Greetings to all and hoping that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and will have a prosperous New Year. The Northeast Branch has just completed a most prosperous and productive year. Our membership has almost doubled to 435 with 60 being new student members. The student incentive program has progressed to include three colleges (Worcester State, Salem State and The University of Maine at Orono). There were also two lectures devoted to promote the study of microbiology as part of the student initiative. In the coming year we plan on continued support of student programs which will include informal lectures, opportunities for students to discuss their research at a peer level and internships at local labs.

The Regional Meeting presented in Worcester and hosted by the Northeast Branch was a grand success. There were almost 500 registrants and 64 exhibitors. It was the largest meeting to be hosted by the branch. Some of the highlights included: the three day symposium in Biotechnology, a very well attended molecular diagnostics workshop, an excellent lecture dealing with the Amazon rain forests presented by Dr. Mark Plotkin who elaborated his efforts to preserve not only the forests but the teachers of the forests – the Shamans. In addition, the other sessions were very well attended and the meeting was also a financial success. Thanks to all for their support, contributions and attendance.

The Branch web site was an integral part in publicizing the Regional Meeting and the lecture series. I am calling for volunteers interested in maintaining and improving our web site. In this fast paced world of Internet usage, the web site will become even more indispensable in getting our message out to the members and any other person interested in our activities. If you are interested in working on the web site, please contact me by Email: william.thiemke@med.va.gov.

In the same light, Email is fast becoming the norm of communication in our society. I would also like to see it become the norm for communication within our Branch. When you submit your annual dues for the Branch please be sure to include your Email address. By using Email, we could save hundreds of dollars a year by decreasing our mailing costs, and at the same time become more efficient in getting messages out to our members.

We are planning three dinner/lectures in our series for the months of February, March and April. Please refer to other sections of the newsletter and the web site for details.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the support given me during my term as president. It has been an enjoyable, educational and rewarding experience. Come July first, Dr. Jaclynne Laxon will become the new president for the Northeast Branch. Jackie is a very devoted and hard-working person who will continue to improve our Branch and carry it into the next millennium. I ask that all of our members give their continued support to Jackie and help to make our Branch the best possible.

William A. Thiemke, Ph.D.
President, NEBASM