Report of the Program Committee, 2005

The 60th annual meeting of the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers (SEDAAG) was held at West Palm Beach, Florida on 20-22 November 2005. Participation in the meeting was vibrant, in spite of hurricane difficulties and the peripheral location of southern Florida. The meeting included 30 sessions, consisting of 14 regular paper sessions, eight special sessions, two poster sessions, three panel sessions, two student honors sessions, and one undergraduate Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU) session. The 22 regular-plus-special paper sessions represent a 22% increase over last year (18).

The number of people involved in papers, posters, and panels represents a high level of participation. A total of 129 presentations were listed on the program including 92 papers, 24 posters, 10 student honors papers, and three GTU papers (Table 2). These totals are up from last year but generally less than the previous three years. A distinctively Caribbean flavor pervaded the meeting this year due to the meeting location and to the scheduling of three special sessions devoted to this region. The 24 posters given this year are up from last year (19) and second only to the record 27 posters presented in Charlotte in 2003. Posters continue to show a growing trend as a medium of choice for presentations. World Geography Bowl participants are not factored into this analysis but constitute a large number of enthusiastic participants and attendees.

Abstracts were mounted on the Program Committee web site in South Carolina by mid-October at no cost and were linked to the SEDAAG and Local Arrangements Committee web sites. By late October various drafts of the Program began to be listed at this web site to inform members of the schedule. This method of disseminating abstracts and programs seems to be working effectively a saves a great deal of postage both for the Division and for members. The costs of printing 400 copies of the 2005 program were billed to the Local Arrangements Committee. Very few papers needed to be copied or mailed to reviewers and discussants, so photocopying and postage costs were minor and were paid for courtesy of the ECU Geography Department. At the time of writing this report, no other charges to SEDAAG had been incurred by the Program Committee.

The Wheeler Award for the first paper submission received goes to Steve Birdsall, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, whose paper was received by Skeeter Dixon long before Katrina shut them down. For the second year in a row, the deadline for submissions of papers and posters was extended due to disruptions caused by hurricanes.

The Local Arrangements Committee organized several stimulating activities including a Saturday field trip to the Loxahatchie National Wildlife Refuge, led by Jacqueline Gallagher, and a Sunday field trip to West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, and Lake Worth, led by Charles Roberts. Following the World Geography Bowl round robin competitions and a business meeting by the Executive Board and Steering Committee Sunday afternoon, Stephen Walsh called the meetings to order and welcomed everyone to West Palm Beach. Russ Ivy, Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee, introduced Stephen Leatherman, Director of the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University, who gave the keynote presentation: Hurricanes that Changed Public Policy. A welcoming social then began with entertainment by the Mighty Monarchs calypso band.

In keeping with tradition, Monday was largely devoted to paper and poster sessions. To put more emphasis on student and professional awards and on the AAG presidential address, the Awards banquet was scheduled for Monday night instead of the customary Tuesday at noon. This move appeared to be a great success and the energy level of the meeting was sustained into the evening through the World Geography Bowl (WGB) and the banquet. The (WGB) finals, organized and moderated by Laurence (Bill) Carstensen, began with a warm-up round pitting the Student All Stars against the Professional Dream Team comprised of AAG and SEDAAG notables. The students prevailed at the buzzer tying the long-term standings at 4-to-4. The penultimate contest of the night was the Championship Event between the two finalist teams...