President's Message

It has been a busy few months for your executive.

Block out the Date

We are already starting to plan for the 2019 Academy conference. I made a visit to STP Bali in January and met with the director and others who will be involved in organizing the conference. The tentative dates are five days between May 5 and 11, 2019. STP Bali has great meeting facilities. First Vice President Dimitrios Buhalis has also been in contact with STP Bali and is starting to organize the event.

Block out the date, for it should be a great event.

Bylaws

Christian Laesser and his committee were charged with revising the bylaws at the last Academy conference. His group has worked diligently and have developed a set of new bylaws that will improve the structure and governance of the Academy. The executive has been in regular contact with him and his team.

We are hoping that the proposed bylaw changes can go to the membership for ratification later in the (northern) spring. Thanks Christian.

Videos

Those of you who were in Guangzhou last year participated in a series of video interviews.  The goal is to set up a YouTube channel whereby fellows can talk about their key contributions to the field. Elsevier has agreed to help cover the costs of editing the videos. It has been fascinating watching them and learning more about the diverse background of fellows. The videos are now ready for their first editing cut. Once done, we will send each one out to respective Fellows for final checking and approval before they are uploaded.

A Reminder to pay your dues

Lastly, some business matters. It is time to pay your annual dues. Last year about a half dozen fellows did not pay their dues. The Academy works on a very small budget and we need everyone to be responsible to keep us afloat. So when Leslie contacts you, please be sure to pay your dues.

Enjoy the (northern) spring or (southern) autumn as the case may be.

Bob
bob.mckercher@polyu.edu.hk