. President Stipes acknowledged the hospitality of WVU and commended the Program Committee, and especially D. F. Hindal, for the excellent local arrangements and presented him with a small gift of appreciation. Special recognition and plaques were then presented to H. L. Barnett and V. G. Lilly, Professors Emeriti, WVU in recognition of their outstanding contributions to plant pathology. Also recognized (in absentia) was Dr. C. L. Bryner, Prof. Emeritus of Biology, Waynesburg College, for the large number of students he has directed into outstanding careers in plant pathology. President Stipes then installed the new officers for 1986. They are: R. Goth (USDA, Beltsville) - President, T. Van der Zwet (USDA, Kearneysville) - Vice President, R. B. Carroll (Univ. of DE) Secretary/Treasurer (continuing), and L. D. Moore (VPI & SU), Councilor (continuing). The evening concluded with the novel entertainment of African music presented by Percussion 80 from WVU, directed by Professor Faini.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert B. Carroll
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes of the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Potomac Division,
American Phytopathological Society
April 3, 1986
College Park, MD
The 43rd annual meeting of the Potomac Division of APS was held April 2-4, 1986 at the Adult Education Center, University of Maryland. It was hosted by members of the Botany Department with A. Grybauskas as Chairman of the Program Committee.
The meeting was excellent with a total of 128 persons registered. There were 40 contributed papers including 8 in graduate student competition. The meeting commenced on Wednesday evening with a discussion session on "Technological Advances in Identification of Plant Pathogens," moderated by E. Dutky, Univ. of MD. The subject was introduced by S. Kim, PA Dept. of Agr., who presented an overview of problems encountered by plant disease diagnostic labs. He was followed by S. Miller, Agric. Diagnostics Associates, who discussed "Monoclonal antibody diagnostic test kits." A. Newman, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab then discussed research on "Immunologically specific receptors for identification of biotic agents." The session concluded with M. Roy, Microbial ID, Inc. who presented "GLC analysis of bacterial fatty acids." The session was well attended and resulted in a good exchange of information.
The program also included two Workshop-Demonstrations organized by S. Hurtt, USDA Florist and Nursery Crops Lab. R. Jordan of the same lab presented the first Workshop on, "Monoclonal Antibody Production and Selection." The second Workshop on electrophoresis featured three speakers: J. Anderson, Plant Hormone Lab, on "Two Dimensional Electrophoresis," J. White, Plant Pathology Lab, "Agarose Electrophoresis," and A. Mehta, Plant Hormone Lab, "Electrophoretic Blotting of Nucleic Acids and Proteins." Industry representatives demonstrated equipment and supplies used in monoclonal antibody and electrophoresis work. These Workshops were of great value to researchers.
On Thursday morning, Division President R. Goth started the meeting by introducing R. Miller, Vice-President for Agricultural Affairs/Provost who welcomed the group to the University of Maryland. This presentation was followed by an address from APS President, L. Sequeira. Details of the meeting were reviewed by A. Grybauskas, Program Chairman, and the paper sessions commenced.
The business meeting was called to order by President R. Goth, at 1:32 P.M. on April 3 with 53 in attendance. The minutes of the 1985 meeting were approved with the following correction: The subject of L. R. Krusberg's talk was "corn cyst nematode," not "corn stunt." The latter was incorrectly listed in the program. The Treasurer's report was approved as presented by R. B. Carroll, Secretary/Treasurer. Carroll explained that the Memorial Fund and most of the Savings Fund were transferred to Investor's accounts that yield higher interest - in accordance with a vote taken at the 1985 meeting. The report of the Auditing Committee was approved as presented by Chairman, S. A. Ostazeski. M. E. Gallegly presented a report for the Association of Dept. Heads based on his attendance at the meeting in Reno. He urged members to read the report published in Phytopathology 76:7-19. R. J. Stipes, Chair of the Nominations Committee, presented results of the election as follows: W. L. MacDonald was elected Vice-President and R. J. Stipes, Councilor. Results were very close and over 50% of the membership returned ballots.
Next, M. G. Benedict, Chair of the Necrology Committee, presented a moving tribute to members of our Society who died since our last meeting. These included: Lillian Cash (USDA -Beltsville), Charles Drechsler (USDA - Beltsville), Earl Hildebrand (USDA - Beltsville), T. C. Ryker (E. I. DuPont), Muriel O'Brien (USDA - Beltsville), and Francis A. Wood (Penn State, U. of Minnesota, U. of Florida). It was pointed out that L. Cash and C. Drechsler attended the very first meeting of the Potomac Division in 1943. The membership stood for a moment of silence in tribute to our esteemed departed colleagues.
L. D. Moore distributed copies of a Councilor's report which provided thorough coverage to up-date the Division on affairs of the National Society. He asked for input from members on starting dates of our national meetings and the time of the year they are held. He concluded his report by thanking the membership for the opportunity to serve the Division for 8 years as Sec./Treas., Vice-President, President and Councilor.
President R. Goth introduced national President, L. Sequeira and thanked him for his "total participation" in our meeting. Dr. Sequeira's remarks (along with those made in the welcoming address) included the following: He praised the Potomac Division for the quality of its Abstracts (based on his experience as Editor-in-Chief) and thanked L. D. Moore for his invaluable service as Councilor. Among President Sequeira's remarks he noted that the Society is in excellent health financially and the membership is getting a good product at a reasonable price. No other Society provides as many services and involves the membership in so many ways as APS does. The demand for services has increased which means more expansion at Headquarters. We must grow in a "prudent fashion" as the membership increases. APS is sharing costs for equipment, etc. with other Societies and will probably expand this initiative. The Reno meeting was the largest ever and very popular. Future meetings are all planned for hotels, due to all the complexities and unavailability of adequate facilities at most University campuses. The Orlando meeting will emphasize concern for "International Relations" with many sessions on food production and distribution in Third World Countries, exhibits on agricultural development in the Tropics, etc. Or. Sequeira discussed other ways our Society might "expand its horizons" and become more involved on an international scale.
Some new ideas discussed were the possibility of a new journal in "molecular plant pathology" to fulfill a growing need in this area and of bringing a Scientific Editor into the Society. Some possible problems visualized are a drop in membership in future years due to fewer graduate students and post-doctoral students taking over the previous role of Ph.D. students. These changes will affect finances and programs.
Old Business:
R. B. Carroll indicated that the 1987 meeting will be held at John M. Clayton Hall, Univ. of Delaware on March 25-27. There will be a tour of DuPont's new plant pathology labs and greenhouses at Stine Lab in Newark. The possibility of holding the banquet at the DuPont Country Club is being investigated.
New Business:
W. M. Dowler extended the invitation for the Division to hold the 1988 meeting at Frederick, MD. The invitation was accepted.
President R. Goth adjourned the meeting at 2:22 P.M.
Banquet:
Following a social hour hosted by Industry, the banquet was held in the Adult Education Center. After the invocation by R. J. Stipes, a good meal was enjoyed by all. President Goth introduced guests at the head table and acknowledged the contributions of Committees to the success of the meeting. Special recognition was extended to A. Grybauskas for all his work as Chair of the Program Committee and to the members of his committee. Gratitude was expressed to APS President Sequeira for his participation in our meeting. Vice-President, T. van der Zwet, presented the graduate student awards to R. Bennett, WVU, for the paper entitled "In-vitro production of oxalic acid by one virulent and four hypovirulent strains of Endothia parasitica" and to O. Karasevicz, PSU, for the paper "Succession in biodeterioration fungi in red oaks killed following gypsy moth defoliation in Pennsylvania." The presentation of awards was followed by an entertaining and informative report of the Resolutions Committee chaired by M. Roane. C. Delp was then called on to make a report on his activity in Washington as a "Congressional Science Fellow." President Goth then installed the new officers for 1987. They are: T. van der Zwet (USDA -Kearneysville), President; W. L. MacDonald (WVU), Vice-President; R. B. Carroll (Univ. of DE), Secretary/Treasurer (continuing); and R. J. Stipes (VPI and SU), Councilor. R. Goth turned the gavel over to T. van der Zwet who adjourned the banquet. The program for the evening was music provided by the "Maryland Brass Ensemble" of which L. R. Krusberg is a member.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert B. Carroll
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes of the 44th Annual Meeting of the
Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
March 25-27, 1987
Newark, DE
The 44th annual meeting of the Potomac Division of APS was held March 25-27, 1987 at John M. Clayton Hall, University of Delaware. It was hosted by plant pathologists from the Department of Plant Science, University of DE and E. I. DuPont de Nemours Co. Robert B. Carroll and Madan M. Joshi served as Co-Chairs of the Program Committee.
The meeting was excellent with approximately 150 in attendance. There were 42 contributed papers including 11 in the Graduate Student competition.
The meeting commenced on Wednesday afternoon with a tour of the excellent new greenhouse and laboratory facilities of E. I. DuPont Nemours Co. located at Stine Laboratory in Newark, DE. This was graciously hosted by plant pathologists located at Stine Lab and was enjoyed by over 50 members of the Potomac Division. On Wednesday evening a Social hosted by Industry was followed by a discussion session on "International Agriculture as Related to Plant Pathology." This was moderated by Morris R. Bonde, USDA, Ft. Detrick. The session began with William M. Dowler, USDA, Ft. Detrick discussing "Current Activities of Plant Pathologists Related to International Agriculture" followed by "Opportunities in International Agriculture" as outlined by Benjamin H. Waite, AID-Science and Technology. Frances M. Latterell, USDA-Ft. Detrick presented "A Scientist Perspective on International Agriculture" and Charles J. Delp shared "A Congressional Fellow's Perspective on International Agriculture." The presentations were followed by lively discussion and a good exchange of information.
On Thursday morning, Program Chairman R. Carroll started the meeting by introducing Richard B. Murray, Associate Provost for Graduate Studies at the University of Delaware who welcomed the group to the university and shared his experience and perspectives on the future of graduate education. This was followed by a brief welcoming from Donald F. Crossan, Dean of Agricultural Sciences, University of DE and Anne Vidaver, President of APS. Potomac Division President Tom van der Zwet then extended greetings from the Division and officially opened the 44th Meeting. Details of the meeting were reviewed by Robert B. Carroll, Program Chairman, and the paper sessions commenced.
The business meeting was called to order by President Tom van der Zwet at 1:00 p.m. on March 26th with 65 in attendance. First, Anne Vidaver, APS President, addressed the group and shared some thoughts from the National level. She indicated there is concern in the financial area that expenses are increasing faster than income. Printing and postage costs are of special concern. It may be necessary in the future to make the Membership Directory optional at a cost of $5.00 and increase the charge for position announcements. President Vidaver emphasized that the membership receives a tremendous amount of service for the dues paid. There will be a survey in the next year on how the society is organized, is spending its income, and services provided. It will attempt to determine which services the membership would be most willing to give up. After discussion of some other items, President Vidaver asked the group to keep the new APS Foundation in mind and contribute to it. The Foundation will assist in the International Arena and in graduate student support. Special lectureships, symposia, etc. will also be funded. She concluded by thanking the Potomac Division membership for the opportunity to participate in the meeting and congratulated them for the fine program.
Next, minutes of the 1986 meeting at the University of Maryland were approved as written. Secretary/Treasurer Robert B. Carroll presented and reviewed the 1986 financial statement. Connie Smith, Chair of the Auditing Committee, said her committee had met and reviewed the Division finances and found the books in order. The Treasurer's and Auditor's reports were then unanimously approved as presented.
Robert Goth, Chair of the Nominations Committee indicated his Committee had received 140 ballots for the current election which represented a good expression of interest. Robert Carroll was elected as the new Vice-President and Suzanne Hurtt as new Secretary/Treasurer. The report of the Nominations Committee was approved as presented.
The report of the Necrology Committee was presented by Marguerite Benedict who indicated that the good news was that there were no deaths to report for the past year.
Laurence Moore provided a report for the Department Heads. Among other things he indicated that there is a trend in "down sizing" - Departments are getting smaller and that there needs to be more interaction in the future with small Colleges with regard to seminars, collaborative research projects, recruitment of students, etc. Concerns were expressed about the budget cuts in Extension and how this will affect future programs. There will probably have to be less travel and greater use of mass media, etc.
The Councilor's report was given by R. Jay Stipes. He emphasized that ADS is basically in good financial health and that the membership fees are quite reasonable in terms of service rendered. The Society is trying to get tax-exempt status for National Headquarters. More space is needed at Headquarters. He noted that our Society has become very well known for its book publishing. The new director of APS Press is Richard Smiley and Michael D. Benson is new Editor-in-Chief of Phytopathology. A new journal, Plant Molecular/Microbe Interactions has been initiated to better serve a segment of our Society. Manuscripts are now being accepted and the society would like to publish the first issue by the Cincinnati meeting. The size of Phytopathology News has been decreased to save money. Councilor Stipes indicated that more ideas for feature articles and editorials are needed for Plant Disease and urged the members to contact Wendell Horne. A new film on plant pathology is being developed by Council for use in high schools and colleges. It is aimed at creating interest in our discipline by young people and should help our recruitment efforts. The theme of the 1987 meeting, August 2-6 in Cincinnati, Ohio is "Pure and Applied." Next, Councilor Stipes outlined the national meeting schedule as follows:
· November 13-17,-San Diego, CA
· August 19-24, Richmond, VA
· August 12-16, Grand Rapids, MI
· August 18-22, Philadelphia, PA
· ? Portland/Seattle or Phoenix/Tucson
Following his presentation, there were several questions and discussion regarding costs, journal publications, etc.
Old Business:
None
New Business:
Laurence Moore made the motion that the Potomac Division meeting for 1989 be held jointly with the National Meeting in Richmond, VA and that we maintain our own separate business meeting and graduate paper competition. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Tom van der Zwet made the motion that the Distinguished Service Committee be composed of the three most recent Presidents of the Division and two recipients of the Distinguished Service Award. After discussion the motion was amended by Martha Roane to include the proviso that the Chair of the Committee would be the Immediate Past President of the Division. This was seconded by Paul Steiner and the motion as amended passed unanimously.
William Dowler extended the invitation for the 1988 Potomac meeting to be held in Frederick, MD on March 23-25. It will be hosted by the pathologists at USDA-Ft. Detrick. Tour(s) will be planned. The invitation was accepted by the membership.
President van der Zwet adjourned the meeting at 1:48 p.m.
Banquet:
Following a nice social hour hosted by Industry, the banquet was held in John M. Clayton Hall. After the invocation by R. Jay Stipes, an excellent buffet dinner was enjoyed by all. President van der Zwet introduced guests at the head table followed by recognition of Committee members and acknowledgment of their contributions to the meeting. Special recognition was extended to the companies supporting the Social events and recognition of representatives present. A special presentation and gift were awarded to Debra Dempsey in recognition of all her efforts on the Program Committee for this and the previous meeting held at the University of Delaware. A "Special Service award was presented to Laurence Moore for his outstanding contributions to his Division and in recognition of the fact he is one of only four persons to serve the Society in every office. APS President Anne Vidaver was recognized and again thanked for participating in our meeting. She expressed thanks for the hospitality, shared some thoughts regarding national APS affairs and concluded by indicating The Potomac Division knows how to enjoy its annual meeting." Vice-President William MacDonald presented the graduate student awards (consisting of a plaque and $100) to M. T. McGrath, Penn State, for the paper entitled "Rate and duration of wheat grain growth as affected by stem rust and to J. R. Newhouse, West Virginia University for the paper, 'A transmission electron microscopic study of virulent and hypovirulent strains of Endothia parasitica. Next, Gary Schnappinger, Chair of the Distinguished Service Awards Committee read citations and presented plaques to Lawrence I. Miller, Frances M. Latterell and Charles J. Delp in recognition of all their contributions to the Potomac Division and the science of plant pathology. The presentation of awards was followed by a most entertaining report of the Resolutions Committee Chaired by Stanley Ostazeski. President Tom van der Zwet installed the new officers for 1988. They are William MacDonald (WVU) President, Robert B. Carroll (Univ. of DE), Vice-President; Suzanne Hurtt (USDA-Plant Protection), Secretary/Treasurer; and R. Jay Stipes (VPI), Councilor (continuing). President van der Zwet then turned the gavel over to William MacDonald who invited everyone to the 1988 meeting and adjourned the banquet.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert B. Carroll
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes of the 45th Annual Meeting of the
Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
March 30 - April 1, 1988
Frederick, Maryland
The forty-fifth annual meeting of the Potomac Division of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) was held March 30-April 1, 1988 at the Quality Inn, Frederick, MD. Approximately 135 attendees participated in the meeting which was hosted by the Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit (FD-WSRU), USDA/ARS, under the direction of program cochairmen Drs. William M. Dowler and Morris R. Bonde.
The meeting began Wednesday afternoon with a tour of the FD-WSRU quarantine facility and research laboratories at Fort Detrick, MD. A social in the Lighthouse Gazebo preceded the two evening discussion sessions. A session entitled "Extension-Industry Interaction: Disease Detection" was moderated by Drs. Madan M. Joshi and Robert P. Mulrooney. Presentations on "Machine-aided Detection of Plant Diseases" and "New Developments in Extension and Industry" were given by Drs. Forrest W. Nutter, Jr., University of Georgia, and Robert P. Mulrooney, University of Delaware, respectively. "The Role of Plant Pathology in Working Plant Germplasm Collections" was the topic of the second session, moderated by Dr. William M. Dowler and Mrs. Suzanne S. Hurtt. Guest speaker Dr. Allan K. Stoner, USDA/ARS, introduced the session with an explanation of "Germplasm Collection Networks". Dr. Howard E. Waterworth of the National Program Staff, USDA/ARS, presented his views on "The Role of Plant Pathology in Working Germplasm Collections". Mrs. Pamela A. Waterworth, APHIS, described "Detection of Plant Pathogens in Seed Germplasm Collections-The European Approach". "The Importance of Microbial Germplasm Collections" was addressed by guest speaker Dr. Larry W. Moore, Oregon State University. Dr. Michael Goff, Md. Department of Agriculture, concluded the evening with a summary of the "Interaction of Federal and State Regulatory Agencies In Controlling Movement of Plants and Pathogens".
The meeting was formally opened Thursday morning with a welcome by Ronald Young, Mayor of Frederick, and Dr. William M. Dowler. Brief welcoming statements were made by APS President Albert R. Weinhold and Potomac Division President William L. MacDonald.
After the opening addresses, ten students participated in the graduate student competition for the best contribution/paper. Thirty-three scientific papers were then presented in the sessions that followed.
The business meeting was called to order by President William L. MacDonald on Thursday afternoon with approximately 65 people in attendance. Dr. Thomas H. Barksdale moved that the distributed minutes of the 44th Potomac Division meeting be accepted as written. The motion was seconded and passed. Treasurer Suzanne S. Hurtt reported a net income of $2,464.85 and a balance of $12,912.53 for the year 1987. Of this total, $3,155.10 are contributions in the Memorial Fund. Dr. Deborah R. Fravel reported that the Auditing Committee had found the Treasurer's records to be complete and accurate.
Reports were then made by officers, representatives, and committee chairmen as follows:
Nominations Committee - Tom van der Zwet. Nominations for officers from the membership were few and more active participation was encouraged by Dr. van der Zwet. Of 240 ballots mailed, 108 were returned. Dr. George A. Bean, University of Maryland, was elected Vice-President of the Potomac Division. Dr. Stipes indicated that poor participation in nominations process was also a problem at the national level. He suggested campaigning and active discussion in institutes and departments to encourage the nomination process.
Necrology - Marguerite G. Benedict. All observed a moment of silence in remembrance and respect of our lost colleague and friends including Cy Weaver, retired extension pathologist with the University of Md.; Irving Schneider, former virologist, USDA/ARS Beltsville, Md.; Robert Emge, former pathologist USDA/ARS Fort Detrick, Md.; and Joseph Worley, Sr., father of Joe Worley, Jr., former virologist with USDA/ARS Beltsville, Md. Upon the death our Mr. Worley, Sr., family, friends, and fellow church members contributed about $600 to the Potomac Division Memorial Fund.
Department Heads - Laurence D. Moore. The committee convened at the annual APS meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio. Major topics of discussion and concern were how to accommodate the teaching of molecular biology, renewed interest in biocontrol, and the move to convert 12 month appointments to 9 month appointments in many institutions. Members were appointed to prepare cases for presentation to APS.
Washington Academy of Sciences - Deborah R. Fravel. Continued participation in the organization to widen general awareness was encouraged. Dr. Fravel indicated a desire to pass the position on to a new representative.
Program Committee - William M. Dowler. Committee members and staff at FD-WSRU were acknowledged for their efforts in planning this years program. Special thanks were expressed to Mrs. Margaret Bruckhart for arranging the tour of the historic district, Mrs. Dorothea Dowler for assisting with registration, and Mrs. Pat Freanor for efforts associated with hotel arrangements, mailings, financial records, and registration. Mr. Gary Peterson and Drs. Richard Bennett and Lawrence Datnoff contributed immensely to transportation, audio-system arrangements, and problem-solving in general. They were heartily thanked by the membership.
Councilors' Mid-Year Meeting Report - Jay R. Stipes. Mid-year meeting was held at headquarters in March. APS now has 4224 members. A Biotechnology Regulation Impact Assessment Committee has been newly appointed with Dr. David L. Coplin, Ohio State University, as chairman. APS now has over 40 committees, some with overlapping functions. Some may be merged in the near future. APS press continued to operate in the black and provided significant income to the society. FY 88 income was $236,568 form the sale of 12,554 books representing 52 titles. Expenses were $154,000 for that period. APS has 68 books in print and is negotiating for 41 others. Contracts were finalized for nine books to be published in 1989 or later. The elide service between APS and Cornell University was discontinued. Mr. Richard Smiley is the new APS Press Editor. Editor-in-Chief Michael Benson reported that the acceptance rate in PHYTOPATHOLOGY was 66%. About 62X of the accepted manuscripts were submitted for electronic processing at a cost of $65 per page. Type-written manuscript page charges are now $85. Mr. Wendell Horne will retire as Editor-in-Chief of PLANT DISEASE. This journal had an acceptance rate of 62X and a wait period of 4-7 months between acceptance and publication. Dr. Luis Sequeira is the new editor for MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS (MPMI). Subscribers are at 750 for the new journal. There are no page charges. MPMI is soliciting many more manuscripts.
APS Foundation has received donations of $38,000 from 5: of the membership. Additional members for the board are needed.
Sites for future meetings include San Diego ('88), Richmond ('89), Grand Rapid a ('90), St. Louis ('91), and Portland ('92). The Potomac Division will hold its annual meeting in conjunction with the national meeting in Richmond, Va. in August, 1989.
A sum of $20,000 was obtained from the National Science Foundation and disbursed as 20 grants of $1000 to scientists for travel to the International Congress of Plant Pathology in Kyoto, Japan in August, 1988. No recipients were from the Potomac Division.
President's Comments - Albert R. Weinhold. Pres. Weinhold commented on the intensity and accomplishments of the mid-year council meeting. He reported that the operating budget for APS was $1.7 million in 1988 and projected to be $1.9 million for 1989. Building and land at headquarters are appraised at $1.2 million. APS is leasing additional warehouse space of 5000 sq. ft but more space is needed. APS is considering whether to lease more space or add on to the building at an estimated cost of $500,000-700,000. He also reported that the entomologists (ESA) have withdrawn from the Intersociety Consortium of For Plant Protection leaving the fate of the consortium uncertain. Dr. Charles R. Delp will head the new Office of International Programs and may be contacted by anyone interested in working on the committee.
Old Business - There was no old business.
New Business - Under new business Dr. Dale Hind al invited the Potomac Division to hold its annual meeting in 1990 at Morgantown, West Va.
Discussion of the 1989 meeting followed with a consensus being reached that there would be a Potomac Division business meeting and graduate student competition at the joint meeting in Richmond.
The purpose and use of the Potomac Division Memorial Fund was then discussed at length. Numerous uses for the funds were suggested including use in expanding the graduate student competition awards; sponsoring a lecture series; sponsoring a scholarship; contributing to a foreign library fund; an award to recognize outstanding mentorship and exemplary conduct or role modeling by a member scientist. Dr. Thomas H. Barksdale moved that a ballot, listing the suggested options and permitting the addition of suggestions, be sent to the membership before the next meeting. The motion was seconded and passed.
Dr. Harold E. Moline suggested that a percentage of the division's net income be added annually to the Memorial Fund. After much discussion, Dr. R. Stavely moved that the executive committee be given authority to decide the amount needed in the operating account on a year-to-year basis and to deposit the remainder in the Memorial Fund. The motion was seconded and carried.
Dr. H. Sisler summarized the recent activities of the Library Assistance Committee of the APS Office of International Programs. Through the committee, APS Foundation made grants in 1987 to three university libraries in Bolivia, People's Republic of China, and Uganda to update their plant pathology literature. The committee is utilizing shipping arrangements with the Smithsonian Book Exchange Program and the American Association for the Advancement of Science to send journals to areas such as the sub-Sahara regions of Africa and to Mexico. Journals include 18 subscriptions to PHYTOPATHOLOGY and PLANT DISEASE donated by APS and those from private collections. Dr. Sisler then moved that the Potomac Division make a $300 award this year to the Library Assistance Committee for the purpose of sending journals and books to libraries of institutes involved in research and education in plant pathology in Third World countries. Furthermore, he moved that the program be considered for donations in future years, subject to annual review by the division membership. The motion was seconded and passed. Dr. Sisler challenged other divisions to match our efforts in making contributions.
The treasurer then asked for authorization to pay the annual membership dues for the Potomac Division's representative to the Washington Academy of Science. Apparently, our representatives have been paying the dues out-of-pocket in the past. Dr. Patrick P. Phipps made a motion to this effect. It was seconded and carried.
It was noted that 1993 would mark the Potomac Division's 50th anniversary. Under the normal sequence of site-rotation, the meeting will be at USDA in Beltsville, Md. Suggestion was made that we begin to think of appropriate celebration.
The meeting was then adjourned by President MacDonald.
The annual banquet was held Thursday evening at the Cozy Inn in Thurmont, Md. Following a sumptuous buffet dinner at the quaint inn, Pres. MacDonald presented the graduate student awards to Ms. Anne E. Bird, University of Maryland (advisor M. K. Corbett), for her paper "Bambarra groundnut mosaic caused by a seed-transmitted potyvirus" and to Ms. Juliet M. Marshall, University of Delaware (advisor R. B. Carroll), for her paper "Effect of planting date and genotype on Southern corn borer and stalk rot of corn in Delaware". Each received a plaque and $100. Chairman Tom van der Zwet then presented the Division's Distinguished Service Award to Drs. Raymon E. Webb (in absentia), Theodore O. Diener, and William J. Zaumeyer in recognition of their service to the Potomac Division and their scientific contributions to plant pathology. The evening was concluded on a light note with reading of the report from the Resolutions Committee by Chairman William Bruckart and the singing of "Happy Birthday" to President MacDonald. President MacDonald then turned over the gavel to the new president, Dr. Robert B. Carroll, University of Delaware.
The meeting ended at noon Friday after a morning of oral presentations.
Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne S. Hurtt
Secretary/Treasurer
MINUTES OF THE 46TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE POTOMAC DIVISION
AMERICAN PHYTOPATHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
August 20 - 24, 1989
Richmond, Virginia
The forty-sixth annual meeting of the Potomac Division of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) was held in conjunction with the annual National APS meeting from August 20 - 24, 1989 at the Convention Center and Marriott Hotel in Richmond, Virginia.
Potomac Division activities were limited to the competition for the best graduate student paper and the annual business meeting.
Call-to-Order. The business meeting was called to order Wednesday August 23, 1989 at 1:15 p.m. in the Shockoe Room of the Richmond Convention Center by President Robert B. Carroll with approximately 30 people in attendance.
Pres. Carroll acknowledged members of the Local Arrangements Committee, thanking them and Chairman Laurence Moore for their excellent work in preparing for the meeting. He then introduced APS President Don Mathre who commented briefly on the state of the society and results of the recent membership survey by Dr. Jackie Fletcher. Dr. Mathre indicated that the society is recovering from the decrease in membership in the early 1980's. Graduate student memberships declined also from about 800 to 500 during this period, but they too are now increasing. The responses of 700-800 members to a recent survey showed that most members are happy with APS performance and activities. However, younger members and graduate students want more input in Council and in society activities in general. President Mathre also recognized the need for more representation of women in APS activities. He then entertained questions from the Potomac Division membership.
During the question/answer period, Dr. Laurence Moore commented on the poor attendance at Divisional meetings that was noted in the survey. While most APS members also enroll in a Division, they do not participate in the Division meetings. He questioned whether Council had considered reorganization of the Divisions into fewer, larger units. President Mathre noted that travel costs are a serious problem where travel to a Division meeting may be almost as expensive as travel to a national meeting. Council has not considered redefining divisional boundaries or activities.
Councilor's Report Councilor R. J. Stipes prefaced his report with praise for the efficiency and dedication of the staff at APS headquarters. In his opinion their performance in meeting the printing and service functions required by APS could not be duplicated in any alternative arrangement. Dr. Stipes reported that, in response to a survey of Potomac Division members, he had received 39 votes in favor of and 10 against an APS name change. A brief discussion of the pros and cons of a name change ensued; the issue was to be considered in Council the next day. Councilor Stipes reviewed the sites for future APS meetings, noting that the next meeting would be a joint meeting with the Canadian Phytopathological Society in Grand Rapids, Michigan, August 5-9, 1990. Subsequent meeting sites, in chronological order, are St. Louis, Portland, Nashville, and Acapulco (Mexico). Mr. Steve Nelson, representing APS headquarters, added that all future meetings will be held in hotel facilities because attendance at our meetings is too great for most universities to accommodate. Furthermore, university fees are more-or-less comparable to those charged by hotels. Attendance at the San Diego meeting in 1988 set a record high of over 1900; attendance in Richmond was estimated at 1760. At the end of the report, Pres. Carroll thanked Councilor Stipes for his three years of conscientious service to the Potomac Division as Councilor.
Secretary/Treasurer's Report. Since the 1988 minutes had been mailed to all members and handed out at the entrance to this meeting, the Pres. Carroll dispensed with the reading and called for corrections to the minutes. No corrections were noted and the minutes were accepted as submitted. Secretary/Treasurer Suzanne S. Hurtt then reported that the Division experienced a net income of $1777 in 1988. The Division ended the year with monetary reserves of $11,274 in the operating fund and $3415 in the Memorial Fund. Chairman of the Auditing Committee, Ethel Dutky, reported that the financial records for 1988 were accurate and in order. The Treasurer's report was then approved as presented.
Library Assistance Report. Dr. Hugh Sisler reported that the $300 donated last year by the Potomac Division to the Library Assistance Committee had been used to purchase a book and 18 compendia that where sent to three agricultural institutions in the Philippines. Other donations received by the Library Assistance Committee of the APS Office of International Programs included $6000 from FAO, $250 from the graduate students of Iowa State University, and $500 from APS member Richard Dorset. The Smithsonian Office of Publication Exchange assisted with shipping the books purchased with these funds. Dr. Sisler indicated that books had been shipped to 55 institutions in 34 countries. Sub-Saharan regions in Africa, especially Kenya and Uganda, have been major benefactors. Currently 35 subscriptions of Plant Disease and Phytopathology are sent to this region through the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Other countries receiving books were several Latin American countries, China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, The Philippines, and Poland. Dr. Sisler invited individuals to donate no longer needed or extra journals to the program and pointed out that these donations might qualify for charitable tax deductions. He indicated that there is a shortage of money to buy new books. FAO donations cover the shipping costs. (Details of the report may be obtained from Dr. Sisler or the Secretary/Treasurer, Potomac Division.) Dr. Sisler announced his retirement as chairman of the committee and thanked all for their contributions and support.
Nomination Committee. Since Dr. William MacDonald (past president and chairman of the Nomination Committee) was nominated as a candidate for the office of Councilor, Pres. Carroll asked Dr. Tom Evans to receive and coordinate the counting of the votes for this year's election. Dr. Evans was asked to announce results of the tally which were certified by Dr. Arvydas Grybauskas. One-third of the members returned ballots. Dr. Erik L. Stromberg of VPI&SU and Dr. William MacDonald of West Virginia University were elected to the positions of Vice-President and Councilor, respectively.
Association of Department Heads. Dr. Laurence Moore congratulated Potomac Division member Dr. Sue A. Tolin on her election to the position of Councilor-at-Large. He then summarized a broad range of topics discussed at the meeting of the Department Heads. Guest speaker Pat Jordan, Administrator of CSRS, had described CARAFE as a new research initiative and Judith Wise from NSF had discussed the undergraduate directorate for NSF funding in undergraduate courses. Mr. Dan Gigax led a discussion session on preparing students for jobs in industry and incorporating applied aspects of plant pathology into molecular biology programs. Other topics of consideration included the evaluation of extension work by faculty members and salaries for plant pathologists. A survey by Dr. Joe Dickerson indicates that plant pathologists currently receive salaries that are lower than the college average. They receive even lower average pay then colleagues in closely related disciplines, such as horticulture and agronomy. Plant pathology is not in a competitive situation for funding of assistantships. The Department Heads Committee will be looking further at the salary issue.
Necrology Committee. Mrs. Marguerite G. Benedict advised members of the deaths of our colleagues and friends Drs. Gerald Scoog (Nov. 20, 1987), Raymond Webb (July 20, 1989), and Robert Henderson (Aug. 19, 1989). A moment of silence was observed by all in honor and remembrance of these and all deceased members.
Graduate Student Competition Award. Dr. George Bean acknowledged the assistance of the 11 committee members who evaluated the graduate student presentations. He presented certificates of award and checks for $100 each to Jack C. Doney, Jr. (WVU) for his paper co-authored by J. B. Kotcon and entitled "A Quantitative Assay of Nematode Biocontrol Agent Activity and Its Use in a Clandosan Amended Soil" and to F. Davis Smith (VPI&SU) for his paper, co-authored by P. M. Phipps and R. J. Stipes, and entitled "Effects of Fungicide RH3486 on Sclerotinia Blight of Peanut in Field and Microplot Tests".
Old Business. Pres. Carroll summarized the results of the February mail survey asking division members to rate eight potential uses of the money in the Memorial Fund ($3524) or to suggest additional uses. A weighted rating system was used to evaluate the twenty-nine responses. The choices that received the most points were: 1. Sponsor an annual lecture series at the Potomac Division yearly meetings in honor of deceased colleagues; 2. Establish an award to recognize mentorship or exemplary conduct/role modeling by a Potomac Division member; and 3. Award travel grants for graduate students to attend national/international meetings. During the ensuing discussion, Dr. Harold Moline moved that we contribute $350 from the Memorial Fund to the Library Assistance Committee. The motion was seconded and passed. Dr. P. M. Phipps pointed out that our quorum was questionable and moved that a final decision on other uses of the fund be postponed until the business meeting in March, 1990. The motion was seconded and passed. Pres. Carroll concluded the discussion by agreeing to send a second ballot (with the above three options for use of the Memorial Fund money) to members along with the registration materials for the next Division meeting. A final decision will be made at the 1990 business meeting, based on the results of this ballot.
Dr. Rennie Stavely moved that interest accumulated by the Memorial Fund and general savings funds be reported separately in the Treasurer's annual report. The motion was seconded and passed. Dr. Carroll commented that the use of long-term Certificates of Deposit had complicated interest tracking in the past. Since all funds are currently in regular savings or checking accounts, accounting for interest on individual accounts will be less complicated.
New Business. Dr. George Bean extended an invitation to the Potomac Division to hold its 1991 meeting at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. The invitation was accepted. The next meeting of the Potomac Division will be hosted by West Virginia University in Morgantown from March 21-23 ? 1990.
There being no additional new business, Pres. Carroll passed the gavel to Dr. George Bean who will serve as President of the Division until March, 1990. The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne S. Hurtt
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes of the 47th Annual Potomac Division Meeting
March 21-23. 1990
Morgantown, West Virginia
Approximately 85 participants registered for the 47th Annual Potomac Division APS meeting that was held at the Lakeview Resort, Morgantown, WV, from March 21 - 23. 1990. The Division of Plant and Soil Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Forestry, West Virginia University was host for the meeting. Local arrangements were planned and implemented by the Program Committee and Chairman Joseph Morton.
The program began Wednesday evening with two lively discussion sessions. Dr. James Adams (Noram) was moderator for a discussion addressing "Life After EBDC (ethylene bis-dithiocarbamate) Fungicides). Guest panelists included Dr. Rick Tinsworth (Environmental Protection Agency), Dr. Kenneth Hickey (Pennsylvania State University), Dr. Ron Hamlen (E. DuPont de Nemours & Co.). and Dr. Hugh Sisler (University of Maryland, emeritus). A concurrent session on "Constraints Associated with Progress of Biotechnology In Plant Pathology" was moderated by Dr. George Lacy (VPI&SU). Drs. Steve Muench (Monsanto), Jane Rissler (National Wildlife Federation), John Payne (USDA-APHIS), and Sue Tolin (VPI & SU) were guest speakers.
Dr. Barton Baker, chairman of the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, WVU, extended a welcome to the Division on Thursday morning, March 22. Sessions for oral research presentations were convened on Thursday and Friday. Twenty-eight papers were presented, including ten papers by graduate students took part in the graduate student research award competition.
The annual business meeting was called to order and conducted by Vice President Erik Stromberg on Thursday afternoon, March 22. 1990. Approximately 50 participants were present. Immediately following the call-to-order. Dr. Stromberg invited APS President Paul Williams to address the members. Dr. Williams commented on the state of the Society and issues he hopes to raise or emphasize during his term. These issues include a diversity of topics such as registry for plant pathologist (an issue first considered 10 years ago), developing a code of professional ethics, dealing more effectively with issues of plant science that appear in the mass media, and fostering public education in advances in science technology. He emphasized a need for the Society to address critical issues, especially those that appear in the mass media.
Dr. Williams called for greater input by Society members and encouraged all to work to create a sense of excitement in Laurence Moore has brought to the Phytopathology Newsletter. Dr. Williams asked members to consider writing feature articles in Plant Disease that deal with education, extension, and other topics that are not historical mainstream issues.
Members were encouraged to support the APS Foundation arive. APS has reduced the building mortgage from $400.000 to $220.000. The Foundation contributed $50,000 to the building fund, but now needs revenue to continue its mainstream thrusts: need for membership support was emphasized.
Following his address, Pres. Williams entertained questions from the membership. Dr. Joseph Morton raised the issue of the $30 charge for abstract publication. He noted that this is equivalent to a page charge of $240-270 per page. Dr. Williams advised that the cost reflected the overhead at headquarters (about $2.5 million budget a year) that includes a staff of 22/23 people and building costs. Council has assessed that $30 is a cost that each scientist can bear, but Dr. Williams suggested that Council should be advised if this is not so.
Dr. William MacDonald raised the topic of an APS position on fungicide use. Dr. Williams reported that Council wants us to be in a better position to respond as a Society to public issues and mandates. The Society would like to be able to issue statements, on behalf of the public, that can be used as a informed and educated opinion by lawmakers and others. The fungicide topic has been brought before Council and it is appointing a group to work on a position statement. Dr. Williams felt our discussion on the loss of EBDC fungicides was very timely and some of the remarks might be used by Dr. Moore in an editorial in Phytopathology News.
Dr. Stromberg asked if the divisional meeting abstracts dealing with topics in molecular biology could be published in Molecular Plant - Microbial Interactions (MPMI) rather than Phytopathology. He felt that this might promote greater participation in the Society of molecular biologist. Dr. Williams will take the question to the editor of MPMI.
Dr. Harold Moline inquired whether APS is keeping up-to-date the informational brochures that are used as career day materials. He felt that the available materials were old. Dr. Williams noted that the point was well taken. He has appointed an ad hoc committee on public education and invited interested members to join him in this long-term project.
Dr. Williams announced that he has created an ad hoc Student Committee to encourage greater involvement of graduate students in the Society. The committee will be composed of three student representatives from each division. He congratulated Jodi Carlson (VPI&SU), Scott Enebak (WVU). and Sandra Walker (VPI&SU) on their appointments to the committee as representatives for the Potomac Division.
Dr. Stromberg continued the business meeting after acknowledging the fine efforts of the Program Committee under the leadership of Dr. Joe Morton.
Secretary/Treasurer's Report. Since the minutes of the last meeting had been widely distributed, a motion to dispense with the reading was passed. There was no response to a call for corrections to the minutes, therefore they were accepted as submitted. Dr. Rennie Stavely, Chairman for the Audit Committee, reported that he and Dr. Ken Corbett had audited the financial records on March 6, 1990 and found them to be in order. The Treasurer's report was approved as submitted. A motion was passed that a new ledger be purchased by the treasurer.
Nominations Committee Report. Chairman Robert Carroll reported that only 8 nominations were received for officers this year. He felt this may be partly caused by the practice of sending out nomination forms in October that are not due for several months. He suggested that they be due to the committee within a few weeks of the mailout. On the positive side, however. he reported that 120 (of 248 possible) votes were cast during the election. He announced the new officers for 1990/91 were Vice-President Suzanne Hurtt (USDA, Beltsville, MD) and Secretary/Treasurer Arv Grybauskas (U of MD, College Park, Maryland).
Necrology Committee Report. Mrs. Marguerite Benedict reported the deaths of Dr. Robert Henderson (VPI&SU) on August 19? 1989; Dr. Paul R. Miller (USDA, Beltsville, MD) on January 14,1990: and Dr. Luben Spasoff (VPI&SU) on January 19, 1990. A moment of silence was observed in memory of these colleagues.
Washington Academy of Science Report. Dr. Deborah Fravel reported that the Academy is composed of representatives from 67 different societies. The activities consist primarily of monthly seminars. However, this past year a new president of the Academy had entered into some questionable financial activities. He awarded himself a contract to handle mailings and charged each member $3 to do so. He also opened an unauthorized bank account and charged unitemized expenses to the Academy. Many members of the Academy felt this conduct was inappropriate. Dr. Fravel brought these concerns to the attention of the Potomac Division so that we might decide what, if any, action should be taken on her part. After some discussion. Dr. Harold Moline moved that the Executive Committee of the Potomac Division and Dr. Fravel write a letter of concern to the Washington Academy of Science. The wording should be strong and suggest that we would remove the Potomac Division from affiliation if the questionable practices were not ended. The motion was seconded and passed. It was suggested that the letter be copied to the other affiliated groups in the Washington Academy.
Dr. Fravel indicated that she had enjoyed serving as our representative to the Academy but after serving for three years would like to resign. Since no volunteers were immediately forthcoming. the President will nominate a new representative in the near future.
Councilor's Report. Dr. William MacDonald briefly summarized items discussed at the mid-year council meeting. He reported that membership is up to 4322. Committees have been appointed for the year and Senior Councilor-at-large, Dr. Randall C. Rowe, implemented procedures to improve the nominations process for committees and to include more industry representation. Several committees such as the Archives, the Emeritus, the Youth Programs, and the Standardization of Common Names are having difficulty finding participants.
The publication activities of the Society are doing very well. A new series that will feature comprehensive approaches to management of crops is underway. It is geared to use by the farmer and extension agent. Plant Disease is in continuous need of feature articles: members can volunteer articles and need not wait to be invited to write an article.
The sites for future APS meetings are 1991 St. Louis, '92 Portland. and '93 Nashville. Staff is having trouble with the costs and local arrangements for the '94 meeting scheduled for Acapulco. That meeting may be moved to New Mexico.
APS is also having difficulty with the increasing cost and number of Socials at the meetings. Members are encouraged to look for alternatives. In this vein, Dr. Laurence Moore suggested that we consider a Potomac Division Social at the next meeting instead of university organized socials.
Old Business. Utilization of money in the Memorial Fund was the primary topic of discussion under old business. Dr. Morton reported that he received 72 registration forms and 31 (43%) contained ballots regarding use of the Fund. Half of these favored using the money to sponsor travel grants to national/international meetings for graduate students. In accordance with a motion passed at the 1989 meeting, the results of this ballot determine the use of that money. Dr. Robert Carroll advised that major contributors to the establishment of the fund, primarily the family and friends of Dr. Joe Worley, be advised of the creation of this program.
Mechanisms for awarding the money were discussed. Dr. Harold Moline moved that a standing committee be created to receive student proposals and handle the granting process. The motion was seconded and passed. It was further decided that the committee would be made up of 5 members. representing the Universities in the Division, Industry, and USDA. The Potomac Division President will serve as chairman of the committee. The Executive Committee will consider details of the committee organization and function.
New Business. Dr. Tom Van der Zwet noted that the 1993 meeting at USDA Beltsville would mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Potomac Division. He recommended that efforts get underway to make it a special event.
Dr. MacDonald raised the topic of participation in the nomination of candidates for APS offices. It was noted that since we have some very qualified members, a concerted effort should be made in the fall to boost Division participation in the nominating process.
Dr. William Dowler, Potomac Division representative to the APS Foundation, asked members to remember the Building Fund and Foundation in the coming year. About 10% of the national membership has contributed.
There being no additional new business, a motion was made and passed for adjournment.
The annual banquet was a lavish buffet of fine food in keeping with the tradition of the Lakeside Resort. Awards were presented after the dinner. Vice-President Stromberg presented a plaque and a check for $100 to Ramon M. Cu (VPI&SU), winner of the graduate student research award competition. His paper was entitled 'A pathogen growth response model for fungicide application to control Cercospora leafspot of peanut". Coauthors of the paper were Drs. P. M. Phipps and R. J. Stipes.
Dr. Robert Carroll, chairman of the Distinguished Service Committee, read citations and presented awards for outstanding service to Dr. Curt Roane (in absentia) (VPI&SU) and Dr. Mannon Gallegly (WVU).
The participants then whole-heartedly supported the resolutions composed by Mannon Gallegly. Ethel Dutky, and Rennie Stavely and read by Dr. Gallegly. After the fork (someone forgot the gavel) was passed to President Erik Stromberg by Dr. Robert Carroll on behalf of Dr. George Bean, everyone relaxed to the music of the Appalachian Tradition.
The 48th annual meeting of the Potomac Division will be hosted by the University of Maryland in March of 1991. Officers of the Potomac Division for the ensuing year are President Erik Stromberg (VPI&SU). Vice-President Suzanne Hurtt (USDA/ARS, Beltsville. MD), Secretary-Treasurer Arv Grybauskas (University of Maryland). and Councilor William MacDonald (WVU).
The Division gratefully acknowledges contributions from Ciba-Geigy, Crop Genetics, E. DuPont de Nemours, Fermenta, Hoechst-Roussel, Mobay, Monsanto, Nor-Am, Pennwalt Corp., and Rhone-Poulenc to aid in conducting this meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne S. Hurtt
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes of the 48th Annual Potomac Division Meeting
March 20-22, 1991
College Park, Maryland
The 48th Annual meeting of the Potomac Division of the American Phytopathological Society was hosted by the Department of Botany, University of Maryland and was held at the University of Maryland Center for Adult Education in College Park, MD on March 20-22, 1991. The meeting was attended by 121 registered participants. Local arrangements were planned and implemented by the Program Committee and local arrangements Chairperson, Ms. Ethel Dutky.
The program began Wednesday evening with a social followed by two discussion sessions. Dr. James Sherald (National Park Service) was moderator for the session "Dogwood Anthracnose - Another Chestnut Blight?". Guest panelists for the dogwood anthracnose session included: Ms. Margery Daughtrey (Cornell University, Long Island Horticultural Research Lab, Riverhead, NY), Mr. William A. Jackson (USDA-Forest Service, Morgantown, WV), Dr. Scott Redlin (USDA-ARS, Systematic Botany and Mycology Lab, Beltsville, MD), Dr. Charles Walkinshaw (USDA-Forest Service, Asheville, NC), Dr. Mark Windham (Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN), and Dr. Kerry Britton (USDA-Forest Service, Athens, GA). A concurrent session on "Natural Poisons in Our Food and Feed Stuffs... An Evening of Mycotoxicology" was moderated by Dr. George Bean (Botany Department, University of Maryland). Guest panelists for the mycotoxicology session were: Dr. Mary K. Matossian (History Department, University of Maryland), Dr. Scott Angle (Agronomy Department, University of Maryland), and Dr. Bruce Jarvis (Chemistry Department, University of Maryland).
Dr. Raymond J. Miller, Vice Chancellor for Agriculture and Natural Resources of the University of Maryland System, extended a welcome to the Division on Thursday Morning with a thought provoking address on the status of Agriculture in Maryland. Welcoming statements also were made by APS President, Dr. George Agrios, Division President, Dr. Erik Stromberg, and local arrangements chair, Ms. Ethel Dutky. Oral paper presentations followed and continued through Friday morning. Twenty-nine oral presentations were given, including nine papers by graduate students as part of the graduate student paper competition. A total of eight poster presentations including two computer demonstrations also were made.
The annual business meeting was called to order and conducted by President Erik Stromberg on Thursday afternoon, March 21, 1991. There were approximately 29 members in attendance. Dr. Stromberg opened the business meeting by extending compliments to the local arrangements committee and to all the students in the paper competition. He then invited APS President, Dr. George N. Agrios, to address the members. Dr. Agrios commented on the status of and current issues facing the Society. His address included comments on the problems of public relations and recognition for the society that resulted in the development of a national plant pathology board to act as a liaison with the federal government. APS is currently investigating the Agronomy society umbrella registry as a means for developing a national registry and certification of plant pathologists. Dr. Agrios also believes that the APS journals are missing a large potential audience because of their research orientation. A potential remedy would be a new section of Plant Disease addressing the needs of Extension and industry professionals. He also presented his view of the developments in agriculture that are creating the need for a new type of professional, the "Doctor of Plant Medicine", similar to the DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine). Dr. Agrios announced the development of a new curricula at the University of Florida in an attempt to address this need. Following his address, Dr. Agrios entertained questions from the membership.
The business meeting continued with introductions and acknowledgements of the members of the local arrangements committee by Chairperson, Ms. Ethel Dutky.
Secretary/Treasurer's Report: The minutes of the 47th meeting had been distributed in the first mailing announcing the 48th annual meeting and therefore were not read at this meeting. There was no response to the call for corrections to the minutes, therefore a motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes as submitted. The motion passed. The financial statement of the division was distributed to attending members and highlights were summarized. Dr. Steven Hutcheson, Chairperson of the Audit Committee, reported that he and Dr. Robert Lumsden had audited the financial records on April 18 and 19 and found them to be in order. A motion was made and seconded to approve the treasurer's report as submitted. The motion passed.
Nominations Committee Report: Chairperson Dr. George Bean reported that candidates for the office of Vice-President were Dr. Kenneth L. Deahl (USDA-ARS, Beltsville) and Dr. Thomas A. Evans (University of Delaware). The winner of the election was Dr. Kenneth L. Deahl.
Necrology Committee Report: Chairperson Mrs. Marguerite Benedict indicated that there were no reports of members to have passed away since the last meeting. However in discussing past presidents of the division with Dr. Van der Zwet, Mrs. Benedict discovered that the death of Dr. Walter Jeffers, fifth president of the Potomac Division and Professor at the University of Maryland, had never been acknowledged by the Division. A moment of silence was observed in memory of Dr. Jeffers.
Washington Academy of Sciences Report: Dr. Ken Deahl is the current Division representative to the Academy, (WAS) which is composed of representatives from 52 affiliated societies and also many individual members. Dr. Deahl reported that the Academy promotes science education in the area High Schools by assisting with science fairs, organizing education and awards programs for teachers, and providing speakers and counselors. WAS has monthly meetings fostering exchange of information across disciplinary lines by involving other interested organizations and by having presentations of scholarly treatments of topics of current interest and importance. Highlights of this year's meetings were: a presentation on the effects of the Kuwait oil fires that have occurred as a result of the recent conflict in the gulf; discussions with the Presidential Science Advisor; and a bloodless coup within the Academy removing from office the past president who had instituted some questionable practices. As a result of the changes that had occurred in the Academy governance, Dr. Deahl recommended that the Potomac Division remain an affiliated member. The Academy also sponsors a Career Day at which Dr. Deahl would like to distribute material obtained from the parent Society thereby exposing more area high school and college students to plant pathology.
Councilor's Report: Dr. William MacDonald reported on items discussed at the mid-year council meeting held at APS headquarters in St. Paul, and on the retirement of Ray Tarleton the Executive Vice-President of APS for the last 23 years. Meetings: Sites for future APS meetings are: 1992 in Portland, OR with the Mycological Society; 1993 in Nashville, TN with the Society of Nematologists in the fall due to the summer scheduling of the International Congress of Plant Pathology that year; 1994 in Albuquerque, NM; 1995 in Pittsburgh, PA; the 1996 meeting is tentatively planned for Indianapolis, IN; and the 1997 meeting will be coordinated with Canadian Society. No advance program will be published for this year's meeting and there will be an increase in registration fees to cover for overhead (cost of APS staff time) that previously was not paid for directly. This year's annual meeting will have a lot of concurrent sessions due to the limited number of meeting rooms. Vice-President Rowe suggests an increase in the number of posters given at national meetings, and limiting the number of symposia, colloquia, and discussion sessions. Suggestions or comments can be directed to our councilor. Publications: The Health Management series of publications from APS Press have been inaugurated with Wheat Health Management and will soon be followed by similar publications on corn, potatoes, and peanuts. Journals in June and July are likely to be quite large to reduce a backlog of accepted manuscripts and improve turnaround time of 4-5 months between submission and publication. Subscriptions are down considerably for Phytopathology and to a lesser extent for Plant Disease. The causes are not known but may be due to an increase in MPMI subscriptions, or to a change in billing practices (reduced number of notices). Acceptance rates in Phytopathology and Plant Disease are averaging about 65% and 70%, respectively. MPMI, a joint venture between APS and IS-MPMI, is increasing in popularity. The next editor of MPMI will not be a plant pathologist, which may help to broaden the scope of submitted manuscripts. Foundation: Approximately 10% of membership is participating in the foundation program, however APS would like to see a doubling in participation. Currently donations of approximately $270,000 have been made, but a large part of this total is due to the Niederhauser donation of $100,000. Affiliations: APS council is reexamining the numerous affiliations that the society has with other organizations that results in $10,000 - $15,000 in annual dues payments.
Old Business: Tom Evans, local arrangements chairman for the 49th Annual Meeting, announced that the 1992 meeting will be held at the John M. Clayton Conference Center at the University of Delaware on March 18-20, 1992.
New Business: 50th Anniversary Celebration. Dr. Tom Van der Zwet, Chairperson of the ad hoc committee for planning the 50th Anniversary Celebration, had recently solicited for committee membership from Potomac Division institutions and industry. Current members are R. J. Stipes, Bob Carroll, Hugh Sisler, Rennie Stavely, Frances Latterell, Gordon Brandes, Charles Delp, and Mannon Gallegly. The committee developed some ideas for activities for the celebration including: inviting past presidents and having some special acknowledgement of them (ranging from special ribbons to a banquet); developing a small publication on the history of the division; inviting special guests; selecting a special meeting site; and considering meeting dates other than in March-April. A motion was made and seconded to charge the ad hoc committee with the task of further developing information regarding site selection options and to poll membership on preference by mail. It also was suggested that they consider Beltsville, for its historical significance to the division, as a potential site. Graduate Student Competition: Dr. Steve Hutcheson stated that award levels in the student paper competition in the Division are relatively low in comparison to other regional societies, e.g. ASPP Washington section. Dr. Harold Moline made a motion to increase the monetary award for the winner(s) of student paper competition beginning with the 49th annual meeting from the current $100 prize(s) to $250 for first place and have a second place award in the amount of $100. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. OIP-Library Assistance Program: Dr. Charles Delp informed the division that the current structure of the APS Office of International Programs -Library Assistance Program provides very limited funds for the purchase of books. There is a large demand for books such as the compendia series that are not commonly donated for redistribution to third world libraries. Dr. Delp made a motion that the Division contribute $300 to the OIP-Library Assistance Program for the purchase of APS publications. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Building Fund: Dr. Bill MacDonald moved that the Division write a letter of appreciation to Dr. Ray Tarleton for his many years of service to APS and that in honor of his service the Division make a donation to the APS building fund. After some discussion and consideration of what other Divisions may be doing, the motion was amended to make the monetary donation in the amount of $1000. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Annual Meeting Structure: After considerable discussion about the problems associated with Division's annual meeting attendance and response to call for papers, a motion was made by Dr. Harold Moline to establish an ad hoc committee to be headed by the new president, Suzanne Hurtt, to examine the structure and content of annual meetings and to make recommendations to the program committee by the fall of 1991. The motion was withdrawn because of the lack of time available for continuation of the business meeting after indication by Ms. Hurtt of a desire to form a committee to look into new formats or activities for Division annual meetings. The business meeting was then adjourned.
A social was held Thursday evening after the afternoon paper sessions that was supported in part by donations from industry. The Division gratefully acknowledges the efforts of Dr. Jules Jaeger of Rohm and Haas in soliciting the donations and the contributions from Ciba-Geigy, Crop Genetics International, DowElanco, DuPont, ICI Americas, ISK Biotech, Mobay, Nor-Am and Rohm & Haas. The annual banquet followed the social and after the dinner the presentation of awards was made. A plaque and a check for $100 were presented to F. Davis Smith (VPI & SU), winner of the graduate student paper competition. His paper was titled "Evaluation of Fungicide ASC-66825 Against Sclerotinia minor and Other Pathogens of Peanut Using Agar Assays and Field Trials" and was coauthored by P. M. Phipps and R. J. Stipes. Dr. Erik Stromberg, Division president, presented the first Memorial Fund Award for assistance in career development to Scott Enebak (West Virginia University). Mr. Enebak received a plaque and a check for $400. Dr. George Bean, chairperson of the Distinguished Service Award Committee, read excerpts about the distinguished career of the award winner and then announced the winner to be Dr. Hugh D. Sisler (University of Maryland). Dr. Sisler was then presented with a plaque acknowledging his contributions to the science of plant pathology. The resolutions composed by the Resolutions Committee were then read by the chairperson, Dr. Tom Van der Zwet, and were heartily supported by the membership. Finally the gavel was passed to the new president, who adjourned the meeting. Officers for the Potomac Division for 1991-92 are President Suzanne Hurtt (USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD), Vice-President Kenneth Deahl (USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD), Secretary-Treasurer Arvydas Grybauskas (University of Maryland), and Councilor William MacDonald (West Virginia University).
Respectfully submitted,
Arvydas Grybauskas
Secretary-Treasurer
Minutes of the 49th Annual Potomac Division Meeting
March 18-20, 1992
Newark, DE
The 49th Annual Meeting of the Potomac Division of The American Phytopathological Society was hosted by the plant pathologists at the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences of the University of Delaware. The program and local arrangements committee that planned and implemented the meeting was chaired by Dr. Tom Evans. One hundred twenty-three people attended the meeting which was held at the University of Delaware's John M. Clayton Conference Center on March 18-20, 1992.
The program began Wednesday evening with a social hour followed by two concurrent panel discussion sessions. Drs. F. H. Tainter and T. A. Evans were moderators for the session " Multimedia - A Cure for Teaching Blight". Guest panelists for this session on multimedia personal computers and their use in teaching were: Dr. Fred T. Hofstetter, Associate Provost and Director of the Instructional Technology Center of the University of Delaware, and Dr. Gail L. Schumann, from the Department of Plant Pathology of the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Hofstetter gave a multimedia presentation on "Making Multimedia Easy" highlighting the "Podium" software that he was instrumental in developing. Dr. Schumann followed with a presentation utilizing Podium and the APS videodisc on "Teaching and Extension Applications of Interactive Videodisc in Plant Pathology". The concurrent discussion session, moderated by Dr. Erik L. Stromberg, was titled "IR-4, How Does It Function?". The guest panelists were: Dr. Richard T. Guest (Rutgers University), Dr. Paul H. Schwartz (USDA-ARS), Dr. J. Ray Frank (USDA-ARS, Ft. Detrick), and Dr. Jay A. Holmdal (Rohm and Haas Co.). Their presentations covered various viewpoints on attempts to secure pesticide registrations for minor use crops.
Welcoming and opening remarks were made on Thursday morning by the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, Dr. John Nye, the Chairman of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Dr. Donald L. Sparks, and the President of the Potomac Division, Suzanne Hurtt. The "Status of Plant Pathology" was then addressed by three keynote speakers: Dr. O. W. Barnett, President of APS; Dr. E. L. Civerolo, USDA-ARS National Program Staff; and Dr. Arthur Kelman, USDA-CSRS. Afterwards there were 44 contributed research presentations, seven of which were entered in the student paper competition, and an additional 13 poster presentations were on display. A new open forum session for informal exchange of information among extension, research, industry and applied plant pathologists was well attended.
The annual business meeting was called to order and conducted by President Suzanne Hurtt on Thursday afternoon, March 19, 1992. There were approximately 40 members in attendance. This year Steve Nelson, Executive Vice-President of APS, was the invited speaker at the business meeting. Mr. Nelson spoke about the organization by answering five questions: "What impression do members have of headquarters ?"; "What is the function of the Executive Vice-President ?"; "What do the members want from APS ?"; "Who decides the direction of APS ?"; and "Where is APS going from here ?". Throughout his address, Mr. Nelson emphasized that very little that is done at headquarters is not directed by some member, and that he and the entire staff at headquarters are there to serve the members. Some of the issues that he felt the society will be facing in the near future include: a stabilization or even reduction in membership; that growth may come through international membership; costs especially related to printing and postage will continue to rise and will greatly affect our society; electronic forms of publishing will need to be implemented; and finally the need to be more aggressive in recruitment of students. Following his address, Mr. Nelson and Dr. O.W. Barnett entertained questions.
Councilor's Report: Dr. William MacDonald summarized items discussed at the mid-year council meeting held at APS headquarters in Eagan, Minnesota, and gave his impressions of working with headquarters staff as Councilor for 2.5 years. Although the society is not a wealthy one, it is in great hands. APS press produces about one-third of the income. Both Plant Disease and Phytopathology continue to do well, and a new policy of $80/page for both journals will be implemented so that both journals have the same cost structure. MPMI will now have a new editor-in-chief, and will no longer be subsidized by the society in the form of no page charges. A $100 submission/publication fee will be instituted and any manuscript that is over 6 printed pages will have a $100/page charge for the extra pages in MPMI. Annual meeting sites for national meetings will be: Portland to be held jointly with the Mycological society (1992), Nashville to be held jointly with the Society of Nematology (1993), Albuquerque (1994), Pittsburgh (1995), Indianapolis (1996), Winnipeg to be held jointly with the Canadian Phytopathological Society (1997), and plans are in progress for the 1998 meeting to be held in conjunction with the Entomological Society.
Secretary/Treasurer's Report: The minutes of the 48th annual meeting had been distributed by mail to the full membership prior to the meeting. There was no response to a call for questions or corrections, therefore a motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes as distributed. The motion passed unanimously. The financial statement was distributed to the attending members and highlights were summarized. The auditing committee, Dr. Nichole O'Neill and Susan Cohen, reported that they had examined the books and records and found them to be in order. A motion was made and seconded to approve the treasurer's report as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
Necrology Committee Report: Chairperson Marguerite Benedict reported the deaths of Dr. John Fulkerson (May 1, 1991), and Dr. Russell Lad Steere (February 28, 1992). After hearing brief biographical sketches a moment of silence was observed in memory of these colleagues.
Nominations Committee Report: Dr. Deborah Fravel reporting for Chairperson Dr. William MacDonald stated that there were some difficulties in getting candidates nominated for office and encouraged participation in this important activity in the future. Candidates for the office of Division Councilor were Dr. Robert Carroll and Dr. Erik Stromberg. Candidates for the office of vice-president were Dr. Thomas Evans and Dr. James Sherald. The winners of the elections were Dr. Carroll for the office of Councilor and Dr. Evans for the office of Vice-President.
Washington Academy of Sciences Report: Dr. Ken Deahl is the current Division representative to the Academy. Dr. Deahl briefly reported on the goals and functions of the Academy for those who were not familiar with them. Highlights of this year's activities included: exchange of information on the effects of global climate changes, the status of current medical programs for the prevention and control of widespread diseases throughout the world, and an upcoming panel discussion via satellite with scientists from the former USSR. This year the Academy was divided into subgroups. APS is represented in the Biological/Botany subgroup that also includes: The American Society for Microbiology, The American Society for Plant Physiology, The Botanical Society of Washington, The Biological Society of Washington, and the Society of American Foresters. Dr. Ken Deahl was elected as the first group leader for this unit of the Academy. Dr. Deahl also reported that the Academy encourages individual membership and offers Fellowship to the Academy. Dr. Deahl would gladly sponsor any senior scientist in the Potomac division of APS wishing to apply. A motion was made and seconded to reelect Ken as the Division's representative to the Academy. The motion passed.
Foundation Endowment Fund Report: Dr. Howard Waterworth succeeded Dr. Bill Dowler as the Division representative to the APS Foundation. Dr. Waterworth highlighted the current use of the APS Foundation Endowment Fund, and referred the membership to the Phytopathology News issues of February 1991, July 1991 and December 1991 for more detail. Dr. Waterworth encouraged the membership to contribute to this Fund.
Old Business: 50th Anniversary Celebration - Site. Dr. Ken Deahl acknowledged the assistance of Drs. Stan Ostazeski and Tom van der Zwet and reported that the membership, responding to the poll regarding site selection, favored the Harbor Towne Resort and Conference Center in St. Michaels, Maryland. A motion was made and seconded to accept the St. Michael site selection and to have the program committee begin negotiations in order to determine a date for the meeting. The motion passed. 50th Anniversary Celebration - Special Activities. Chairperson Dr. Tom van der Zwet of the ad hoc committee for planning the 50th Anniversary Celebration presented three items for consideration by the membership. 1. Printing of a commemorative publication. This publication would expand upon and bring up to date the history of the division that was written by Dr. Heuberger for the 25th Anniversary (approx cost for 300 copies $370). 2. Invitation of all past presidents and their wives and for the Division to offer them free banquet tickets (estimated cost $1400). 3. Prepare a special poster display with a collection of memorabilia concerning the Potomac Division. A motion was made to accept items 1 and 3. The motion was amended to approve the printing of item 1, change item 2 to offer banquet tickets to emeritus past presidents and their wives, and to accept item 3. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Joint meeting with Northeast Division. Dr. Ken Hickey, Councilor from the Northeast Division of APS, reported that at the business meeting of the Northeast Division the membership there accepted the invitation of the Potomac Division Executive council to meet jointly after our 50th Anniversary Celebration, effectively our 1994 annual meeting, with the date and location to be determined. Because the Potomac Division had not officially voted on the question of a joint meeting, a motion was made and seconded to plan a joint meeting with the Northeast Division. The motion carried. Annual Meeting Program Format. For several years local arrangements chairpersons have had difficulty in obtaining abstracts from the membership in late January so that abstract booklets could be printed in time for an annual meeting in March. A motion was made to change the traditional protocol for soliciting participation at annual meetings by not requiring abstracts until the day of the annual meeting except for papers submitted for the student competition and therefore eliminate the development of the booklet of abstracts of papers presented at the divisional meetings. Some discussion ensued on the potential impact this may have on the quality of papers presented at divisional meetings. A general consensus was reached that quality control still exists for those papers that intend to be published in Phytopathology, because they must still be fully reviewed and the paper must be presented at the meeting in order to be published. This change in solicitation may help to encourage submission of papers on preliminary results and foster more discussion in the spirit of scientific exchange. The motion passed.
Annual Meeting Site. An invitation was extended by the plant pathologists from Virginia Tech to the Potomac Division to hold the next independent Potomac Division annual meeting in Virginia either in 1994 if the joint meeting with the Northeast Division cannot be arranged or in 1995. Membership dues. A brief discussion ensued about the cost of mailings which currently exceed the income raised by dues. It was requested that the executive committee of the Potomac Division review the issue of raising dues. The business meeting was adjourned so that the student paper competition could begin as scheduled.
A social was held Thursday evening before the annual banquet and award ceremony. The social was supported in large part by donations from industry. The Division gratefully acknowledges the efforts of Dr. Jim Adams of Agri-Diagnostics in soliciting the support from Agri-Diagnostics, Ciba-Geigy, DuPont, Hoechst-Roussel, ICI Americas, Miles, Rohm and Haas and Sandoz Crop Protection. The banquet speaker was Dr. O. W. Barnett, presenting his views on "The Status of APS". The award ceremony conducted by Suzanne Hurtt then followed. President Hurtt presented the Memorial Fund Award, which is based on student proposals for assistance in career development, to Ms. Sandra Walker (VPI & SU). The Memorial Fund Award consisted of a plaque and $350. Vice-President Ken Deahl presented the graduate student competition awards. The graduate student paper competition in 1992 resulted in a tie for first place. A plaque and award of $250 each were presented to Sandra Walker and Michele Carter both from VPI. Ms. Walker had presented the paper "Survival of Binucleate Rhizoctonia on Tobacco Under Field Conditions" based on her research conducted under the direction of Drs. C. S. Johnson and E. L. Stromberg. Ms. Carter presented her research "Effect of Foliar Fungicides on Gray Leaf Spot Disease and Yield of Corn", which was conducted under the direction of Dr. E. L. Stromberg. Dr. Erik Stromberg, chairperson of the Distinguished Service Award Committee, read highlights about the distinguished career of the 1992 Potomac Division Distinguished Service Award winner. The awardee, Dr. Stanley A. Ostazeski (USDA-ARS), was presented with a plaque and a warm round of applause acknowledging his contributions to the science of plant pathology and service to the Potomac Division of APS. The Resolutions committee chaired by Dr. Tom Van der Zwet once again provided an amusing note to the meeting. Finally the gavel and a copy of Roberts Rules of Order were passed to the new president, Dr. Kenneth Deahl, who adjourned the meeting.
Officers for the Potomac Division for 1992-93 are President Kenneth Deahl (USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD), Vice-President Thomas Evans (University of Delaware), Secretary-Treasurer Arvydas Grybauskas (University of Maryland), and Councilor Robert Carroll (University of Delaware).
Respectfully submitted,
Arvydas Grybauskas
Secretary/Treasurer
The American Phytopathological Society
Minutes of the 50th Annual Potomac Division Meeting
March 24-26, 1993
St. Michaels, Maryland
The 50th annual meeting of the Potomac Division of The American Phytopathological Society was hosted by the Division member plant pathologists of the United States Department of Agriculture. To celebrate the golden anniversary of the Potomac Division a special meeting location was selected; the Harbourtowne Resort and Conference Center in St. Michaels, Maryland. There were approximately 125 people in attendance.
The annual meeting began on Wednesday, March 24 with an open forum session on Aspects of Applied Plant Pathology. Moderated by Anne Bird Sindermann, participants in this session reported on various new diseases, diagnostic curiosities, and provided status reports of applied projects, new disease control compounds, and an update on the EBDC situation. Following a social and dinner, the Wednesday evening session was devoted to a historical review of plant pathology in the Potomac Division. "Historical Reviews: The Past 50 Years - The Real Story" was moderated by Dr. R. Jay Stipes, who introduced the speakers with quotations from Shakespeare, T. S. Elliott and other authors. Reviewing the development of plant pathology at each member institution, and the accomplishments of its members were: Dr. Donald Crossan (University of Delaware), Dr. Mannon Gallegly (West Virginia University), Dr. Curt Roane (VPI & SU), Dr. George Bean (University of Maryland), Dr. Rennie Stavely (USDA-Beltsville), Dr. Frances Latterell (USDA-Frederick), and Dr. Tom van der Zwet (USDA-Kearneysville).
The meeting was formally opened on Thursday morning. Dr. Kenneth L. Deahl, 50th Potomac Division President, extended greetings from the first elected President of the Potomac Division, Dr. William Zaumeyer, who was unable to attend. Welcoming addresses also were given by Dr. E. Ellis, Vice-President for Academic Affairs at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Dr. Randall C. Rowe, APS President. The student paper competition followed. The remainder of the presentations made on Thursday were organized around the topic of disease resistance, a goal of plant pathology both in the past and in the future. Keynote addresses on disease resistance to viral and bacterial pathogens were presented by Dr. Dennis Gonsalves (Cornell University) and Dr. Steve Beer (Cornell University), respectively. Concurrent symposia on disease resistance to viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens followed the keynote addresses. The viral disease resistance panel was moderated by Dr. John Hammond (USDA-Beltsville). Invited participants speaking in this session were Dr. Ralph Scorza (USDA-Kearneysville), Dr. James Culver (University of Maryland), Dr. Ramon Jordan (USDA-Beltsville) and Dr. John Hammond. The Bacterial disease resistance session was moderated by Dr. C. Jacyn Baker (USDA-Beltsville) and included the following panel members: Dr. Steven Hutcheson (University of Maryland), Dr. Steven Beer (Cornell University), and Dr. Norm Schaad (USDA-Frederick). The fungal disease resistance session was moderated by Drs. Dan Panaccione (West Virginia University) and Dr. Nancy Brooker (USDA-Beltsville). The remainder of the panelists in the fungal session were: Dr. Rennie Stavely (USDA-Beltsville), Dr. Nichole O'Neill (USDA-Beltsville), and Dr. Erik Stromberg (VPI & SU).
The business meeting was called to order at 3:35 on Thursday afternoon by President Deahl. The minutes of the 49th annual meeting were distributed in the first mailing announcing the 50th annual meeting and additional copies were made available at this time. A motion was raised and seconded to dispense with the reading of the minutes, and to accept the report as presented. The motion passed. Financial Status. A condensed Potomac Division financial statement was distributed and highlights of the report were presented by the Secretary/Treasurer, Dr. Arvydas Grybauskas. The Division had a $215.60 surplus during the 1992 calendar year. Michele Carter of the auditing committee then reported that the books were found to be acceptable. A motion was made and seconded to accept the Treasurer's report as presented. The motion passed. Councilor's Report. Dr. Robert Carroll summarized items discussed at the midyear meeting of the APS executive board held at APS headquarters the weekend before the Potomac Division meeting. This year a separate independent meeting for councilors was conducted prior to the full executive board meeting to facilitate getting through a large agenda. Future meeting sites for national meetings will be: Nashville, TN (Nov 6-10, 1993 a joint meeting with Society of Nematology), Albuquerque, NM (Aug 6-10, 1994), Pittsburgh, PA (July 2731, 1995), Indianapolis, IN (July 27-31, 1996), Rochester, NY (1997 dates to be determined with an invitation extended to Canadian Phytopathological Society for a joint meeting) and plans are being developed for a joint meeting with the Entomological Society in 1998. Council actions relative to this year's annual meeting: On-site child care will be negotiated and a subsidy will be provided (up to half cost) for graduate students; APS Foundation Day will highlight and encourage donations to the Foundation Fund; a Disease Bowl contest between Divisions is being planned, volunteers are needed to establish teams of about 8 people. Other issues dealt with by Council were: approval of a sexual harassment policy statement; code of professional conduct statement; statement on world hunger and population; approval of a $4000 contribution to The International Plant Protection Congress bursary fund to subsidize travel of scientists from Lesser Developed Countries to the 1993 Congress in Montreal; elimination of the husband and wife membership option; increase allocation for National Meeting Symposia from $4,000 to $9,000; cooperate with the American Society of Agronomy in the publication of the Journal of Production Agriculture; sponsorship through headquarters of workshops and short courses, ea. Turf Management; society Public Relations and Public Image questionnaire response helped develop ideas for a discussion session on the topic to be held at Nashville; planned publication of an updated career brochure (10,000 copies at $4,250) to help public image; and development of a portable display about APS for public relations purposes to be displayed at other conventions, ea. FFA conventions. Dr. Carroll completed his report with a request that concerns or comments about APS be transmitted to him so that he could feel he is truly representing our Division. APS President's address. Dr. R. Rowe, President of APS, addressed the Potomac Division membership at the business meeting. Dr. Rowe stated that APS is involved in a lot of things, however full appreciation of the breadth of activity is not gained until one participates in APS Council meetings. Nevertheless, there is a feeling that APS, and perhaps most other agriculturally oriented societies, should be involved in even more, particularly in the area of outreach. The theme for the 1993 Annual meeting in Nashville will be Plant Pathology 2000. The goal of the meeting is to examine where the society is going and what it should be doing in the next decade. Dr. Rowe has commissioned the writing of a "futuring" document for our profession in the hopes that it could be used with policy makers at all administrative levels of government, business, and education. Three separate committees are developing research, teaching and extension portions of the document and are chaired by K. Leonard, G. Schumann, and J. Amador, respectively. The plenary session at Nashville also will address this topic. The strategic planning exercise that APS had instituted was reviewed and adopted by council. The next step will be to use this document to develop an implementation plan. One of the things in the plan is to examine the divisional structure of the society. Other items in the strategic plan are issues of financial stability, enhancing services, and strengthening the image of the science and practice of plant pathology. Several years ago the Public Responsibilities Committee of APS was charged with the development of an Ethics statement for the society. It evolved into a Code of Professional Conduct statement and was recently published in Phytopathology News. Most letters received at headquarters since its publication have been negative, and predominantly with regards to individual clauses or lack thereof in the anti-discrimination statement. This statement has now been stricken from the document because it seemed redundant as this is covered by virtually all plant pathology employing institutions. Financially the society is in good shape and was able to pay off the mortgage on the headquarters building. The purpose of the APS Foundation is to facilitate doing things we otherwise cannot accomplish or do not routinely do. A target for the APS Foundation is to develop an endowment of approximately $500,000 that would yield interest income to allow these special projects. An annual giving program will be stressed to raise money for the endowment fund. Dr. Rowe completed his update with a suggestion that the historical information developed by the Potomac Division for its 50th Anniversary should be deposited with the APS Archives held at Iowa State University. The membership then asked Dr. Rowe and the present councilors questions. The following is a brief synopsis of the question and answer session. Mortgage payoff vs. refinancing; it was felt that in the long run it was better to payoff the mortgage and to begin developing an operating reserve instead of refinancing. Number of sessions at National meetings; the program is developed by the President-Elect and representatives from all APS committees. Last year's restriction to one session per committee will be modified this year because of demand by some committees, but all additional sessions proposed by any committee will be at night. Joint meeting with Canadian Society 1997 controversy; the problem with Winnipeg, the site suggested by CPS for a joint meeting, was that National staff felt the location would not properly accommodate our size and style of meetings, and that if held there the quality of the meeting would be compromised. Recycling annual meeting sites; there is no particular advantage to us as cost breaks are given only if same location is used 2 years in a row. Outreach/ Public relations; two APS staff members are actually trained in Public Relations and recognition by members of the need for such activities has helped drive the proposal of a new office of Public Policy and Education (structure to be similar to OIP) to develop this activity and utilize some of the available expertise.
Necrology Committee. Chairperson Marguerite Benedict reported on the deaths of Potomac Division members Edith Cash (April 4, 1992 [at the age of 101.5]) and Ben Waite (March 1992). Brief biographies were presented by M. Benedict and E. Imle. A moment of silence was observed in memory of our deceased colleagues. Program Committee. Chairperson Suzanne Hurtt thanked: USDA-ARS for support via small workshop grant; Dr. John Hammond for suggestion of symposia and panel sessions topic as a unifying theme for past and future plant pathology; Dr. Kenneth Deahl for all his efforts and taking a risk with a new location and format for this special meeting; Dr. Nichole O'Neill for local arrangements; Dr. Arv Grybauskas for all the work that goes on behind the scenes; and, Dr. Tom van der Zwet for being a driving force for two years in the development of this Celebration as well as producing the 50th Anniversary booklet.
Nominations Committee. Chairperson S. Hurtt, reported that the new officers elected for the Potomac Division were Dr. A. Grybauskas, for the office of Vice-President, and Dr. N. O'Neill, for the office of Secretary/Treasurer. Thanks went to committee members Goth, Mulrooney, Tolin, Bonde and Kotcon.
Washington Academy of Sciences. The Washington Academy of Sciences (WAS) representative is Dr. K. Deahl. After a brief report on WAS activities and information about an upcoming meeting of WAS in April, Dr. Deahl requested that the Division consider finding a replacement representative. Dr. Deahl will have served three years as our representative.
APS Foundation Report. Dr. H. Waterworth reported on some of the grants that the APS Foundation has provided, and encouraged application for grants. One issue being explored by the foundation is what it can do to impact the loss of students in biological sciences. Informational pamphlets were made available.
A motion was made and seconded to accept all reports as presented. The motion passed.
Old Business. Joint Meeting with Northeast Division in 1994. Dr. Ken Hickey reported that representatives from the Northeast and Potomac Divisions settled on a joint meeting location that was near the border of the two Divisions and was more reasonably priced than the initial site selection in Hershey, PA. The chosen site is The Embers Inn and Convention Center near Carlisle, PA. Overnight rooms will be under $60 per night and there will be no extra charge for meeting rooms if 75 overnight rooms are guaranteed. The proposed date for the joint meeting is February 9-11, 1994. A request for discussion on program format and meeting activities, ended with a motion and a second to encourage short oral papers with time for discussion and to accept posters. The motion passed.
New Business. Membership Dues. Because of the high cost of mailings and current dues income that generally does not cover mailing costs the members were asked to consider an increase in dues. After a brief discussion a motion was made and seconded to raise dues to $10 for regular membership and $ 5 for student membership. The motion passed with 24 votes in favor and 8 against.
Future forum for recognition of technicians and support scientists. Dr. K. Deahl raised the issue of developing a forum for recognition of technician and support scientists. Due to the time, a motion was made and seconded to establish a committee to examine this issue and develop a report at the next annual business meeting. The motion passed.
Invitation from Virginia to meet in 1995. Dr. L. D. Moore extended an invitation to the Potomac Division to hold its 52 annual meeting in Virginia.
Business meeting was adjourned at 5:40 pm.
A social was held Thursday evening after completion of the business meeting at which Dr. Jay Stipes provided accompaniment on the piano in a rousing sing-a-long. Tunes included the plant pathology classic, "The Nema Song" (sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"). Having the membership suitably warmed up, the annual awards banquet was held. The banquet speaker was Dr. R. C. Rowe, presenting his views as President of the Society on " The status of and future directions for APS". Vice-President Tom Evans, who chairs the graduate student competition evaluation committee, presented the winners of the student paper competition. Mr. Weili Mao (University of Delaware) was awarded second place for his paper on "Determination of Fungi Associated with Red Root Rot of Corn in Delaware". The paper was co-authored by Dr. R. B. Carroll and D. P. Whittington. Mr. John Wright Eberwine, Jr. (VPI & SU) was awarded first place for his paper on "Increased Virus Incidence and Severity in Corn as Affected by Postemergence Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense [L.] Pers.) Control. The first place paper was co-authored by Drs. E. S. Hagood, Jr. and E. L. Stromberg. Immediate Past-President Suzanne Hurtt, chairperson of the distinguished service award committee, took over as master of ceremonies for the presentation of the Distinguished Service Awards. The Distinguished Service Awardees in 1993 were: Edward S. Elliott (Retired -West Virginia University), Marguerite Benedict (Retired - USDA-Beltsville), William L. MacDonald (West Virginia University), and Robert B. Carroll (University of Delaware). The Resolutions committee chaired by Dr. Stan Ostazeski provided the official thanks, kudos, and resolutions in a lighter vein, the Potomac Division tradition, prior to the passing of the gavel to the new President.
The annual meeting program continued on Friday with a contributed poster session, and a concluding symposium on New Technologies. Guest speakers in the new technologies symposium included: Dr. Janet MacFall (Duke University Medical Center) speaking about Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Dr. James Aist (Cornell University) covering Laser Microsurgery on fungi, Dr. Dan Roberts (USDA-Beltsville) discussing the combination of molecular biology with video imaging techniques, and Drs. Laurene Levy and John S. Hartung (USDA-Beltsville) presenting overviews of applying PCR methodology for the detection of viral and bacterial pathogens, respectively.
Officers for the Potomac Division for 1993-94 are President Thomas A. Evans (University of Delaware), Vice-President Arvydas P. Grybauskas (University of Maryland), Secretary/Treasurer Nichole R. O'Neill (USDA-Beltsville), and Councilor Robert B. Carroll (University of Delaware).
Respectfully submitted,
Arvydas Grybauskas
Secretary/Treasurer
The American Phytopathological Society
Minutes of the 51st Annual Potomac Division Meeting
Feb. 9-11, 1994
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
The 51st annual meeting of the Potomac Division of The American Phytopathological Society was held jointly with the Northeastern Division at the Embers Inn and Convention Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There were approximately 170 people in attendance. APS president Cleo D'Arcy, vice-president Sue Tolin and APS treasurer Stanley Pennypacker also participated in the meeting.
The Annual meeting began on Wednesday, February 9 with a session on Aspects of Plant Pathology: Extension Plant Pathologists Update coordinated by Karen Kackley-Dutt and chaired by Erik Stromberg. An Industry update was coordinated by Brian Olson and chaired by Angel Mintz. In addition to Contributed paper sessions Wednesday afternoon, Margery Daughtrey coordinated a Forestry Committee Workshop on Dogwood Anthracnose. Guest speakers included Kerry Britton (U.S. Forest Service), Mark Windham, and Robert Trigiano (both from the University of Tennessee). The meeting was formally opened Thursday morning. Dr Tom Evans delivered opening remarks, and welcoming addresses were also given by Boyd Wolf, Secretary of Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture, and Elwin Stewart, Dept. Chair, Department of Plant Pathology, Pennsylvania State University. The meeting featured a symposium "Improving the Public Image of Plant Pathology," which was followed by the Graduate Student Paper Competitions. The symposium was moderated by Roger Kaiser of ISK-Biotech and included experts from academe, industry, and government. Invited symposium speakers were David McKenzie (USDA, Washington, D.C.) "The science of plant pathology: The view from Washington," William Brubaker (Pennsylvania Lime and Ag. Products Association) "Certified crop advisor: Delivering on a concept," and Mark Trudel (Laval University, Quebec, Canada) "Shaping the image within the local setting." The remainder of the paper sessions were organized around the topics: Mycology and Fungus Diseases, Bacteriology, Molecular Biology, Biological Control, Forest Pathology, Diseases of Turf and Ornamentals, and Diseases of Field and Vegetable Crops. A reception and Poster Sessions were held Wednesday evening, and the Banquet was held Thursday Evening. Dr. Jay Stipes provided accompaniment on the piano in a rousing sing-a-long prior to the banquet. A special activity, Plant Pathology Jeopardy, was organized and emceed by Gail Schumann during the Wednesday night Social. Four teams and an enthusiastic audience enjoyed participating in this friendly competition. Vice-president Arv Grybauskas, who chairs the graduate student competition evaluation committee, presented the winners of the Potomac Division student paper competition. First place was awarded to Stephen Wilhite of the University of Maryland for his paper "Effects of mutational analysis of Gliocladium virens to determine the role of gliotoxin in suppression of Pythium damping-off" co-authored by David C. Strain and Robert Lumsden. Two second-place awards went to University of Maryland graduate students M.A. Fidanza for the paper "A Rhizoctonia severity model for perennial ryegrass" and to M. Zhang for the paper "Rhizoctonia solani anastomosis groups and fungi associated with turfgrasses affected by brown patch." Both papers were co-authored by Peter Dernoeden.
Immediate Past-President Ken Deahl, Chairperson of the distinguished service award committee took over as master of Ceremonies for the presentation of the Distinguished Service Awards. The Distinguished Service Awardees in 1994 were: Dr. Rennie Stavely (USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD), and Dr. Laurence Moore(Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA). The Resolutions committee, chaired by Dr. Tom van der Zwet, presented official thanks, kudos, and resolutions in the traditional format of the Potomac Division.
The Business meetings of the Potomac and Northeastern Divisions were held jointly for 45 minutes, then dispersed for separate meetings. Necrology Report. Chairperson Marguerite Benedict reported on the death of Potomac Division member Rodney P. True of Morgantown, W.VA. A moment of silence was observed for our deceased colleague. APS President's address. APS President Cleo D'Arcy addressed the joint business meetings of the Potomac Division and Northeastern Divisions. Dr. D'Arcy spoke on APS activities and the state of our Society. Our membership is almost 5000 people. Since 1989 our regular membership has increased about 10%. U.S. membership has stayed about the same while international membership has increased about 44%. She discussed the APS strategic plan and the need for a sufficient operating reserve to use as a safety net and source of funds for new projects. She outlined ways to improve networking at the national meeting, such as an annual deBary Bowl and a newcomers meeting. Dr. Steve Nelson, executive vice-president of APS, outlined the services of APS to the divisions, discussed the feasibility of a new dues structure separate from journal subscriptions, and announced the new electronic services that will soon be available to APS members He arranged to have APS publications for sale throughout the meeting. Councilor's Report. A joint Councilors report was given by Bob Carroll and Kenneth Hickey. A number of issues and plans of action were addressed by the APS Council during meetings in 1993 in St. Paul, Minnesota (19-21 March) and Nashville, Tennessee (5-10 Nov). The business of the Council has become more focused through action of subgroups such as the Councilor's Forum, APS Financial Advisory Committee, and various working committees on special issues. An opinion expressed by past-President Randall Rowe and supported by many Council members is that APS may become more of a focal point for plant pathologists as Departments downsize and more members are located in other Departments in Universities. It is especially a professional home for many plant pathologists not associated with organized groups.
The annual APS meeting in Nashville was very successful with more than two thousand in attendance. The Opryland Hotel and Convention Center was a delightful meeting location which significantly enhanced the value of the meeting. The plenary session featured seven speakers who shared their personal views on "where we are headed beyond 2000." Both optimistic and pessimistic views were presented on our public image, impact on society, direction in the future, and future funding.
The first annual deBary Bowl (College Bowl type competition) was held between the Divisions. Congratulations to the Potomac Division for compiling a 5-0 record and winning the championship! This was a well attended, exciting event and the Council desires to make this an annual part of the National meeting. It could also be utilized to enliven Divisional meetings. The Divisions will be asked to contribute toward purchase of electronic equipment and materials needed to support the deBary Bowl.
Under the able leadership of Stan Pennypacker, who has accepted a second term as Treasurer, APS is in excellent financial standing. Because income was greater than budgeted and expenses were maintained at a minimum level, there was a net surplus of $164,000 in 1993. In addition to support of a number of organizations of importance to APS, such as CAST, COFARM, National Plant Pathology Board, and Office of International Programs, Council approved an effort to build a reserve fund for operations. The APS Manual of Operations recommends the establishment of a reserve fund for operations that is equal to one-half our annual operation budget. To achieve this reserve, a set-aside of 5% of the budget costs annually is recommended until the goal is achieved. At present, APS has reached only 14% of that goal. A review of APS income/expenses during the past 12 years indicated that the average annual operating reserved should have been $97,265. The average set-aside has been only about two-thirds of that needed to achieve the goal.
APS is an excellent and dynamic group with a stable membership of approximately 4600, 27% of which reside outside the United States. The Council approved a draft of a strategic plan for APS which contains a mission statement, assumptions and three goals. It is a working plan that is to be perhaps in the Feb. 1994 issue. Four new committees were appointed to deal with the Strategic Plan and met in Nashville to: assess the name of APS (Chair, William Fry); develop a membership strategy (Chair, Molly Cline); improve outreach and public education (Chair, Randy Rowe); and examine APS Divisions (Chair, Michael Benson).
After considerable work and deliberations, Council accepted a "Code of Professional Conduct" prepared by the Public Responsibility Committee. The Code was published in Phytopathology News and approved by the membership by a vote of 1053 for and 135 against. The Code is to serve as a guide, not as an enforceable law, governing how members should behave.
APS publications are strong and APS Press continues to be a major source of income to our professional organization.
Sites and dates for future meetings are: 1994 (Albuquerque, NM, Aug. 6- 10); 1995 (Pittsburgh, PA, Aug. 12-16); 1996 (Indianapolis, IN, July 27-31); 1997 (Rochester, NY,?).
Please contact Your Councilor if you have any questions, concerns and/or suggestions regarding APS matters. We can represent you better if we know your opinion. APS Office of International Programs Report. Dr. Charles Delp reported on some of the activities and assistance that the OIP has provided to developing countries and emerging democracies. He encourages our continued support and interest in interaction with these countries.
The Potomac Division Business meeting was called to order at 4:15 on Thursday afternoon by President Tom Evans. The minutes of the 51st annual meeting were distributed in the first mailing and additional copies were made available at this time. A motion was raised and passed to dispense with the reading of the minutes, and to accept the report as presented. A condensed Potomac Division financial statement was distributed and highlights of the report were presented by the Secretary/Treasurer, Dr. Nichole O'Neill. The auditing committee (C. Jacyn Baker and J. Locke) reported that the books were acceptable, and the reports were accepted and passed.
Local Arrangements. Dr. Ken Hickey and Dr. Seong Hwan Kim (Chairs) expressed thanks to the local arrangements committee members for their tremendous effort, which included banquet libations of eiders and wines produced in states representing both divisions. The committee included John Skelly, and T. van der Zwet. Dr. Hickey reported that despite near blizzard conditions we had 170 attendees, of which 37 were students. It was agreed by all that the joint meeting was a tremendous success and that plans should be made for future joint meetings.
Nominations Committee. The results of the election for Vice President, Potomac Division, APS were announced by Dr. Ken Deahl, and Dr. James Locke was elected to this position.
Old Business. To facilitate record keeping, Dr. O'Neill suggested that members pay Potomac Division dues directly to APS with their annual Dues, where possible.
New Business. There was discussion on formalization of committee assignments, with suggestions that at least 3 people be assigned per committee, with a rotation to chairmanship. It was pointed out by Erik Stromberg that the Pacific and Northeastern divisions follow this practice and that it seems to spread out the workload and provide continuity. Discussion ensued with suggestions that this practice might get more people involved in meetings and also increase membership. Arv Grybauskas moved to formalize the chairmanship of standing committees other than the Nominations, Distinguished Service, and Graduate Student committees The motion was seconded and passed. Arv Grybauskas noted that retired members are informally offered reduced registration or banquet tickets, and that we should formalize this. Bill McDonald moved that we waive dues, reduce registration to 1/2, and reduce banquet tickets to 1/2 for emeritus members. The motion was seconded and passed. It was recommended that a separate list of emeritus members be developed and maintained by the Secretary/Treasurer. There was discussion as to the possibility of meeting in 1995 with the APS annual meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. Preference was expressed to retain the meeting site for the 1995 meeting at Blacksburg, VA, because the August date of the national annual meeting was too different from our meeting time sequence. Dr. Larry Moore moved that the Potomac Division, APS, join with the four Universities in the Division and host and share the cost of the Potomac Division Social held during the APS annual meeting. It was noted that the cost would be about $200 per institution. The motion was seconded and passed. Dr. Bob Carroll moved that the Potomac Division contribute $500 to APS to purchase and operate equipment for the deBary Bowl and annual APS meetings. The motion was seconded and passed. Dr. Charles Delp moved that a $300 donation be given to OIP to developing country libraries. The amount was amended to $500. The motion was seconded and passed. Marguerite Benedict suggested that meeting registration forms include a line for Memorial Fund contributions. Dr. Arv Grybauskas moved that the Potomac Division purchase two laser pointers. The motion was seconded and passed. Dr. Larry Moore extended an invitation to Blacksburg, VA for the 1995 meeting. An invitation was extended by Dr. Bill McDonald to hold the 1996 meeting at the University of West Virginia. The business meeting was adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
Officers for the Potomac Division for 1994-1995 are President Arvydas Grybauskas (University of Maryland), Vice-President James Locke (USDA-Beltsville), Secretary/Treasurer Nichole O'Neill (USDA-Beltsville), and Councilor Robert B. Carroll (University of Delaware).
Respectfully submitted,
Nichole O'Neill
Secretary/Treasurer
The American Phytopathological Society
Minutes of the 52nd Annual Potomac Division Meeting
March 22-24, 1995
Blacksburg, Virginia
The 52nd annual meeting of the Potomac Division of The American Phytopathological Society was held at the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA. There were 60 registered attendees. The meeting began on Wednesday, March 22 with a Discussion session which featured presentations by Theodor Diener from the University of Maryland, and Erik Stromberg from VPI&SU. Dr. Diener discussed "Interactions between traditional and molecular plant pathologists -challenges and opportunities." In his remarks, he suggested that young molecular biologists may not attend Division meetings because of lack of funding, a feeling that they might not be welcome, and because the program or sessions are not helpful for their own research. The differing approaches to research by traditional and molecular plant pathologists may also be a hindrance to attendance at reciprocal meetings. The "applied" plant pathologists are essentially problem solvers, trained to employ an empirical approach which doesn't necessarily require fundamental knowledge at the molecular level. The basic molecular plant pathologist is not concerned with solving plant production problems, but with obtaining basic knowledge, often centering around a simple model system such as Arabidopsis. Dr. Diener suggested that these totally different approaches don't mesh well. Much discussion ensued about the importance of molecular biology training and the need for both groups to collaborate to solve agricultural problems. Dr. Stromberg presented his work as an example of how molecular and traditional plant pathologists can successfully collaborate to solve problems in plant pathology. His title was "Understanding Resistance to Gray Leaf Spot of Corn - A Case Study for Interaction between Molecular and Traditional Approaches." In this work, RFLP analysis was used to identify and map resistance genes to the gray leaf spot disease of corn.
The meeting was formally opened Thursday morning. APS President Dr. Sue Tolin delivered opening remarks, commenting on the differences between divisions, and offering an invitation to the upcoming annual meeting in Pittsburgh, whose theme will be "Facing the Issues. " Dr. Laurence Moore, Chair of the Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science at VPI&SU, delivered a welcoming address, which was followed by the Graduate Student Paper Competition.
The remainder of the technical program consisted of paper and poster sessions presented on Thursday, and a Regional Applied Plant Pathology Update, coordinated on Friday morning by Erik Stromberg. A reception was held Wednesday evening. The banquet was held Thursday evening and featured Dr. Jay Stipes on the piano prior to the banquet. Dr. Sue Tolin delivered the banquet address, describing many of the challenging issues facing plant pathologists, including congressional priorities, government reorganization, preservation of our knowledge in the face of declining jobs, regulation of our use of recombinant DNA organisms, sustainable agriculture, IPM, certification of plant pathologists, emerging pathogens, international trade issues, food safety, loss of plant pathology departmental structure, and the need for APS input in decision structures that affect plant pathology.
Anton Baudoin, Local Arrangements Chair, thanked the sustaining associates and committee members for their efforts in organizing and supporting this meeting.
Vice-president James Locke, chair of the graduate student competition evaluation committee, announced the winners of the Potomac Division student paper competition. First place was awarded to Melinda Mulesky of VPI&SU for her paper "Pseudomonas aureofaciens wildtype and Tn5-mutant colonization of cotton roots in two soil types" co-authored by G. H. Lacy and C. Hagedorn. One of two second-place awards went to University of Delaware student Richard Power for the paper "An examination of the natural variation of Phytophthora infestans isolates to cymoxanil, chlorothalonil and metalaxyl" coauthored by A. Morehart and R. Hamlen, and the other to VPI&SU student Guorong Ma for his paper "Interaction of soybean resistance genes with strains of soybean mosaic potyvirus (SMV)" coauthored by G. R. Buss and S. A. Tolin.
President Arvydas Grybauskas announced the recipient of the Memorial Award, established in honor of Dr. Joe Worley. The Awardee was graduate student Marisa Ferreira. She is conducting her research under the supervision of Drs. Paul Tooley and Norman Schaad at the USDA in Frederick, MD. She will be awarded her degree by the University of Brassilia. The award will enable her to attend the 1995 annual APS meeting in Pittsburgh, PA.
Immediate Past-President Tom Evans, Chairperson of the distinguished service award committee took over as master of Ceremonies for the presentation of the Distinguished Service Awards. The Distinguished Service Awardees in 1995 were: Dr. R. J. Stipes (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA) and Dr. Tom van der Zwet (USDA, ARS, Kearneysville, VA). The Resolutions committee, co-chaired by M. Gallegly, M. Hansen, and R. Turner, presented official thanks, kudos, and resolutions in the traditional format of the Potomac Division.
The Potomac Division Business meeting was called to order at 4:55 on Thursday afternoon by President Arvydas Grybauskas. The minutes of the 52nd annual meeting were distributed in the second mailing and additional copies were made available at this time. A motion was raised and passed to dispense with the reading of the minutes, and to accept the report as presented. A condensed Potomac Division financial statement was distributed and highlights of the report were presented by the Secretary/Treasurer Nichole O'Neill. The auditing committee (Deborah Fravel and C. J. Baker) reported that the books were in order, and the reports were accepted and passed.
Councilor's Report. Excerpts from the Councilor's report, presented by Robert Carroll, are given below. A number of issues and plans of action were addressed by the APS Council during meetings in 1994 in Albuquerque, NM (August 5-10, 1994) and during mid-year meeting at headquarters in St. Paul, MN (March 17-19, 1995). APS is growing and membership has now surpassed 5,000. The largest increase in growth is from addition of international members. The annual APS meeting in Albuquerque, NM was very successful with over 1,500 in attendance. A new addition to the national meeting was a very successful "members breakfast and business meeting" which was attended by over 800. The second annual deBary Bowl was held between the Divisions and for the second year, the Potomac Division emerged as champions. Our team members included: Anton Baudoin (VA Tech), Anne Dorrance (VA Tech), Ethel Dutky (Univ. of MD), Thomas Evans (Univ. of DE), Arv Grybauskas (Univ. of MD), Suzanne Hurtt (USDA), Anne Bird Sinderman (MD Dept. of Agr.), Erik Stromberg (VA Tech), and Daryl Whittington (Univ. of DE). Erik appealed for volunteers for team members for Pittsburgh.
The financial condition of APS is very sound and a financial surplus was again realized in 1994. Council voted at mid-year to invest financial reserves (of almost $400,000) into notes that will mature over 1-3 years. Council also authorized preparation of a job description to hire a Director of Scientific Services to work with staff at Headquarters. The need for this has become increasingly apparent and should benefit APS in many ways.
Plant Disease and Phytopathology continue to operate smoothly under the auspices of APS Press and both journals have decreased their time from submission to publication. Disease Notes are now processed electronically in order to increase the speed and efficiency of these communications. MPMI has a new editor-in-chief who is very eager to have greater relationship with APS and headquarters staff. This journal hopes to increase to 9 issues/year starting in January, 1996 and 12 issues/year starting January, 1997. Phytopathology News has expanded and truly has become an excellent vehicle of communication for the membership. APS Press continues to be very dynamic and is a major contributor to the image and success of our Society. Council will investigate ways to separate publications and journal activity of APS Press from other sales activity (such as T-shirts, pencils, etc.).
Some items of concern to the membership will be a proposal from Council to change the name of APS to "American Plant Pathology Society" (APPS). This item may come to a vote by late summer or early fall, 1995. Council also voted to create an "Office of Public Affairs and Education" to consolidate and enhance many of our outreach and public relations functions. Council voted to authorize that APS begin to develop and offer a series of workshops that will cover topics "in demand."
A major survey on the role and structure of APS Divisions was completed by an Ad Hoc Committee. The general feeling was that members are satisfied with Divisions, that they serve a useful function and should continue to be a part of APS. Divisional meetings provide opportunities for members to interact when lack of funds prevent attendance at the national meeting and provide a similar opportunity for graduate students to make oral presentations and professional contacts. In general the survey indicated a high degree of satisfaction with Division structure but also a desire on the part of some Divisions (such as Potomac and Northeastern) for more joint meetings.
Council and Financial Advisory Committee spent considerable time discussing our annual meeting and rising costs. To accommodate all the activities members request at our meeting requires services of a convention center or very large hotel complex. Campus meetings are virtually impossible and in reality do not cost less since Conference Centers on campuses have become very expensive. Corie Dacus, conference planner at Headquarters, does an excellent job of choosing suitable sites in less expensive cities and also negotiates effectively for reducing convention rates and associated costs. A major question is whether the annual meeting should be operated with a registration fee to "break even" or whether some "subsidization" should be made to lower registration costs. Bob Carroll asked for our thoughts on this issue, which will be discussed further in Pittsburgh.
Plans for the Meeting in Pittsburgh are progressing well. The theme is "Facing the Issues" and will provide an exciting plenary session, many diverse topics, as well as several workshops, symposia, etc. in "Disease Management" and "Sustainable Agriculture." Pittsburgh is a good site with much to offer. As our Division representative, Bob asked for any suggestions and/or concerns that we would like to be addressed to Council. Please contact him if you have any questions, concerns and/or suggestions regarding APS matters. (Our Councilor beginning after the Pittsburgh meeting in 1996 will be Suzanne Hurtt). The business meeting attendees thanked Bob Carroll for his three years of excellent service as Councilor for the Potomac Division.
The sites and dates for future APS meeting are:
- 1996 Indianapolis, IN July 27-31
- 1997 Rochester, NY August 9- 13
- 1998 Las Vegas, NV (with ESA) Dec. 6-10
- 1999 Montreal, Canada (with CPS) August 6- 10
- 2000 New Orleans, LA or Charlotte, NC August ?
APS President's address. APS President Sue Tolin addressed the business meeting of the Potomac Division. Dr. Tolin spoke on APS activities and the state of our Society. APS's financial position is strong, and our headquarters building is paid for. APS has a goal of placing two times the annual operating budget in reserve. In reviewing APS division structure, Dr. Tolin noted that Potomac Division member attendance at division meetings was 45%, higher than any other division. The results of the Division Structure survey also indicated that Potomac and Northeastern division members would prefer to have more frequent joint meetings. One of the main jobs of the society is publishing books and journals. Journals are now published electronically, and Phytopathology News is going to desktop publishing in a few months. Decoupling membership from journal subscriptions has provided much more individual flexibility for membership options. Other APS goals are to coordinate our activities with other societies., and to increase workshops and short courses. Dr. Tolin announced the creation of a new position to APS Council, the Office of Public Affairs and Education. She requested that we submit suggestions for table topics for the breakfast meeting in Pittsburgh to Bill Fry as soon as possible. Necrology Report. Chairperson Marguerite Benedict reported on the deaths of Curtis May, President of the Potomac Division in 1952, Francis 'Bud' Uecker, and J. C. Walker. A moment of silence was observed for our deceased colleagues.
Local Arrangements. Dr. Anton Baudoin (Chair) expressed thanks to the local arrangements committee members Erik Stromberg and Jay Stipes for their hard work, which resulted in an enjoyable and informative meeting. He reported that we had 60 registered attendees.
Nominations Committee. The results of the election for Councilor and Vice President, Potomac Division, APS were announced by Dr. Tom Evans. Suzanne Hurtt (USDA, Beltsville) was elected Councilor and Ethel Dutky (University of Maryland) was elected Vice President.
APS Foundation report. Suzanne Hurtt delivered a report prepared by Howard Waterworth on the status of APS Foundation activities. The Foundation made four awards in 1994. The GENESIS award for professional development went to Alex Enyedi, Western Michigan University for enhancing plant resistance to pathogens via the over expression of a bacterial-derived beta-glucosidase gene. The INTERNATIONAL AWARD went to Terry Tattar and Gail Schumann, Univ. of Mass., to develop a Spanish language version of an interactive videodisc introduction to plant pathogens and diseases that uses the Video Image resource.
Two awards were made in the ATTRACTING OUTSTANDING STUDENTS category. Mark Boudreau, Eastern III. Univ., will develop dynamic educational software for introductory plant pathology to complement a new initiative called Graduate Student Lecturer Program at Kansas State to introduce high school students to plant pathology.
The Foundation seeks our financial support. To that end the Foundation is challenging departments and units in industry and government to support an enhanced Genesis Award Program. Gifts allow programs to attract excellent students, implement new ideas, enhance graduate education, and expand international cooperation. The challenge is to make a donation equal to the number of faculty or scientists X $10 for each of the next 3 years. This new challenge offers another opportunity for us as individuals to support the long term success of our profession.
Washington Academy of Science. No report.
Old Business. None
New Business. President Arv Grybauskas read a letter from Sharon Douglass, President, Northeastern division, inviting the Potomac Division to meet with the Northeastern Division in 1996 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Following discussion on the date of the meeting, a motion was made by Larry Moore to meet with them in November, 1996. This motion was passed. Several motions were made, seconded, and subsequently withdrawn as further discussion ensued regarding timing of the 1996, 1997, and 1998 meetings. Tom Evans moved to not schedule our 1996 meeting as currently would be held in March 1996. This motion was passed. Following further discussion it was moved and passed to have the executive committee outline meeting options for 1997 and distribute the information in the form of a ballot to the membership.
Bob Carroll moved and it was passed to award the 1995 Memorial Award to a student applicant working on a degree in a USDA laboratory. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Officers for the Potomac Division for 1995-1996 are:
- President James Locke (USDA-Beltsville)
- Vice-President Ethel Dutky (Univ. of MD)
- Secretary/Treasurer Nichole O'Neill (USDA-Beltsville)
- Councilor Suzanne Hurtt (USDA-Beltsville)
Respectfully submitted,
Nichole O'Neill
Secretary/Treasurer
The American Phytopathological Society
Potomac Division
Minutes of the 53rd Annual Meeting
Long Branch, New Jersey
Oct. 16-18, 1996
The 53rd annual meeting of the Potomac Division of The American Phytopathological Society was held at the Ocean Place Hilton in Long Branch, N.J. The event was the second joint meeting with the Northeast Division. The first joint meeting (in 1994) was very successful despite a raging blizzard, and was hosted by both divisions. The 1996 meeting was hosted by the Northeast Division, and the Potomac Division will reciprocate by hosting a joint meeting in 1999. Attendance totaled 140, including 32 students; 103 attendees were from the Northeast Division, and 37 were from the Potomac Division. The meeting was preceded by a very successful tour led by Peter Oudemans of the cranberry production area of New Jersey, complete with a visit to a cranberry bog undergoing harvest. There was an enjoyable and informative concurrent workshop on chestnut blight sponsored by the Northeast's Forest Pathology committee and coordinated by Brad Hillman and Louis Bernier.
The meeting was formally opened Thursday morning by NED-APS President Steven Slack, and Potomac President James Locke, with a formal welcome being given by Dr. Rod Sharp, Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and Dean for Research, Cook College, Rutgers. The official meeting program began with a symposium on 'Soil-Borne Phytophthoras" that was organized and chaired by David Gadoury. Peter Oudemans, Rutgers, discussed the anatomy and morphology of the pathogen and etiology of Phytophthora diseases. Clive Brasier, Forestry Research Station, Surrey, England, presented a synopsis of the taxonomy and evolution of Phytophthora, highlighting the advances being made in our understanding of genetic relatedness through the use of molecular genetics. Wayne Wilcox, Cornell, concluded the symposium with a discussion on the epidemiology and control of Phytophthora diseases, using numerous examples from his work on small fruits. The symposium was well-attended and very successful. Fifty papers were presented during the meeting, including a number of papers by students competing in the Potomac and NED-APS Graduate Student Award competition.
The Wednesday evening reception was enlivened by the NED traditional game of "Jeopardy" led by Margery Daughtrey with assistance from Meg McGrath and Nina Shishkoff. Two rounds of the game, which tested the contestants' knowledge of common and obscure plant pathology facts, featured teams from the two divisions. The Potomac team of Erik Stromberg, Anne Bird Sinderman, Jonathan Flora, and Tom van der Zwet won round #1 but lost round 2. The winning teams received APS note cards for their performances and the contest was declared a draw.
A lavish banquet was held Thursday night, capping the second joint meeting and highlighted by numerous awards to members and students to recognize their achievements. Dr. Larry Madden delivered the banquet address, describing many of the challenging issues facing plant pathologists and APS. He expressed optimism about the future of plant pathology and shared his excitement and enthusiasm in being part of the progress of science and industry.
The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Sue Tolin by Tom Evans, in recognition of her tremendous service to both the Potomac Division and the National Society. Vice-president Ethel Dutky, chair of the graduate student competition evaluation committee, announced the winners of the Potomac Division student paper competition. Potomac Graduate Student first place certificates and awards ($250 each) were won by David Langston, Virginia Tech, for his paper "Importance of Host Growth and Environment in Timing Fungicide Sprays for Control of Sclerotinia Blight of Peanut" co-authored by P. M. Phipps and R. J. Stipes, and by Eric Brown for his paper "Molecular Genetic Differentiation of the Necrogenic amylovora Group of Plant Pathogens in the Genus Erwinia Based on Nucleotide Sequence Evolution of the omp3A Gene" co-authored by T. van der Zwet. Second place ($100) was awarded to Jonathan Flora, Virginia Tech, for his paper "Heat Shock does not Alter Resistance Response of the Soybean Rsv1 Gene to Soybean Mosaic Virus" co-authored by Sue Tolin. President Jim Locke announced the recipient of the Memorial Fund Travel Award, established in honor of Dr. Joe Worley. Eric Brown, University of West Virginia, received this Award ($400), which will defray costs of presenting his research at the May, 1997 annual meeting of the American Society of Microbiology in Miami, Florida.
The Resolutions committee, chaired by Tom van der Zwet, presented official thanks, kudos, and resolutions in the traditional format of the Potomac Division. Following the presentation of the awards, the new officers for each division were presented.
Annual business meeting, Potomac and Northeastern Divisions
The Annual Business meeting of the Potomac and Northeastern Divisions was called to order at 3:30 on Thursday afternoon by Presidents Jim Locke and Steve Slack. A moment of silence was called by Rennie Stavely in memory of our colleagues Bill Zaumeyer, Laurence Miller, and Cheryl Ann Engelkes who recently passed away.
APS President Larry Madden addressed the joint business meeting, touching on the demographics of our growing professional society and the benefits associated with membership in APS. He noted that our international membership (24%) is the fastest growing segment, and reminded us that the mission of APS is to promote the science of plant pathology and provide information for those interested in plant health. President Madden outlined APS expenses, income, and member services, and cited progress in achieving APS strategic plan goals including improved services and opportunities, public outreach, and financial stability. Steve Nelson, Executive Vice-president of APS spoke about the advances at headquarters in electronic communications, the growing interest and use of APS Net, and the success of the on-line symposium on Karnal Bunt. He noted that over 500 people from around the world logged on and participated in the symposium. Several more symposia are being planned and the membership is encouraged to come up with new uses for this powerful tool.
Suzanne Hurtt, Potomac Division Councilor, reported on the activities of the APS Council and changes in APS during the year. She provided the attached summary. On behalf of the Potomac Division, President Jim Locke initiated a discussion concerning the possible need to merge with the Northeastern or another division in order to have critical mass for successful meetings. Discussions focused on the loss of plant pathology departments, decline in Divisional meeting attendance, and the pros and cons of a merger with the Northeastern Division. A consensus was reached that we should meet jointly every other year.
Members then divided into divisional groups to conduct business unique to each organization. President Locke presided for the Potomac Division portion, which was attended by 21 members. The minutes of the 52nd annual meeting were distributed in the second mailing by Secretary/Treasurer Nichole O'Neill, and additional copies were made available at this time. A motion was raised and passed to dispense with the reading of the minutes, and to accept the report as presented. A condensed Potomac Division financial statement was distributed and highlights of the report were presented by Nichole O'Neill. The auditing committee (Robert Goth and C. Jacyn Baker) reported that the books were in order, and the reports were accepted and passed.
Arv Grybauskas, immediate past president and chair of the Nominations committee, reported that 33 ballots were received this year, and announced the results of elections for vice president and secretary/treasurer. Members discussed and agreed that E-mail ballots for nominations and ballots might increase voting participation and that this could be done in addition to mail votes. Ethel Dutky, chair of the Graduate Student Paper Competition, announced the results of the Potomac Division Paper competition (listed above). Members voted to approve an award of $400 to Eric Brown, winner of the Memorial Student Travel Award.
President Jim Locke announced the results of a mail poll of Potomac Division members to decide our meeting schedule for the next three years. Ten of 15 respondents said that we should not meet in 1997, meet in spring of 1998 in West Virginia, and meet (as host) jointly with the Northeastern Division in 1999. Subsequent concerns were raised about breaking with tradition, loss of continuity, and problems associated with integrating annual meeting schedules with the Northeastern Division. It was agreed that efforts to increase membership should continue for the present, but that the issue of merging with another division should be revisited next year. Suzanne Hurtt suggested that we try to enhance our meeting program by linking up with other small organizations such as the Mid Atlantic Plant Molecular Biology Society. Members voted not to meet in March, 1997, and plan a joint annual meeting with the Northeastern Division every other year, alternating as hosts. A joint NED/Potomac Division meeting in 1999, with the USDA and University of Maryland as hosts, was discussed and proposed to NED.
A report was submitted by Howard Waterworth, APS Foundation representative to the Potomac Division. He outlined two of the goals of the Foundation: 1) market our profession to legislators and other client groups, and 2) enhance plant pathology graduate student development. Toward this end part of the costs of 18 graduate students from 25 institutions to participate in the annual meeting in Indianapolis were paid for by the Foundation. Plans are to continue this support into the future. To the extent that funds are available the Foundation will provide funds for sessions of special interest to students and to support innovative student research. The Foundation has established named student travel awards and requests donations from APS divisions to assist in this endeavor. The Potomac Division members voted to add $500 to an APS Foundation donation of $2000 to fund the John F. Fulkerson Student Travel Award. Members also voted to pursue a challenge to the North Central Division in the form of a matching donation on their behalf to the Fund, so that the total could be brought to $5000 to enable funding every year.
Bill MacDonald issued an invitation to the 1998 meeting in March or April in West Virginia. The business meeting was adjourned at 5:05 p.m.
Officers for the Potomac Division for 1996-1997 are:
· President Ethel Dutky (Univ. of MD)
· Vice-President Nikki O'Neill (USDA-Beltsville)
· Secretary/Treasurer Anton Baudoin (VPI&SU)
· Councilor Suzanne Hurtt (USDA-Beltsville)
· Immediate Past-President Jim Locke (USDA-Beltsville).
Respectfully submitted,
Nichole O'Neill
Secretary/Treasurer, Potomac Division, APS
The American Phytopathological Society
Potomac Division
Minutes of the 54th Annual Meeting
Morgantown, West Virginia
March 18-20, 1998
The 54th annual meeting of the Potomac Division of the American Phytopathological Society was held at the Lakeview Resort in Morgantown, WV. Attendance totaled 88, including 18 students. Wednesday afternoon saw the traditional discussion on "Extension-Industry Issues," chaired by Erik Stromberg and Bob Mulrooney. In the evening, a discussion session was held on "New and Emerging Pathogens" organized by Norm Schaad, with Anne Vidaver of the University of Nebraska as keynote speaker.
Potomac Division President Ethel Dutky formally opened the meeting Thursday morning, and Dr. Rosemary Haggett, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences, West Virginia University, gave a welcome. The official meeting program began with the Graduate Student Paper Competition, where ten papers were presented. The business meeting (see below) was held after lunch, and the Thursday afternoon program consisted of a symposium on "Twenty Years of Biocontrol Research: Prospects and Reality" organized by Jim Locke, followed by a poster session with 15 posters. A contributed paper session on Friday morning was followed by a symposium on "New Technologies for Disease Management" organized by Hei-Ti Hsu.
A lavish banquet was held Thursday night, highlighted by numerous awards to members and students to recognize their achievements. APS President Dr. C. Lee Campbell delivered the banquet address, describing some of the public relations issues plant pathologists face and their relevance to the progress of our science.
The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Robert Goth and Suzanne Hurtt by Jim Locke, in recognition of their service to the Potomac Division. Vice-president Nichole O'Neill, chair of the graduate student competition evaluation committee, announced the winners of the Potomac Division student paper competition. First place certificates and awards ($250 each) were won by both Stephanye Armstrong, Virginia Tech, for her paper "Micro-Wave-Assisted Extraction Versus Thermal Desorption of GC-ECD-MS of Propiconazole from Elm Wood" co-authored by R. J. Stipes, H. M. McNair, and H. L. Warren, and by Jorge M. Vivanco, The Pennsylvania State University, for his paper "Purification, Characterization, and Biological Activity of two Ribosome Inactivating Proteins from Mirabilis expansa" co-authored by H. M. Flores. Second place ($100) was awarded to both Eric W. Brown, George Washington University, for his paper "Phylogenetic Analysis of the Tribe Erwiniae Reveals Polyphyly within the Amylovora Group: Evidence for Multiple Evolutionary Origins of the Necrogenic Erwinias" co-authored by T. van der Zwet, and to Renee M. Davis for her paper "Phenotypic Disparity amidst Phylogenetic Association: Analysis of the Enterobacterial GAPDH Gene from Atypical Isolates of Erwinia amylovora, the Fire Blight Bacterium" co-authored by T. van der Zwet. President Ethel Dutky announced the recipient of the Memorial Fund Travel Award, established in honor of Dr. Joe Worley. Clarissa Balbalian, University of West Virginia, received this Award ($450) to attend the Northeast Forest Pathology Workshop in New Hampshire, where she presented a paper on her research on chestnut blight biological control. The Resolutions committee, chaired by Tom van der Zwet, presented official thanks and resolutions in the traditional format of the Potomac Division. Following the presentation of the awards, the new officers of the division were presented.
Annual business meeting
The Annual Business meeting was called to order by President Ethel Dutky on Thursday at 12:30 following lunch. APS President Lee Campbell addressed the business meeting, reviewing recent developments and initiatives with respect to Council business, electronic publications, APS Foundation, annual meetings, and finances.
The necrology report was read by Marguerite Benedict and a moment of silence was called in memory of Martha Roane, who passed away in December 1996.
Diane Reaver reported on behalf of the Auditing Committee that the financial records had been examined and found to be in order.
The Financial Report was presented by Treasurer Anton Baudoin. On Dec 31, 1997, the checking account contained $10,119.31, while the Memorial Fund stood at $9,963.64. This was a decrease of $944.94 for the checking account and an increase of $362.34 for the Memorial Fund. The Financial Report was approved.
President Dutky announced that there were five applicants for the Memorial Fund Travel Award, and that one would be awarded.
President Dutky announced the results of the elections for officers: Bob Mulrooney was elected as Vice President and Erik Stromberg as Division Councilor.
Ken Deahl presented a brief report as Potomac Division representative to the Washington Academy of Science, a group with many organizations as affiliated members. He recommended that the Potomac Division discontinue its membership. In response to questions, he explained that the Academy's activities had become overly political, were characterized by infighting, and that the Potomac Division gained no benefits from its membership. Ken Deahl moved that the Potomac Division drop its membership. The motion was seconded and passed.
There was no report from APS Foundation representative Howard Waterworth. Laurence D. Moore will be the new Division representative.
Suzanne Hurtt presented the Councilor's report. Among the items reported: the spring council meeting this year is scheduled after the Potomac Division meeting; the establishment of a peer-reviewed, on-line IPM Journal is being explored; APS had a surplus of $200,000 in 1997; affiliations cost APS $15,000 annually, of which $7,000 is for ISPP (International Society for Plant Pathology); ballots for upcoming elections are being formulated; the committee structure is under review, as are the affordability of APS publications and page charges. A discussion ensued about the status of ATCC after its move to Manassas, VA, and especially its plant virus collection. Plant virologists have expressed concern that collections may deteriorate of become unavailable because ATCC is putting more emphasis on money-making products. A motion by Sue Tolin was seconded and passed, to urge APS Council and APS Executive Committee to continue following developments relative to collections at ATCC closely, and to respond as needed.
Under Old Business there was no further discussion of the possibility of merging the Potomac Division with another Division. One opinion (against merger) had been received. Secretary-Treasurer Baudoin mentioned difficulties collecting reimbursements from some departments for the cost of the Potomac Division social at the APS annual meeting, and wanted to know whether members and departments wanted to continue this process. He presented a motion to affirm that the Potomac Division would provide $200 from its coffers to provide base funding, and that departments would be requested to commit funds beforehand rather than after the fact. Expenditures could then be based on funds available. A friendly amendment was proposed and accepted to also solicit contributions from individual members, and to put this option on the registration form for the Potomac Division meeting. The amended motion was seconded and passed.
Under New Business, Hei-Ti Hsu presented plans for the Division meeting in the year 2000. It has been proposed to meet jointly with the Mid-Atlantic Plant Molecular Biology group. This proposal will be considered by the committee of that organization.
President Dutky has appointed a committee to review the standing rules of the Potomac Division, but the committee has not yet begun its deliberations. Anton Baudoin raised an issue that was unclear from the minutes: to what extent Potomac Division general funds could be used to support meeting program expenses. At the 1984 meeting a motion had been passed stating that "The program chairman, with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, has the prerogative of covering expenses up to $100.00 for each of 2 non-plant pathologists as discussion group speakers." It has been suggested that this may implicitly rule out any other expenditures for speakers. To clarify this issue, Baudoin moved that "the Executive Committee, at the request of the Program Committee, is authorized to fund program expenses from Potomac Division funds." There was discussion of a cap of either $500 or $1000 but the final motion included no cap. The motion was seconded and passed.
Time became too short to take up the remaining items on the agenda, a discussion on re-thinking the organization of the Division, on the Memorial Fund, and on outreach to youth. These items were tabled.
Arv Grybauskas issued an invitation to the 1999 meeting in March in Maryland, possibly in Annapolis. The business meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.
Officers for the Potomac Division for 1998-1999 are:
- President
- Vice-President
- Secretary/Treasurer
- Councilor
- Immediate Past President
|
Nikki O'Neill (USDA-Beltsville)
Bob Mulrooney, Univ. of Delaware
Anton Baudoin (VPI&SU)
Erik Stromberg (VPI & SU)
Ethel Dutky (Univ. of Maryland) |
Respectfully submitted,
Anton Baudoin
Secretary/Treasurer, Potomac Division, APS
The American Phytopathological Society
Potomac Division
Minutes of the 55th Annual Meeting
Annapolis, MD
March 10-12, 1999
The 55th annual meeting of the Potomac Division was held jointly with the Northeastern Division at the Loews Hotel in Annapolis, Maryland, from March 10-12, 1999. The theme for the meeting was: "Bridging Technology Gaps in Education and Research"
The program started on Wednesday afternoon with a cancellation, due to heavy snow fall the previous day, of the Forest Pathology Tour of Washington DC, organized by Dale Bergdahl, Bill MacDonald, and Rob Defeo and Jim Sherald of the National Park Service. Instead, a group toured the Naval Academy grounds. The traditional Extension Update session, organized by Erik Stromberg and Norm Lalancette, and the Industry Update, organized by Roger Kaiser, proceeded as scheduled. This was followed by an evening symposium on "Delivery of Information Through New Technologies - Communications in the New Millennium", organized by David Clement.
Potomac Division President Nichole O'Neill opened the Thursday morning session by introducing Dr. Henry A. Virts, D.V.M., Maryland Secretary of Agriculture, and Dr. James W. Wade, Associate Dean and Associate Director, University of Maryland Cooperative Extension, who welcomed the attendees. This was followed by a symposium on "The Relative Value of Molecular Characters in Understanding Fungal Evolution," organized by Paul Tooley, and concurrent contributed papers. After lunch, it was time for the Graduate Student Paper Competition of the combined divisions, where four papers were presented, followed by contributed papers, and the business meeting (see below). A poster session and industry and APHIS display was combined with a social and preceded the banquet. The Friday morning program consisted of a concurrent contributed papers, and a symposium on "Advances in the Biology and Management of Gray Leaf Spot (Pyricularia grisea) in Cool-Season Turfgrasses," organized by Peter Dernoeden. This symposium drew 123 non-division members from the regional and national turfgrass industry.
The Thursday evening banquet was highlighted by numerous awards to members and students to recognize their achievements. APS President Dr. Carol Windels delivered the banquet address, describing some of the results of the recent APS membership survey.
The Potomac Division Distinguished Service Award was presented to Dr. Seong Hwan Kim and Dr. Kenneth L. Deahl by immediate past president Ethel Dutky, in recognition of their service to the Potomac Division. The Northeastern Division presented its Award of Distinction to Stan Pennypacker. Potomac Division's Bob Mulrooney and Northeastern Division's Peter Oudemans, co-chairs of the graduate student competition evaluation committee, announced the winners of the joint student paper competition. First place certificates and awards ($250 each) were by both R. Scott Shaw, Michigan State University, for his paper "Cyanide-resistant respiration and altered virulence in the oak wilt fungus Ceratocystis fagacearum," co-authored by H. Bertrand and D.W. Fulbright, and Peter M. Sforza, Virginia Tech, for his paper "Effect of transgene Bt toxin and applications of tefluthrin, azoxystrobin and propiconazole on yield and agronomic characters of near isoline double-cropped corn in Virginia", co-authored with E.S. Hagood, and E.L. Stromberg. The Resolutions committee, chaired by Tom van der Zwet, presented official thanks and resolutions in the traditional format of the Potomac Division. Following the presentation of the awards, the new officers of the division were presented. They are:
|
President |
Bob Mulrooney, Univ. of Delaware |
|
Vice-President |
Vern Damsteegt, USDA, Frederick |
|
Secretary/Treasurer |
Anton Baudoin, VPI&SU |
|
Councilor |
Erik Stromberg, VPI&SU |
|
Immediate Past President |
Nikki O'Neill, USDA, Beltsville |
A total of 15 posters and 22 contributed papers, of which 4 were graduate student competition papers, were presented at the meeting.
The business meeting, starting with a joint session of the Potomac and Northeastern Divisions was opened by Potomac President Nikki O'Neill.
Marguerite Benedict read the necrology report. She commemorated the life and career of Dr. Richard Sayre, a USDA nematologist with a great interest in biological control of nematodes, and Dr. Horace Barnett of West Virginia University, a former APS President, cherished teacher, and author of a famous book.
Northeast President Chris Becker introduced APS President Carol Windels, who commented on various aspects of the Society's business. Journal pricing structure is being reviewed, and on-line enhancements such as the ability to publish pictures with Disease Notes and layman's summaries with Plant Disease articles will be introduced. Eighty percent of APS Press sales are to non-Society members. CD-roms are doing well and more are coming. Publication of Fungicide and Nematicide Tests has been transferred to APS Press, and on-line publication will be added. APS-Net features are proving popular. Additional Net areas are being developed including citable "Plant Pathways" which will include areas devoted to teaching, as well as Fungicide and Nematicide Tests. APS Foundation activities include an increasing number of student travel awards, the Melhus student speaker, the JANE (Niederhauser) Fund, and the OIP Challenge at the meeting. The Office of International Programs is continuing its activities in providing library assistance to institutions in Third-World countries. The Office of Public Affairs and Education produces an increasing number of press releases and organizes displays at expos and teacher conferences. Future meeting sites will be Montreal (1999), New Orleans (2000), Salt Lake City (2001), and Milwaukee (2002). In response to a question there was some discussion about archiving Net materials and the practice of posting one's own papers on one's own website.
Cynthia Ash presented a brief report on behalf of Headquarters' staff. HQ employs about 75 employees, of which 50% works for APS. Major activities involve publications (journals, APS Press) and membership services. APS is starting a short course program, with several offerings this year, including a refresher course in statistics, a course in molecular biology and genomics (in conjunction with the Montreal meeting), and conferences on shade tree diseases and ecology of urban soils. APS will also be involved in the celebration of Science on the Mall with the Smithsonian in October 1999 in Washington DC. APS also administers the "certified professional plant pathologist" certification program.
Potomac Division Councilor Erik Stromberg reported on society finances. Prices of journal subscriptions will go up by $5 while page charges will be reduced by $30. Northeastern Division councilor Tom Burr encouraged people to have students apply for the Melhus award.
David Clement reported on behalf of the Local Arrangements Committee on meeting registration numbers, which are shown in the table below
Attendance at the 1999 joint meeting of the Potomac and Northeastern Divisions of APS
| |
Northeast |
Potomac |
Both Div |
Other |
Total |
|
Regular members |
27 |
49 |
5 |
6 |
87 |
|
Student members |
11 |
11 |
|
|
22 |
|
Emeritus members |
|
3 |
|
|
3 |
|
One-day, turf symposium |
|
|
|
123 |
123 |
|
One-day, other |
1 |
4 |
|
5 |
10 |
|
Column Totals |
39 |
67 |
5 |
134 |
245 |
Jim Locke was unable to be present to provide an update on future Division meetings. The plan is that the Potomac Division will host a joint meeting every 5 years with the next one scheduled in 2003, while the Northeastern Division will host one in 2001 or perhaps 2002. This concluded the joint part of the business meeting.
Both Divisions then continued with a separate session. The Potomac Division's Treasurer's report for 1998 was presented by Treasurer Anton Baudoin. The operating account showed a deficit of $117.03, while the Memorial Fund gained $115.29. Part of the Memorial Fund has been transferred to an investment account through APS Headquarters (same kind of account where APS Foundation funds are invested); due to fluctuations in the stock market this has not yet resulted in much gain. Nikki O'Neill read the report of the Auditing Committee, consisting of Diane Reaver and R. Jay Stipes, that they had found the accounts to be in order. The Treasurer's report was accepted.
Ethel Dutky reported on behalf of the Nominations and Elections committee that Vern Damsteegt has been elected Vice-President. She also reported that some votes had been received by email, and presented a motion to allow this practice, with the understanding that the identity of email voter cannot be kept secret from the ballot counters. The motion to allow email voting was seconded and approved.
Erik Stromberg read a list of companies that had made contributions toward meeting expenses: Zeneca, Rohm and Haas, Tomen Agro, Novartis, Bayer, BASF, Uniroyal, and American Cyanamid.
Ethel Dutky reported that there were no applicants for the Memorial Fund Travel award, so the award was not made this year.
Secretary Anton Baudoin reported that he had updated the Division's Bylaws with the amendments made by past business meetings and posted the update on the Division's website. Since the position of immediate past president has accumulated a considerable number of duties over the years, the officers have discussed adding the immediate past president to the Executive Committee of the Division. However, since this involves a change in the Division's Constitution, this proposal will need to be formally announced to the membership before it can be voted on at next year's business meeting.
APS Foundation reported that the Jack Barnes Travel Fund was only $534 short of becoming endowed, and asked both the Potomac and Northeast Division to consider contributing $267. The motion to grant this contribution was made and seconded, amended to round up the amount to $300, and carried.
Bob Mulrooney issued the formal invitation to the Division to have the year 2000 meeting at the University of Delaware at Newark.
Respectfully submitted,
Anton Baudoin, Secretary/Treasurer, Potomac Division, APS
Minutes
56th Meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
March 22-24, 2000
The 2000 meeting of the Potomac Divisions was held on March 22-24 at the Clayton Conference Center of the University of Delaware in Newark. Bob Mulrooney served as both program chair and local arrangements chair. Attendance was 82, including 17 students.
The programs started Wednesday afternoon with a tour of Longwood Gardens in nearby Pennsylvania, where attendees were guided around by IPM coordinator Casey Sclar. This was followed by an Extension/Industry Update, chaired by A. Grybauskas and E. Stromberg. After a welcome social, the Wednesday evening symposium was entitled "Successful Application of Biotechnology," organized by V. Damsteegt.
The Thursday morning session was opened by Potomac Division President and Local Arrangements Chair Bob Mulrooney, who introduced Dr. Donald Sparks, Chairperson of the Plant and Soil Science Dept, University of Delaware, to give a brief word of welcome. The Thursday morning symposium was entitled "Advantages and Pitfalls using Biotechnology," organized by Bob Mulrooney and chaired by Tom Evans. Nina Moliver, M.Sc.(A), Holistic Nutritionist and member of EarthSave International, presented an address "Agricultural Biotechnology: Sound Science?" in which she described some of the risks and uncertainties surrounding the widespread utilization and release of genetically engineered organisms. Despite the absence of the other main speaker, who had a last-minute conflict, the pro-biotechnology side was well represented by questions and comments from the audience.
The rest of Thursday morning and the afternoon were devoted to 7 contributed papers, 7 graduate student papers, and 13 posters. In the Graduate Student Paper Competition, the first place award went to Merrilee Anderson, The Pennsylvania State University, for her paper "Etiology and epidemiology of Trichoderma green mold in association with the cultivated mushroom, Agaricus bisporus," coauthored by D.M. Beyer and P.J. Wuest. Second place awards went to Debbie Glenn, Virginia Tech, for her paper "Seed transmission of Cylindrocladium parasiticum and its importance to peanut production in Virginia", co-authored with P. M. Phipps and R. J. Stipes, and to Krista Kinneer, West Virginia University, for her paper "Functional diversity of small soil bacteria," coauthored with Kelly M. Heldreth-Fleming, Daniel G. Panaccione, and Alan J. Sexstone.
The technical program concluded on Friday morning with an outreach symposium on "Management of Newly Emerging and Recurring Diseases in the Greenhouse," organized by Jim Locke, which in addition to the Potomac Division attendance, drew another 24 attendees from the regional greenhouse industry.
The business meeting was held on Thursday during and after lunch. Potomac Division President Bob Mulrooney called the meeting to order. Marguerite Benedict reported that she had no deaths to report, but announced the retirement of long-time Division member and past president Tom van der Zwet. Michelle Bjerkness, of APS Headquarters described some of the new image collections, books, workshops, and a major teleconference on plum pox that are available or will be in the near future. She also announced the impending major update of APS's website. In his Councilors Report, Erik Stromberg announced the impending launch of an electronic journal "Plant Health Progress".
The Minutes of the 1999 meeting and Treasurer's Report were presented by Secretary-Treasurer Anton Baudoin. The Division's operating account had a surplus of $722.22, while the Memorial Fund increased by about $1900 due to favorable stock market results. Both reports were accepted. Neither Diane Reaver nor Jay Stipes, the two members of the Auditing Committee, were present but President Mulrooney read their written report which was accepted. On behalf of the Local Arrangements Committee, Bob Mulrooney mentioned that the last meeting in Delaware (1992) had the exact same number of student papers. On behalf of Nikki O'Neill, Chair of the Nominations Committee, Ethel Dutky reported that both races for officer were uncontested and that both candidates were elected. For the Industry Relations Committee, Erik Stromberg thanked Zeneca, Novartis, and Rohm and Haas for their support of the meeting.
Proposed change to the Division Constitution: the Division officers proposed to amend the Division Constitution by adding the Immediate Past President to the Executive Committee. This codifies current practice. The motion to approve this change was seconded and passed. The following shows deletions by strikethrough and additions by underlining:
· Article 3. Officers and Their Duties. The officers of the Division shall consist of President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Councilor, and Immediate Past President. Their duties shall be those usually performed by such officers. The officers shall constitute the Executive Committee of the Division. The President, and Vice-President, and Immediate Past President shall serve for a term of one year, and ...
Under New Business, Erik Stromberg brought up a request from the APS Foundation that the Divisions participate in a new program to make low-cost, introductory APS memberships available to undergraduate students and first-year graduate students. Each Division is asked to contribute $300 per year for 2 years to the program, and to provide a free Division membership to any student who receives one of the low-cost memberships. The motion to approve this request was seconded and passed.
Some discussion followed on how to spend some of the funds that have been accumulating in the Division's operating fund, which stands at over $10,000. Suggestions included: supporting high school students from the Division's region to attend a meeting, fund speakers for meeting programs, provide prizes for high school science fairs, fund a Vo Ag contest, fund student posters at division meetings and institute an award for best contributed paper. It was moved and seconded to appoint a committee to make recommendations regarding this matter, and this motion passed.
There was no definitive information on the location and time for the next meeting. Tentative plans call for a joint meeting to be hosted by the Northeastern Division. If this does not materialize, the next Potomac Division meeting would be hosted by Virginia.
At the Thursday evening banquet, the Potomac Division presented its Distinguished Service Award to Erik Stromberg, in recognition of his service to the Division. The Memorial Fund Graduate Student Travel Award was presented to Veronica Basnayake of the University of Delaware. APS President Neal van Alfen presented the presidential address, and the traditional Resolutions, including some of the most hilarious in years, were read by Mannon Gallegly.
New Officers of the Division are:
|
President |
Vern Damsteegt, USDA, Frederick |
|
Vice-President |
Anton Baudoin, VPI&SU |
|
Secretary/Treasurer |
Jim Kotcon, West Virginia University |
|
Councilor |
Erik Stromberg, VPI&SU |
|
Immediate Past President |
Bob Mulrooney, Univ. of Delaware |
Minutes
57th Meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
October 17-19, 2001
The 2001 meeting of the Potomac Division was held jointly with the Northeast Division on October 17-19 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Cromwell, Connecticut. Wade Elmer of the Northeast Division served as the local arrangements chair. Attendance was 92, including 10 students.
The programs started Wednesday morning with a Forestry tour, attended by 22 people, of Dinosaur State Park and a review of Chestnut Blight research with tour leader Sandra Anagnostakis. This was followed by Extension and Industry meetings Wednesday afternoon, chaired by Cheryl Smith and Mike Agnew, respectively. A welcome social was held Wednesday evening which included a "Phytopathological Jeopardy" contest.
The Thursday morning session began with a symposium entitled "Sampling plant pathogens with an eye on impact, genetics, and spatial structure" with Peter Oudemans presiding. A keynote address Thursday afternoon by APS President Noel Keen was entitled "Genomics of plant pathogens: Learning that they are a lot smarter than we thought". The rest of Thursday morning and the afternoon were devoted to 22 contributed papers, including a Graduate Student Paper competition. In the Graduate Student Paper Competition, the first place award went to F. A Nalim from Pennsylvania State University, for a paper "Molecular phylogenetic analysis of Fusarium avenaceum from Lisianthus," coauthored by D, M. Geiser, R. J. McGovern and B. K. Harbaugh. The Runner-up award went to M. Filion, from McGill University for a paper "Detection of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices using species-specific PCR primers", co-authored with M. St-Arnaud, C. Hamel and S. H. Jabaji-Hare.
The technical program on Friday morning included an outreach industry seminar on "Diseases of Herbaceous Perennials," organized by Connecticut Cooperative Extension and the Northeast Division APS. Approximately 220 people registered for this workshop.
A joint business meeting of the Northeast and Potomac Divisions was held, followed by the Potomac Division Business meeting. The Joint meeting was called to order by Potomac Division Chair Vern Damsteegt, who thanked the Northeast Division for hosting the Joint Meeting. Bruce Clarke, Northeast Division President, co-chaired the meeting. Meg McGrath provided a Necrology Committee report, listing Dale Hindal, David Quinn, Paul Stevens, and Clark Rogerion as having passed away during the preceding year.
APS President Noel Keen reported that membership nationally was stable this year, but that the organization ran a budget deficit due in part to significant investments in the start-up costs for the on-line journal Plant Health Progress. The APS Public Policy Board, chaired by O. W. Barnett, issued APS Position Statements on Use of Biotechnology and contracted with a lobbyist in Washington DC to support funding for agricultural genomics. Changes in APS governance are being proposed in the "Madden Report", as the APS Council evolves toward more of a strategic policy body. The Madden report also proposed changes in Council representation and recommends reducing the publications editors to one or two seats and would confer Council representation to "subject matter" disciplines, while giving up Council seats currently designated for Division Councilors. Any such changes will be discussed in more depth at future meetings and would be subject to By-Laws amendments to be voted on by members. Vice-President Gary Bergstrom has been appointed to an ad hoc committee to review the changes.
Erik Stromberg described the activities of the "branding" committee which has approved a new logo for APS.
Cindy Ash provided comments from APS Headquarters and described the new on-line publication Plant Health Progress. It is intended to be the reliable source of the latest science-based applied plant health management information that will be easily accessible from the field or home office.
Barbara Christ and Erik Stromberg presented a joint Councilor's report. Topics included the Governance report, annual meetings, and results of a membership survey.
Northeast Division Treasurer Suja Hare presented preliminary income estimates for the meetings and indicated that profits from the Herbaceous Perennial Workshop would be shared among the Northeast and Potomac Divisions and Connecticut Cooperative Extension.
The Joint meeting then recessed and individual Division business meetings were held.
Potomac Division Business Meeting, Oct. 18, 2001
The 57th annual business meeting of the Potomac Division was called to order by President Vern Damsteegt at 5:30 PM. Minutes of the previous year's meeting were presented and one correction was offered; the Thursday symposium (2000 meeting) on "Advantages and Pitfalls of Using Biotechnology" was organized by Bob Mulrooney and chaired by Tom Evans. Erik Stromberg moved, Anton Baudoin seconded, that the Minutes be approved as amended. Motion carried.
The Treasurer's report for the Jan.1-Dec. 31, 2000 fiscal year was presented by James Kotcon. The Division's operating account had a net loss of $482.01 and an ending balance of 2,890.24, while the Memorial Fund increased by $159.50 (due to interest income and favorable stock market results from an investment account at APS Headquarters) and closed the year with a balance of 19,494.72. Due to worsening stock market conditions, losses in the investment account were being experienced in 2001. The report of the Audit committee was presented by Morris Bonde and Mannon Gallegley and concluded that the financial records were correct and in order. Ken Deahl moved, Anton Baudoin seconded, that both the Treasurer's report and the Audit Committee report be approved as presented. Motion carried.
Vern Damsteegt announced that the Graduate Student travel Award competition received six applications, and was awarded to Prappasorn Damrongkool of West Virginia University. She used the funds to attend a Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions Conference in Madison Wisconsin, July 13-14. She expressed her appreciation in a letter to the Division.
Under Old Business, Anton Baudoin announced that the 2002 Potomac Division meeting would be held jointly with the Eastern Regional Conference on the Ecology of Root-Infecting Microorganisms (ERCERIM) March 4-6, in Williamsburg, VA. The 2003 meeting will be held jointly with the Eastern Entomological Society in Harrisburg, PA, March 15-21, 2003.
Erik Stromberg led a discussion of the "Madden Report" on APS Governance. The report was developed out of concern that APS Council is not adequately representative of all members, and needs to focus more on strategic decision-making than on day-to-day operations. Most APS members are not members of individual Divisions, 30 % are overseas and have no Division affiliation, and current Journal Editors make up a disproportionate share of APS Council. The Madden report proposed adding "Disciplinary" Council representatives while reducing the number of Division and Editor positions on Council. Concerns were expressed about details of how APS Council representatives would be chosen, whether an individual University might have several votes on Council, how Divisions would support graduate students; and whether disciplinary representation would lead to increased partitioning of the Society by discipline, leading to further balkanization into specialized separate organizations. The full report is available on the APSNet website at: http://www.apsnet.org/members/gov/top.asp
Bob Mulrooney gave a report of the elections committee. Approximately 30 % of the ballots were returned, either by mail, at the meeting, or electronically. Arv Grybauskas was elected Councilor, but a tie was reported for the Vice &endash;President's election. Bob Mulrooney stated that he needed to verify ballots that might have been received at his office after he had left for the meeting Anton Baudoin moved, Vern Damsteegt seconded, that Bob get a final count and circulate a second ballot if a tie persisted. Motion carried.
(Note: David L. Clement, of the University of Maryland was elected as Vice-President when the final e-mail ballots were counted. Officers for 2001-2002 are: President Anton Baudoin, Vice President David Clement, Secretary-Treasurer James Kotcon, Councilor Arvydas Grybauskas, and Immediate Past President Vernon Damsteegt.)
Due to the 2001 Joint meeting being held late in the year, it was agreed that terms of office for President and Vice-President would last through one meeting, resulting in a term of one-half of a calendar year.
The meeting adjourned at 6:25 PM.
Respectfully submitted by:
James Kotcon, Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes
58th Meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
March 4-6, 2002
The 2002 meeting of the Potomac Division was held jointly with the Eastern Regional Conference on the Ecology of Root-Infecting Microorganisms (ERCERIM) on March 4-6 at the Fort Magruder Radisson in Williamsburg, Virginia. Fred Shokes served as the local arrangements chair. Attendance was estimated at 60-70, including at least 10 students.
The scientific programs started Monday morning with a Welcome by Fred Shokes, followed by an ERCERIM symposium on: "Sclerotinia: Biology and epidemiology in field crops" chaired by Pat Phipps included presentations on genetics, and disease forecasting. A second symposium on: "Disease management: Cultural, biological, chemical, and molecular" was chaired by Chuck Johnson and discussed use of weather forecasting for spray advisories, biological control methods, and systemic resistance. An afternoon symposium, "Conventional versus Organic Agriculture" was chaired by Richard Baird and described microbial communities and biological control. The afternoon concluded with a symposium on "New techniques for identification of soil microbes" chaired by Don Huber. It reviewed advances in use of aminopeptidase profiling, PCR and AFLP methods, and Fatty Acid-Methyl Esterase techniques.
Tuesday morning opened with a Keynote address by Marc Cubeta entitled: "Recent advances in understanding the population dynamics of the hidden enemy, Rhizoctonia solani". Eight contributed papers were presented during the remainder of the morning in an extended session chaired by S. A. Alexander. A tour of Colonial Williamsburg included discussions of grounds maintenance in that historic setting. It was followed by an Industry/Extension Update session chaired by Erik Stromberg and Arv Grybauskas which included discussions of various new products, pathogen occurrence, and disease management methods throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
A poster session was held Tuesday evening. Nine posters were presented. A pre-banquet social included the piano talents and harmonizing of Jay Stipes. At the banquet, the Best Student Paper Award was presented to Josh Marvel of Virginia Tech for his paper (co-authored with Sam Alexander): "Evaluation of selected fungicides for control of anthracnose on bell pepper".
The scientific program concluded Wednesday morning with three contributed papers and a session of invited papers on Updates in Plant Pathology, chaired by Anton Baudoin. These included discussions of plant activators, fungicide resistance in strobilurins, Xanthomonas taxonomy, and an update on Plum Pox virus.
Potomac Division Business Meeting, March 5
The 58th annual Business meeting of the Potomac Divisions was called to order by President Anton Baudoin at 12:50 PM on Tuesday, March 5. A moment of silence was held in memory of Hoyt Wilson who passed away this year.
APS staff member John Meyers gave a brief report from Headquarters and described the new electronic journal "Crop health Management" as well as efforts to expand the APS Press Books program. He also encouraged attendance at the APS Annual meeting in Milwaukee.
The APS Councilor's report was presented by Arv Grybauskas. He indicated that new student memberships would receive a 2-years subscription to a journal for the price of one membership, and offer being subsidized by the APS Foundation. The "Governance issue" continues to be addressed by APS Council and several options will be discussed at the annual meeting.
The Minutes of the 2001 meeting and the 2001 Treasurer's report were circulated by James Kotcon and approved. An audit committee report was offered by Clarissa Balbalian and William Macdonald. They recommended that ledgers be updated to detail each transaction individually and that accounting of mingled funds in the Memorial Fund and the Operating Fund should be revised to account for each separately. Tom Evans moved, Arv Grybauskas seconded that the audit committee report be approved. Motion carried.
On behalf of the local arrangements committee, Fred Shokes indicated that the meeting was running smoothly.
The nominations committee reported that Bill Bruckart had been elected Vice-President.
No report of the Industry Relations committee was available and no student applied for the Graduate Student Travel Award. Tom Evans moved that two awards be offered next year. Arv Grybauskas seconded, motion carried.
Dave Clement reported that no award was made for the graduate student competition.
Jim Locke reported on behalf of an ad hoc committee regarding surplus funds of the Division. He is soliciting ideas on how to use these funds and indicated that recommendations would be presented at the next meeting.
Tom Evans moved, Bill Macdonald seconded, that the Division allocate up to $600 for a Division social at the 2002 Annual APS meeting. Motion carried.
Anton Baudoin moved, Tom Evans seconded, that the Student Travel award and Best Student Paper awards be increased by $100 each. The Student Travel award would be $500, First place in the Best Student Paper would be $350 and second place would be $200. Motion carried.
Erik Stromberg encouraged students to attend the national meeting and participate in the de Bary Bowl competition.
Dave Clement announced that the next meeting would be held jointly with the Eastern Branch of the Entomological society of America at the Harrisburg Hilton in Harrisburg, PA.
Vern Damsteegt suggested that the 2004 meeting could be held at either the USDA in Fort Detrick, MD or at West Virginia University. A decision would be made at the next meting.
The meeting adjourned at 1:27 PM.
Respectfully submitted by:
James Kotcon, Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes
59th Meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
March 16-18, 2003
The 2003 meeting of the Potomac Division was held jointly with the Eastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America on March 16-18 at the Harrisburg Hilton in Harrisburg, PA. Rayanne Lehman served as Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee while Ames Herbert and Faith Kuehn co-chaired the Program Committee. Attendance was estimated at 210, including at least 51 students, although the number of APS members was not determined.
The programs started Sunday afternoon (March 16) with a tour of the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, followed by a Welcome Reception. Evening programs included sessions on Recently Introduced Pests, Wireworm Management, and Poster Displays. Monday morning (March 7) began with opening remarks by Eastern Branch-ESA President Susan Whitney and Potomac Division President David Clement. A Panel Discussion on "Academic Department Identity: Maneuvering the Paradigm Shift" described trends toward reduced faculty numbers and shifts in expectations of the public from traditional agricultural production to more urban landscape needs, biotechnology, and bioterrorism issues. This was followed by concurrent sessions including a symposium on sucking insects as pests and disease vectors, and a contributed paper session. A Best Student Paper session was held Monday afternoon, with 17 students presenting, including five plant pathology-related papers. The respective business meetings were held Monday afternoon, followed by a joint awards banquet.
The Potomac Division Best Student Paper Award was presented to Josh Marvel of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for presentation entitled "Comparison of pepper anthracnose isolates using Biolog". Second place was awarded to Mbisin Diagne of University of Maryland for her paper "Impact of chemicals on management of spinach white rust and insect communities". The Memorial Fund Student Travel Award was also presented to Mbisin Diagne. The Potomac Division also contributed to a joint Award with EB-ESA for the student paper best integrating entomology and plant pathology, presented to Kathleen Leahy of the University of Massachusetts and entitled "Possible suppression of potato leafhopper feeding by Apogee: Implications for fire blight control on apple". The Potomac Division Distinguished Service Award for 2003 was presented to Arvydas Grybauskas of the University of Maryland, and to Nichole O'Neill of USDA-Beltsville.
The scientific program resumed Tuesday morning (March 18) with two symposia on "New Invasive Species Possibilities for Biological Control" and "New Chemistry and Technology for Pest Management". A conference with eight presentations on "Field Crop Insects" and the Industry/Extension Updates were also held. The program concluded Tuesday afternoon with a submitted paper session and three symposia: a graduate student symposium on "Insect, Plant and Fungi Relationships in Nature"; a symposium on "Bacterial leaf Scorch"; and a symposium on "Biosecurity: Protecting Agricultural and Environmental Resources from Introduced Organisms".
Potomac Division Business Meeting
The 59th annual Business meeting of the Potomac Divisions was called to order by President David Clement at 5:00 PM on Monday, March 17.
APS President Jacqueline Fletcher described new approaches to APS governance being considered by APS Council, especially the increased reliance on Policy Boards for strategic planning. Journal publications remain the largest source of income for the Society, and two new journals are available on live through the Plant Management Network. A third journal, Forage and Grazing Lands, is expected to be on line within a few months, and various APS publications such as F&N Tests and B&C Tests are now available electronically. Barb Christ will chair a Division Issues Focus Group. The Public Policy Board is taking a prominent role in developing a biosecurity program in the U. S. Department of Homeland Security.
The APS Councilor's report was presented by Arv Grybauskas. He indicated that Erik Stromberg will be the new APS treasurer. Alan Biggs is serving as Plant Disease Editor-In-Chief and will join the Publications Board. An APS Policy on Publication of Biosecurity Issues will be released soon. Finally, a constitutional amendment will be proposed to allow students who are employed to join as student members.
James Kotcon presented the Minutes of the 2002 meeting and the Treasurers report. Jim Kotcon moved that the Minutes be approved. Ethel Dutky seconded and the motion passed.
Bob Mulrooney presented the Audit Committee report. They recommended that corrections be made to the Treasurer's Report regarding the Memorial Fund such that payments for Student Awards be made from the Operating Account rather than the Memorial Fund as per Division policy. With this correction, they found the books to be in order.
Anton Baudoin moved that Potomac Division dues be reduced to $6.00 for members and $3.00 for students. Arv Grybauskas pointed out that APS Council is likely to harmonize dues of all divisions. Anton Baudoin moved that the Division realign dues to be consistent with the national Society. JBK seconded and the motion passed.
In presenting the Treasurer's report, James Kotcon pointed out that reports for the Investment account at APS headquarters no longer provide "current market" value of investments, but only the "book" value (original purchase price). Thus recent losses in stock value are not reported until the stocks are actually sold. Previous treasurer reports provided current market values, but these are not available for 2002 and the differences from previous years are not easy to reconcile. Vern Damsteegt moved, and Anton Baudoin seconded, that the Memorial Fund Books be corrected to reflect actual value of the investment account. Motion carried. Kotcon also agreed to revise the report to correct the Memorial Fund accounts regarding student paper awards and to add investment account income to the Memorial Fund account.
Arv Grybauskas presented the Nominations Committee report. Bob Davis was elected Vice-President and Dan Roberts was elected Secretary/Treasurer.
It was agreed that West Virginia and USDA will co-host the Potomac Division meeting, to be held either at Fort Dietrick, MD or in the Shepherdstown, WV area.
James Kotcon moved to adjourn, Vern Damsteegt seconded, and the meeting adjourned at 6:15 PM.
Respectfully submitted by:
James Kotcon, Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes
60th Meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
April 6-7, 2004
The 2004 meeting of the Potomac Division was held April 6 - 7, 2004 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center, Shepherdstown, WV. Jay Norelli served as the chair of the Local Arrangements Committee while Arv Grybauskas and Bill Bruckart served informally as the Program Committee. The Executive Committee consisted of Bill Bruckart, President; Dave Clement, Past-President; Bob Davis, Vice President; and Dan Roberts, Secretary-Treasurer. Attendance was estimated at 80 (including invited speakers) with 71 formal registrants. At least 10 graduate students were in attendance including students from Rutgers, Cornell, and Penn State.
The Program started Tuesday morning (April 6th) with opening remarks from Bill Bruckart, President, Potomac Division, followed by a formal welcome from Dariusz Swietlik, USDA-ARS, AFRS, Kearneysville, WV. Gary Bergstrom, APS President, presented an overview of the American Phytopathological Society including discussions on the status of various APS journals and APS membership. The first session consisted of a sequence of invited talks centered on technology. Invited talks were "Technology, then and now" presented by Frances Latterell and Mannon Gallegly; "Genetic and genomic approaches to studying virulence and hypovirulence of the chestnut blight fungus" by Don Nuss; "The resistant and susceptible responses of soybean to the soybean cyst nematode" presented by Ben Matthews; and "Clinical and pre-clinical testing of plant virus vector-expressed therapeutic proteins" presented by Greg Pogue. Session II was the Graduate Student Competition moderated by Jane Choi. The session consisted of 10 oral presentations by graduate students from the Potomac Division as well as students from Rutgers, Cornell, and Penn State. The Business Meeting was held Tuesday afternoon from 4:30 PM until approximately 5:30 PM. The social, sponsored by Bayer CropScience, was from 6:00 PM until 7:00 PM followed by the banquet from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Session III was completed Wednesday (April 7th) AM. A symposium on Soybean Rust was held late Wednesday morning, moderated by Arv Grybauskas. Bill Bruckart and Dan Roberts decided that 5 minutes should be allotted between talks for Arv's color commentary. The 60th meeting of the Potomac Division was adjourned by Bill Bruckart at 12:30 PM on Wednesday, April 7, 2004.
The Potomac Division Best Student Paper Award was presented to Zola Msiska, West Virginia University for her presentation entitled "The beta-tubulin gene as a means to discriminate species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi." Two second place awards were presented, one to Anne DeMarsay, Rutgers University, for her presentation "Highbush blueberry flower buds as a winter reservoir for Colletotrichum acutatum" and one to Megan Dewdney, Cornell University, for her presentation " Maryblyt and Cougarblight: is there a difference?" Honorable Mention went to Jean-Pierre Marelli. There were no applicants for the Memorial Fund Student Travel Award. Jay Norelli was elected Vice-President for 2004-2005, and Tom Evans was elected Potomac Division Councilor. The Potomac Division Distinguished Service Award for 2004 was presented to Anton B.A.M. Baudoin, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Considerable time was spent by members of the Executive Committee and other distinguished colleagues (to remain unnamed) in attempt to decipher Anton's middle initials. Anton's full name remains an enigma, although several colorful suggestions were tabled. Resolutions, assembled by The Resolutions Committee (Mannon Gallegly and Erik Stromberg), were read by Mannon Gallegly and enjoyed by all. The gavel (repaired by outgoing President Bill Bruckart) was presented to Bob Davis, the President for 2004-2005.
Potomac Division Business Meeting
The 60th Annual Business Meeting of the Potomac Division was called to order at 4:30 PM Tuesday, April 6th by Potomac Division President Bill Bruckart. A moment of silence was held for members who passed away over the past year. Steve Johnston, Rutgers University, was remembered.
Gary Bergstrom, APS President, took questions regarding his Tuesday morning talk.
Arv Grybauskas presented the Potomac Division Councilor's report. Annual APS meetings have been booked through 2010. Annual APS meetings will be held July 30-August 3, 2004 in Anaheim, CA; July 30 - August 4, 2005 in Austin, TX; July 29-August 2, 2006 in Quebec City, Quebec (possibly in conjunction with Mycologists); July 28 - August 1, 2007 in San Diego, CA; July 26 - July 30, 2008 in St. Paul, MN (APS Centennial); July 30 - August 1, 2009 in Portland, OR; and August 5 - August 12, 2010 in Nashville, TN. Arv presented an overview of the APS election process. APS membership nominates potential candidates for APS officers. Roughly 95% of nominations are single votes from APS members. Individuals with the most nominations become the Members nominees. The Councilor's Forum selects nominees to complete the ballot. The normalization of dues was discussed at the APS Councilor's Meeting. However, fees for dues are still up to individual Divisions. Revisions have been made to the DeBary Bowl. The Councilor's Team has been eliminated to shorten the contest. The Potomac Division and the Northeast Division will have a combined team for the DeBary Bowl.
Dan Roberts presented the Minutes from the 2003 Potomac Division Meeting. The 2003 Minutes were approved. Dan Roberts presented the Treasurer's Report for 2003. The Treasurer's report was approved. Jim Kotcon prepared the 2003 Minutes and the 2003 Treasurer's report. Dan Roberts presented the auditors report. The Treasurer's report was audited by Dan Roberts and C. Jacyn Baker. The auditors report was approved. It was noted that the Potomac Division was in good financial shape. However, the Investment Account performed extremely poorly in 2003, losing approximately 20 % in value. A discussion took place regarding what to do with the Investment Account over the next year. It was decided to wait and reevaluate the Investment Account at the next Business Meeting.
The Constitutional Amendment, proposed by Anton Baudoin, was approved:
Note: Underlined text indicates insertion; strike-through (strike-through) indicates deletion.
CONSTITUTION
Article 3. Officers and Their Duties
.... The President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Immediate Past President shall serve for a term of one year, and the Secretary-Treasurer and the Councilor for a term of three years, or until their successors are elected. Ö
STANDING RULES
4. Election of Officers. The Vice-President, at the end of the term of office, shall automatically become President and the Secretary-Treasurer will become Vice-President. The Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Councilor shall be elected by mail ballot sent to the members in good standing of the Division by the Secretary-Treasurer. Ö
In the future, Potomac Division Officers will be elected once to cycle through as Secretary-Treasurer, Vice-President, President, and Past-President. Elected Officers will serve one-year terms at each position. The Potomac Division Councilor will continue to be elected separately and serve a three-year term. After some discussion it was decided that Dan Roberts will serve a two-year term as Secretary-Treasurer. In 2005 an election will be held for Secretary-Treasurer and Vice-President. Starting in 2006, a new Secretary-Treasurer will be elected every year.
The next Annual Meeting of the Potomac Division is to be held in late March - early April of 2005. The venue for the meeting will be decided after reviewing the Survey conducted at the 2004 meeting. ARS-Beltsville and University of Maryland are tentatively slated to host the next meeting.
The Business meeting was adjourned at 5:30 PM Tuesday, April 6th.
Minutes
61st Meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
March 16-18, 2005
The 2005 meeting of the Potomac Division was held March 16-18, 2005 at the Carousel Resort Hotel, Ocean City, MD. The Local Arrangements committee consisted of Nikki O'Neill, Chair, Jacyn Baker, Dan Roberts, Mary Strem, Sue Mischke, Julie, Wolf, John Clark, Talo Pastor-Corrales, and Arv Grybauskas. The Program Committee consisted of Bob Davis, Chair, Jay Norelli, Bill Bruckart, Dan Roberts, Tom Evans, Nikki O'Neill, Arv Grybauskas, Nina Shishkoff, Talo Pastor-Corrales, Shunyuan Xiao, Mary Strem, and Bill Schneider. The Executive Committee consisted of Bob Davis, President; Bill Bruckart, Past-President; Jay Norelli, Vice President; Dan Roberts, Secretary-Treasurer; and Tom Evans, Councilor. There were 97 formal registrants with 43 people participating in the EcoTour of Assateague Island on Wednesday afternoon (March 16th).
The Program started Wednesday afternoon with the Industry-Extension-Emerging Problems update moderated by Arv Grybauskas. The social, sponsored by Bayer CropScience and Dow AgroSciences, was held from 5:30 PM until 7:00 PM. The social was followed by Symposium I, "Sudden Oak Death: East Coast Perspective," chaired by Nina Shishkoff. The Program was started Thursday morning with opening remarks from Bob Davis, President, Potomac Division. John Andrews, President-Elect, the American Phytopathological Society provided an update regarding activities at APS Headquarters. Session I, chaired by Lev Nemchinov, consisted of 4 contributed papers from Potomac Division members and collaborators. Symposium II, "Durable Resistance," was chaired by Talo Pastor-Corrales and Shunyuan Xiao. Session II was the Graduate Student Competition, moderated by Jay Norelli. Session II consisted of three oral presentations by graduate students in the Potomac Division. Session III, chaired by Paul Tooley, consisted of four contributed papers presented by members of the Potomac Division and collaborators. Session III was followed by the Poster Session. Thirteen posters were presented. The Program on Thursday was capped-off with the Banquet from 7:00 PM until 9:30 PM. Eric Erbe, gave the presentation "Agriculture, Snowflakes and Avalanches: Frontiers in Electron Microscopy." The Program started Friday morning with Symposium III, "Diagnostics in a Genomics Era," chaired by Bill Schneider. The roundtable workshop, "Tricks of the Trade, Hints for Successful Molecular Methods Including Diagnostics," was the last session of the meeting. The workshop was chaired by Mary Strem. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 12:30 PM Friday March 18, 2005.
The Potomac Division Best Student Paper Award was presented to Alyssa Collins, University of Delaware, for her presentation entitled "Impact of cover cropping systems on fruit rots of pumpkin." Two Honorable Mention Awards were presented, one to Revital Hermann, University of Delaware, for the presentation "Characterization and efficacy testing of novel antifungal peptides in transgenic rice" and one to Jiahuai Hu, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, for the presentation "Propamocarb resistance of Phytophthora nicotianae" populations at ornamental plant nurseries in Virginia." There were no applicants for the Memorial Fund Student Travel Award. Kate Everts was elected Vice-President of the Potomac Division for 2005-2006. Dan Roberts was re-elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Potomac Division for 2005-2006. There were no nominations for the Potomac Division Distinguished Service Award. Resolutions, assembled by the Resolutions Committee (Mannon Gallegly and Nikki O'Neill) were read by Mannon Gallegly at the Banquet. The gavel was presented to Jay Norelli, President for 2005-2006, by outgoing President Bob Davis.
Potomac Division Business Meeting
The 61st Annual Business Meeting of the Potomac Division Meeting was called to order at 12:30 PM Thursday, March 17th 2005. A moment of silence was held for members of the Potomac Division who passed away over the past year. Burt Endo, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD; Houston Couch, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Charles Drake, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; J. Stanley Melching, USDA-ARS, Ft. Detrick; and Clyde Peet, USDA-ARS, Ft. Detrick were remembered.
Tom Evans presented the Councilor's Report. The American Phytopathological Society is in good financial health with approximately $1 million in a reserve account. The De Bary Bowl has been discontinued as of the upcoming meeting in Austin, TX. Apparently opponents are tired of losing to the Potomac Division. Tom indicated that members need to lobby John Andrews if they would like to see the competition reinstated. There are plans to potentially reinstate the De Bary Bowl in 2008 for the Centennial Meeting of the American Phytopathological Society. The American Phytopathological Society has retained the services of lobbyists Kelley, Ebersol, and Associates to represent the Society's interests with the U.S. government. The journals Fungicide and Nematicide Tests and Biological and Cultural Tests for Control of Plant Diseases have been moved to the publication board. This has been done in an effort to increase the quality of these journals.
Dan Roberts presented the minutes of the 2004 meeting of the Potomac Division. The minutes were approved. Dan Roberts presented the Treasurer's Report for the Potomac Division for 2004. He indicated that the Division was in good financial health and that the Investment Fund was starting to appreciate in value, in contrast to the performance of this fund in 2003. At the end of 2004 there was $15,275.79 in the Operating Account and $11,828.35 in the Memorial Fund. The Treasurer's Report was approved. The Auditor's Report, presented by Jacyn Baker, stated that the Treasurer's books were in order. The Auditing Committee was comprised of Jacyn Baker and Ken Deahl.
The University of Delaware volunteered to host the annual meeting of the Potomac Division in 2006. The chair of the Local Arrangements Committee for the 2006 meeting is to be Tom Evans, University of Delaware.
Norm Schaad proposed that the Potomac Division fund an annual $2000.00 travel award for foreign students. To be eligible, the student must be from a foreign country and have a prior collaboration with a Potomac Division member. The award was proposed to fund travel to the national meeting of the American Phytopathological Society. Questions arose about how many such candidates might exist, and whether the description should be broadened. The motion failed. Tom Evans proposed that an ad-hoc committee be established to study this proposal. This motion passed.
The Business Meeting was adjourned at 1:10 PM Thursday, March 17th.
Minutes
62nd Meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
March 15-17, 2006
The 2006 meeting of the Potomac Division was held March 15-17, 2006 at the Atlantic Sands Hotel and Conference Center, Rehoboth Beach, DE. Tom Evans served as the chair of the Local Arrangements Committee. The other members of the Local Arrangements Committee were Kate Everts, Nancy Gregory, Bob Mulrooney, Nikki O'Neill, Dan Roberts, and XinGen Zhou. The Program Committee consisted of Jay Norelli, Chair; Kristi Bottner; Dave Clement; Christopher Dardick; Bob Davis; Tom Evans; Kate Everts; Chuck Johnson; Jim Kotcon; Talo Pastor-Corrales; and Inga Zasada. The Executive Committee consisted of Jay Norelli, President; Bob Davis, Past President; Kate Everts, Vice President; and Dan Roberts, Secretary-Treasurer. Attendance was estimated at 75 people (including invited speakers). One graduate student was in attendance.
The Program started Wednesday afternoon (March 15th) with opening remarks from Jay Norelli, President, Potomac Division. The first session consisted of the Industry-Extension-Emerging Problems Update, chaired by Bob Mulrooney. The Wednesday program concluded with Symposium I, "APS Potomac Division: Outstanding Research and Extension Programs in Plant Pathology," chaired by Jay Norelli. Talks were presented by Arv Grybauskas, University of Maryland; John McDowell, Virginia Tech; and John Hartung, USDA-ARS, Beltsville. The program commenced Thursday morning with Symposium II, "Impact of Plant Pathology on Technology and Human/Animal Health," chaired by Chris Dardick. Lunch and the Business Meeting followed Symposium II. Symposium III, "Socio-Economic Impact of the Methyl Bromide Phase Out," was held Thursday afternoon. Symposium III was chaired by Inga Zasada. The first Contributed Papers session, chaired by Kate Everts, was held following Symposium III. This Contributed Papers Session was followed by the presentation "A perspective on Plant Pathology: origin, status and future prospects" by Dr. John Andrews, APS President. The Poster Session/Social and Banquet concluded Thursday's program. The social was sponsored by Applied Biosystems, Arysta LifeScience, BASF, and Dow AgroSciences. The meeting program concluded Friday morning (March 17th) after the second Contributed Papers Session and Symposium IV, "New Technologies in Molecular Biology."
The 2006 Memorial Fund Student Travel Award went to Luisa Santamaria, University of Delaware. Three Memorial Fund Student Travel Awards for 2005 went to Rachel Melnick, Penn State; William Rittenour, West Virginia University; and Jiahuai Hu, Virginia Tech. There was no Graduate Student Paper Competition due to lack of entrants. Inga Zasada was elected Secretary-Treasurer for 2006-2007. The Potomac Division Distinguished Service Award for 2006 was presented to Tom Evans, University of Delaware. Resolutions, assembled by The Resolutions Committee (Erik Stromberg), were read by Erik Stromberg and enjoyed by all. The spoon (the gavel did not make the trip) was presented to Kate Everts, the President for 2006-2007, by Jay Norelli.
Potomac Division Business Meeting
The 62nd Annual Business Meeting of the Potomac Division was called to order at 12:30 PM Thursday, March 16th by Potomac Division President Jay Norelli.
Tom Evans presented the Potomac Division Councilor's report. APS finances are strong, with a $4 million budget approved for next year. Last year APS was $50,000 in the black due, in large part, to a good meeting in Austin and strong journals.
APS journals are available electronically with free access to journal articles 18 to 24 months after publication. Back issues of journals are being scanned for APS by the University of Wisconsin Agricultural Library for no charge. The journals Biological and Cultural Tests for Control of Plant Diseases and Fungicide and Nematicide Tests are being renamed Plant Disease Management Reports to better reflect content. Submissions for publication will be accepted twice yearly. APS net will now have a search engine.
Annual APS meetings have been booked through 2010. Annual APS meetings will be held July 29-August 2, 2006 in Quebec City, Quebec; July 28 - August 1, 2007 in San Diego, CA; July 26 - July 30, 2008 in St. Paul, MN (APS Centennial); July 30 - August 1, 2009 in Portland, OR; and August 5 - August 12, 2010 in Nashville, TN. Planning for the APS Centennial in St. Paul in 2008 is well under way. Please plan on attending.
Kate Everts presented the Graduate Student Awards Committee Report. In addition to making selections for the 2005 and 2006 Memorial Fund Student Travel Awards (see above) the committee discussed ideas directed at improving graduate student participation at the Potomac Division Meeting. Ideas included waving registration fees for graduate students; hosting a "jeopardy-like" event at the meeting; having graduate students plan a social-networking activity; providing an incentive for major professors to get their students involved; advertising the meeting early and often; sending notices about the travel award and/or paper competition separate from the general meeting email; and creating a pdf document that is a little flashier with details about prizes, application requirements and deadlines, etc.
Dan Roberts presented the Minutes from the 2005 Potomac Division Meeting. The 2005 Minutes were approved after members offered editorial suggestions. Dan Roberts presented the Treasurer's Report for 2005. The Treasurer's report was approved. The Treasurer's report was audited by Inga Zasada and Susan Meyer. It was noted that the Potomac Division was in good financial shape and that the financial stature of the Potomac Division allowed inviting a number of prominent speakers to increase interest in the annual meeting. It was also noted that we need to be careful not to overextend ourselves with financial obligations in order to keep the Potomac Division in good financial shape.
A number of motions were presented to the Potomac Division membership by the Executive Committee for approval/rejection. The motions and status of these motions are as follows:
Issue 1: The APS has requested that the Potomac Division consider becoming financial sponsors of the 2008 APS Centennial.
Motion 1. The Potomac Division of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) will provide financial sponsorship for the 2008 APS Centennial. The level of sponsorship will be $3,000 to be paid in three installments in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The exact level of each installment will be determined by the Executive Committee of the APS Potomac Division based upon available finances. The Motion was approved by the Potomac Division membership.
Issue 2: At the 2005 Business Meeting the membership proposed that the APS-POT fund a travel award to foreign students to support participation in the national meeting of the APS. The motion was tabled until 2006. Because there was no consensus among the Potomac Division Executive Committee or the membership-at-large regarding the most appropriate target candidates for the travel award, two motions to sponsor a Potomac Division Foreign Collaboration Travel Award were offered to the membership. Motion 2a was targeted toward a wider group of foreign scientists collaborating with Potomac Division members. Motion 2b was targeted specifically to foreign students with current or former association with Potomac Division members. Jay Norelli explained that the members of the division may reject both motions or adopt one of them, but the Executive Committee does not recommend that two separate awards be sponsored.
Motion 2a. The Potomac Division of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) will sponsor the Potomac Division Foreign Collaboration Travel Award. The purpose of the award will be to foster collaboration between Potomac Division members and foreign scientists by supporting travel from a foreign country to the national meeting of the APS. Awards will be made based upon potential contribution to professional development, proposed level of participation (papers, committees, etc.) in the Annual Meeting, the strength of ongoing collaborations within the Potomac Division and the need for financial assistance. Priority will be given to current and former students of the Potomac Division. If strong applications were not received, no award would be made. The Executive Committee would determine on an annual basis if sufficient funds were available for the award and the award amount that would range from $500 to $2,000. The APS Potomac Division, Graduate Student Award Committee would be responsible for soliciting applications and selecting the recipient. The motion was rejected by the Potomac Division membership.
Motion 2b. The Potomac Division of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) will sponsor the Potomac Division Foreign Collaboration Travel Award. The purpose of the award will be to foster the professional development of foreign students with current or prior collaboration within the Potomac Division by supporting travel from a foreign country to the national meeting of the APS. Students working on their M.S. or Ph.D. at a foreign university in collaboration with a Potomac Division member, and former students who received their degrees within the Potomac Division and are working outside the United States or Canada at the time of application, would be eligible for the award. Foreign students studying within the Potomac Division at the time of application would apply for the standard Potomac Division Graduate Student Travel Award. The Executive Committee would determine on an annual basis if sufficient funds were available for the award and the award amount that would range from $500 to $2,000. The APS Potomac Division, Graduate Student Award Committee would be responsible for soliciting applications and selecting the recipient. Awards will be made based upon potential contribution to professional development, proposed level of participation (papers, committees, etc.) in the Annual Meeting and the strength of ongoing collaborations within the Potomac Division. If strong applications were not received, no award would be made. The motion was rejected by the Potomac Division membership.
Issue 3: The Potomac Division Graduate Student Travel Award currently is $500. Kate Everts explained that this amount, which is adequate for some meetings, does not significantly defray the cost of many of the more expensive meetings. To address this issue, the Graduate Student Award Committee discussed proposing a fluctuating award amount. However, the Committee was concerned that there may be problems with fairness (or perceived fairness) if the award amount fluctuates. In addition, it felt that the student's meeting choice should be based on the meeting's relevance to their research interests, not the amount of the award. It concluded that the award should be increased in an equitable way to insure a greater part of the meeting cost is covered. Meeting registration can be a substantial amount. An increase in the award to cover meeting registration in addition to $500 travel expenses would assist graduate students, and be an equitable solution. While this amount would not completely defray the cost of many meetings, it would provide additional support, and may give students more leverage when seeking other funds or awards to support their travel.
Motion 3. The Graduate Student Travel Award will be $500.00 plus the cost of the meeting registration, not to exceed the student member registration cost for the annual APS meeting in the year prior to the award. The Motion was approved by the Potomac Division membership.
Finally, a motion to grant honorary membership in the Potomac Division to APS President John Andrews was adopted unanimously.
Minutes
63rd Meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
March 21-23, 2007
The 2007 meeting of the Potomac Division was held March 21-23, 2007 at the Inn at Virginia Tech, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. Erik Stromberg served as the chair of the Local Arrangements Committee. The other members of the Local Arrangements Committee were Sasha Marine, David Schmale III and Elizabeth Bush. The Program Committee consisted of Kate Everts (Chair), Jay Norelli, David Schmale III, Dan Roberts, Inga Zasada, Tom Evans, Sasha Marine, Elizabeth Bush, Steve Rideout, John Bowers, Anne DeMarsay, Nancy Gregory, Erik Stromberg, and Arvydas Grybauskas. The Executive Committee consisted of Kate Everts, President; Jay Norelli, Past President; Dan Roberts, Vice President; and Inga Zasada, Secretary-Treasurer. Attendance was estimated at 67 people.
The Program started Wednesday afternoon (March 21st) with a welcome from Kate Everts, President, Potomac Division. The first session was the annual Industry Extension and Emerging Disease Update, co-chaired by Steve Rideout and Arvydas Grybauskas. The Wednesday program concluded with Symposium I, “Outstanding Collaborations between Basic and Applied Plant Pathology Programs”, chaired by Kate Everts. Talks were presented by Darcy Partridge, Virginia Tech; Prakash Hebbar, Masterfoods USA; and John Kaminski, University of Connecticut. Thuesday morning's program commenced with “What’s Happening at APS” presented by Jan Leach, APS President, followed by the first Contributed Papers Session chaired by Anne DeMarsay. The Thursday morning program continued after a short break with Symposium II “Diagnostics and Detection: New Directions”, chaired by Nancy Gregory. Lunch and the Business Meeting followed Symposium II. The Graduate Student Paper Contest, chaired by Dan Roberts and the second Contributed Papers Session, chaired by Keith Yoder, were held Thursday afternoon. The Poster Session/Social and Banquet concluded Thursday’s program. The social was sponsored by AgraQuest Inc., Bayer Crop Science, BASF Ag Products and Syngenta Crop Protection. The meeting program concluded Friday morning (March 23rd) after Symposium III “Bridging Engineering and Agriculture” and demonstrations at Virginia Tech’s Kentland Farm, both chaired by David Schmale III.
The 2007 Memorial Fund Student Travel Award went to Jian Feng, who is doing a portion of his thesis work with Norm Schaad, USDA-ARS Ft. Dietrick. First place in the Graduate Student Paper Competition was awarded to Sasha Marine, Virginia Tech, and second place to Mark Schall, Pennsylvania State University. David Schmale III was elected Secretary-Treasurer for 2007-2008 and Kate Everts was elected Potomac Division Councilor for 2007-2010. The Potomac Division Distinguished Service Award for 2006 was presented to Bill Bruckart III, USDA-ARS, and to Bob Mulrooney, University of Delaware. Resolutions were assembled and read by Mannon Gallegly and enjoyed by all. The gavel was presented to Dan Roberts, the President for 2007-2008, by Kate Everts.
Potomac Division Business Meeting
The 63rd Annual Business Meeting of the Potomac Division was called to order at 1 PM Thursday, March 22nd by Potomac Division President Kate Everts.
After introductions of the Executive Committee and APS officers by Kate Everts, Inga Zasada presented the minutes from the 2006 Potomac Division Meeting. The 2006 Minutes were approved by Potomac Division members. Dan Roberts presented the Graduate Student Report. He encouraged students to apply for the Memorial Travel Award and reported that five students were participating in the 2007 Graduate Student Paper Contest. Inga Zasada presented the Treasurer’s Report for 2006. The Treasurer’s report was audited by Susan Meyer and Nikki O’Neil. The Treasurer’s report was approved. It was noted that the Potomac Division was in good financial shape and that future Treasurer’s reports should be simplified for the membership.
The Necrology Report was presented by Kate Everts. Two colleagues, Charles “Chuck” Laughlin, who was a graduate of the Potomac Division’s University of Maryland and Virginia Tech, and Alan A. MacNab, Pennsylvania State University, who worked closely with Potomac Division Extension faculty, were remembered with a moment of silence.
Tom Evans presented the Potomac Division Councilor’s Report. APS finances are strong, with a $4.3 million budget for 2007 and a $46,000 surplus from the previous year. The 2007 APS annual meeting will be held in San Diego, CA followed by Minneapolis, MN in 2008; Portland, OR in 2009; Nashville, TN in 2010; and Honolulu, HI in 2011. APS membership is 4500 to 5000 strong, with most new members being international. An ad-hoc community has been formed to address international out-reach. APS Press had a good year but is soliciting new titles and ideas. Finally, APS has been making improvements and now has a staff of 61 people. After Tom’s report the APS Potomac Division membership recognized his three years of service as the Potomac Division Councilor with a round of applause.
The only old business was an update regarding the Potomac Division’s contribution to the APS Centennial Fund. One $1000 installment has been made, with another to occur immediately after the meeting and a final installment in January 2008, for a total of $3000.
For new business, Bill MacDonald offered to host the 2008 Potomac Division Annual Meeting in West Virginia. The exact location of the meeting is to be determined. The Annual Business Meeting was adjourned at 2 PM.
Minutes
64th Meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
March 26-28, 2008
The 2008 meeting of the Potomac Division was held March 26-28, 2008 at the Lakeview Inn and Conference Center in Morgantown, West Virginia. Members of the Local Arrangements Committee were Yilmaz Balci, John Baniecki, Mark Double, Mannon Gallegly, James Kotcon, William MacDonald, Joseph Morton, and Daniel Panaccione. The Program Committee consisted of Bill Bruckart, Anne DeMarsay, Kate Everts, James Kotcon, Jay Norelli, Dan Roberts, David Schmale, Nina Shishkoff, Boris Vinatzer, Tim Widmer, and Inga Zasada. The Executive Committee consisted of Dan Roberts, President; Kate Everts, Past President; Inga Zasada,Vice President; and David Schmale, Secretary-Treasurer. Attendance was estimated at 73 people.
The Program started Wednesday afternoon (March 26th) with a welcome from Dan Roberts, President, Potomac Division. The first session was the annual Industry-Extension-Emerging Problems Update, co-chaired by Anne DeMarsay and Steve Rideout. The Wednesday program concluded with a talk by Robert Davis titled “Phytoplasmas and spiroplasmas – shrinking genomes in an expanding universe.”
Thursday morning’s program started with a welcome from Cameron Hackney, Dean, Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV. Jay Norelli and Boris Vinatzer co-chaired a symposium titled “Molecular Evolution of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria,” followed by the ten presentations by graduate students as part of the Graduate Student Competition chaired by Bill Bruckart. The final symposium of the day was “Excluding the Unknown Pathogen,” co-chaired by Nina Shishkoff and Tim Widmer. The president of APS, Ray Martyn, concluded the formal session with a presentation titled ‘What keeps council busy – An update from APS.” The Poster Session/Social and Banquet concluded Thursday’s program. The social was sponsored by Acadian Agritech, Agraquest Inc., Arysta LifeScience North America, BASF Corporation, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences LLC, DuPont Crop Protection, FMC Corporation, and Syngenta Crop Protection. The meeting program continued Friday morning (March 28th) with a contributed papers session chaired by Kate Everts and a symposium titled “Organic Agriculture” chaired by James Kotcon. The meeting concluded with a tour of organic farming facilities at West Virginia University and a workshop by Michelle Wander titled “Workshop: eOrganic: Training for a new Online ExtensionInitiative.”
The 2008 Memorial Fund Student Travel Award went to Hannah Schrum, West Virginia University. First place in the Graduate Student Paper Competition was awarded to Jeneylyne Colcol, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Hao Hu, Christine M. Coyle, and Shawn C. Kenaley received Honorable Mentions for their presentations. Mary Ann Hansen was elected Secretary-Treasurer for 2007-2008 and Chris Dardick was elected Vice-President. Resolutions were assembled and read by Mannon Gallegly and enjoyed by all. The gavel was presented to David Schmale, the President for 2008-2009, by Dan Roberts.
Potomac Division Business Meeting
The 64th Annual Business Meeting of the Potomac Division was called to order at 1 PM Thursday, March 27th by Potomac Division President Dan Roberts.
After introductions of the Executive Committee and APS officers by Dan Roberts, Dan Roberts presented the necrology report. Two colleagues, Jim Kantzes and Robert Balwdin, were remembered with a moment of silence. David Schmale presented the minutes from the 2007 Potomac Division Meeting, and the minutes were approved by the membership without any revisions. David Schmale presented the treasurer’s report, which was audited by Anne DeMarsay and Anton Baudoin. It was noted that the Potomac Division was in good financial shape.
Kate Everts presented the Potomac Division Councilor’s Report. The Potomac Division ranks 5th out of six APS divisions in total members. However, we saw the greatest percentage increase in our membership from 2004 to 2008. Sixty-seven percent of our members are also APS members. The Potomac Division ranked second in the number of lapsed members that renewed their membership in the last six months. David Schmale initiated the effort to put Division meeting abstracts, registration, and payment online for 2008 meeting. APS headquarters staff spoke highly of the effort. Erik Stromberg is running for Vice-President of APS and Tom Evans is running for Councilor-at-large.
Dan Roberts indicated that $3,000 has been paid for the Potomac Division’s contribution to the APS Centennial Fund.
For new business, the 2009 Potomac Division Annual Meeting will be held in Maryland. The exact location of the meeting is to be determined. Dan Roberts led a discussion about a graduate student waiver for registration at the annual meetings. The membership decided to amend language to the constitution to allow fees for graduate students and technical staff to be assigned by the executive committee on a sliding scale proportional to available resources. Jay Norelli acknowledged the outstanding participation of graduate students; ten students gave presentations at this meeting.
The Annual Business Meeting was adjourned at 1:45 PM.
Minutes
65th Meeting of the Potomac Division, American Phytopathological Society
March 25-27, 2009
The 2009 meeting of the Potomac Division was held March 25-27 at the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center in Gettysburg, PA. Members of the Local Arrangements Committee were Bill Bruckart, Nina Shiskoff, Bill Schneider, Morris Bonde, and Tim Widmer, with special mention to Steve Dodge, the local Thorpewood connection, and Erin Schuenzel, who coordinated local college visits. The Executive Committee consisted of David Schmale, President; Dan Roberts, immediate past president; Chris Dardick, vice president; and Mary Ann Hansen, Secretary-Treasurer. The Program Committee consisted of Bill Bruckart, Chris Dardick, Kate Everts, Mary Ann Hansen, Dan Roberts, and David Schmale. Attendance was approximately 66 people.
Prior to the beginning of the program on Wednesday afternoon, a field trip to the American Chestnut Foundation’s chestnut breeding plantation at the Thorpewood Retreat was attended by approximately 12 people. Rob Strasser, Research Associate at Hood College, who was very knowledgeable about the breeding program for chestnut blight resistance, guided the tour. Participants viewed symptoms of chestnut blight on second and third generation backcrosses of American-Chinese chestnut hybrid trees and learned about the success of the ACF’s breeding program, as well as the programs for at-risk youth conducted at the Thorpewood Retreat.
The formal program began Wednesday afternoon with a welcome by David Schmale, President, Potomac Division, followed by the Industry-Extension Update, co-chaired by Steve Rideout and Arv Grybauskas. Representatives from BASF and Syngenta shared information on new products and brief reports were presented from diagnostic labs and Extension programs from the Division. The first contributed paper session, consisting of six presentations and chaired by Mary Ann Hansen, was held on Wednesday evening after dinner.
Thursday morning’s program began with a symposium on “Biological Control of Soil-borne Pathogens”, chaired by Past-President, Dan Roberts. Three papers were presented. A symposium entitled “Integrating IpmPIPE into Research, Extension, and Education”, consisting of four presentations and chaired by Nicholas Dufault, followed the morning break.
The business meeting of the membership, chaired by President David Schmale, was held during lunch. David thanked the organizing committee, attendees, and hotel staff and a moment of silence was held for deceased Potomac Division member, Frances Latterell. Kate Everts presented the Councilor’s Report, in which the idea of downsizing APS Council to six elected members, a topic that prompted much discussion regarding the potential for decreased representation of the smaller APS Divisions, was raised. Jim Moyer said that APS does not want to do away with divisions, but rather allow them to become more independent and to better represent the membership in their areas. Any changes to the way in which the membership is represented will require an APS vote. Secretary-Treasurer, Mary Ann Hansen, presented the Treasurer’s Report (audited by Erik Stromberg and Anton Baudoin) and the minutes of the 2008 APS Potomac Division meeting. A suggestion (no motion needed) was made by Anton Baudoin to make a standardized template for future treasurer’s reports and Mary Ann agreed to make a template for the 2010 report. Despite decreased income from Potomac Division investments, a motion was made that no changes should be made to current investments at this time, was seconded and unanimously adopted. Two comments on the 2008 minutes were received: (a) to include Erik Stromberg’s name in the preparation of the 2008 Resolutions and (b) to repeal registration fees for graduate students entered in the student competition. These changes were unanimously adopted and the minutes were accepted. Following the presentation of the minutes, donors to the 2009 meeting were announced and thanked. The following industries made donations to the 2009 meeting: Syngenta Crop Protection (Chris Munsterman and Erin Hitchner), BASF Ag Products (Gar Thomas and John O’Barr), Bayer Crop Science (Matt Mahoney), and United Phosphorus, Inc. (Tony Estes). Bill Bruckart proposed that the Potomac Division offer a $100 donation to the Thorpewood Retreat. Mary Ann Hansen motioned to double the amount to $200; the motion was seconded and unanimously adopted. It was agreed that a location for the 2010 meeting will be determined after the 2009 meeting.
The Graduate Student Competition was held after lunch. Six students participated in the competition. The excellence of the student presentations was noted by all in attendance. In the afternoon, Jim Moyer, APS President, gave a talk entitled “Our Changing World – Is APS Ready?” in which he described some of the changes currently occurring at APS Headquarters. Jim reported that APS membership is at an all-time high and that online access to journals has not had the negative impact on APS that was anticipated. APS is attempting to become more transparent to the membership.
An early evening poster session/social was followed by a banquet dinner, during which the awards were presented. The Distinguished Service Award was given to Bob Davis, former Potomac Division president, for his exemplary contributions to research on phytoplasmas and for his service to the Potomac Division. The award was accepted by Rose Hammond since Bob was not able to attend the event due to illness. Rachel Melnick from Penn State University received the Student Travel Award. Due to the number of outstanding student presentations, several graduate student research awards were given. Ryan Anderson from Virginia Tech received first place in the Graduate Student Paper Competition; Rachel Melnick from Penn State was First Runner-up; and Kun Huang from University of Delaware received an Honorable Mention. After the awards were announced, the Meeting Resolutions, composed by Mannon Gallegly, Nina Shishkoff and Erik Stromberg, were read by Mannon Gallegly and the gavel was passed from outgoing President David Schmale to incoming president, Chris Dardick. Music by the Star Spangled Band was then enjoyed by all, especially Mannon Gallegly, who was serenaded with the song “Big Spender“ sung by Lisa Algazi.
Friday morning’s first symposium, entitled “Genomics Research in Plant Pathology”, was chaired by Chris Dardick. Three papers were presented. Following the break, a symposium entitled “Plant Disease Problems in Bioenergy Crops”, in which three papers were presented, was chaired by Bingyu Zhao. The meeting participants dispersed after final comments by Past-President David Schmale and President Chris Dardick.
