Briefings

Tobi Brimsek

A new year is unfolding, and SAA activities are growing and building toward what we believe will be the second largest annual meeting in our history. Join us April 2-6, 1997, at Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Preliminary programs were dropped in the mail in late December; open them to discover the richness of this year's program. From papers to excursions, the meeting holds the promise to be most memorable. For a peek at some of the logistics of the meeting, drop by our web site, http://www.saa.org. Don't miss the great deals from Opryland International Travel to get to the meeting, and be sure to reserve your rooms at the Opryland Hotel well in advance. I look forward to meeting many of you in Nashville!

As we begin this new year, I would like to reflect for a moment on my first nine months working with the society. In brief summary, they have been action-packed, challenging, and exciting. SAA continues to grow and play a vital role in key arenas. You could not ask for more. As a regular feature of my column, I would like to share some brief notes from the perspective of the staff.

Helping Hands and Minds. SAA staff has had the good fortune to work with three interns this fall. Each has focused in a different area of society operations. A graduate student from George Washington University is working with Dorothy Krass in public education, an undergraduate from American University is working with Carol Hawk in marketing, and an undergraduate from George Washington is rotating through the society office gleaning experience from each of the program managers.

Public Education Launches New Project. With the help of a grant from the Bureau of Reclamation, the Public Education Committee and the Public Education program will initiate a project to update and annotate the resource guide, Classroom Sources in Archaeology. Any inquiries may be directed to Dorothy Krass, manager, Public Education, SAA, 900 Second St. NE #12, Washington, DC 20002.

Student Recruitment. The poster campaign is on! Looking to increase student participation in SAA, we have mailed recruitment posters to over 150 colleges and universities throughout the western hemisphere. The response cards are already coming back to the office. And speaking of recruiting, have you had the opportunity to recruit a new member lately?

Going, Going, Gone. Due to its overwhelming popularity, Archaeology and You, written by SAA members George Stuart and Frank McManamon, is currently out of stock. This publication is a joint effort of the United States Department of the Interior, in particular the National Park Service and the Bureau of Reclamation; the National Geographic Society; and the Society for American Archaeology. Since May 1996, 15,000 copies have been distributed by SAA, above and beyond those mailed to SAA members.

Catching up. You can look forward to receiving your journal of choice more regularly beginning this year. Scheduling is back on track for both American Antiquity and Latin American Antiquity, and we anticipate mailing each issue by the end of the month on the cover.

Tobi Brimsek is executive director of the Society for American Archaeology.

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