Report of the Eightieth Annual MeetingChico, California October 25–28, 2017

From October 25 to 28, more than two hundred academic,professional, and student members of the APCG gathered in Chico, California, for the eightieth annual meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. Though we met in late fall, attendees experienced an "Indian Summer" with warm days and brisk, cool nights. The term can also be used metaphorically; in his 1886 novel of the same name, William Dean Howells refers to Indian Summer as "a time when one may recover some of the happiness of youth." For those of you who joined us in Chico, the pleasant weather and vibrant spirit of our college town may have inspired such feelings of nostalgia.

The meeting began on Wednesday evening. Department Chair Dean Fairbanks greeted the gathering before the opening plenary and shared a bit of the "Chico Story." Fairbanks recounted geography's history at Chico State and described Chico's regional context so that guests knew where they were. David Little, an editor for our local newspaper, the Chico Enterprise Record, gave the opening plenary, "Why Locals Are So Dam Mad: The Crumbling Oroville Spillway (a story that didn't have to happen"). Little peppered his richly illustrated presentation with humor and insightful analysis that demonstrated how essential local journalism is.

On Thursday, five field trips offered different looks at the Sacramento Valley area. Chico State geographers LaDona Knigge, Scott Brady, Dean Fairbanks, Don Hankins, and Ryan Miller led tours of Oroville Dam, local agricultural landscapes, Gray Lodge Wildlife Refuge, Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve, and Chico's Historic Downtown. No one got hurt.

Every year, the American Association of Geography (AAG) selects a different regional meeting for its Executive Committee meeting, and this year they picked the APCG in Chico. Former AAG president Glen McDonald (UCLA) spoke at the Opening Reception in the Sierra Nevada Brewery Big Room on the value of these gatherings for students. Our Provost, Debra Larson, and College of Behavioral and Social Sciences Dean Eddie Vela provided warm welcomes and stories about Chico. Also in attendance was AAG Vice President Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach. Sheryl was born and raised in Red Bluff, California, forty miles up the road from Chico. She and her husband Tim Beach graduated from our department in 1982, and we were thrilled to have her back, along with her parents John and Barbara Luzzadder (also alums).

For the 2017 meeting, poster and paper sessions took place on Friday and Saturday. APCG members from all around the country (Alaska, Alabama, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Illinois, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and up and down California) presented over 140 papers and posters in three to five concurrent sessions. The layout allowed for a lazy 10 a.m. "Chico" start time. Session topics spanned the gamut of interests held by the members of our organization. On Saturday, thirty-eight people attended lunch sponsored by the APCG Women's Network.

As hosts, we wanted to give attendees a taste of the Chico Terroir. All the food on the field trips was local—from the Wagon Wheel, the only deli open after the Oroville spillway evacuation, to John Scott (Scotty's Landing) and his blue tomatoes. We drank local beer and wine at the opening reception at Sierra Nevada Brewery, and again at the banquet. Our Farm-to-Fork banquet meal—provisioned by Rancho Llano Seco and other local farms and prepared by Chef Thomas Rider—was fantastic and likely to be remembered for many years! Even the conference swag bag was local: Chico Bag was started here in 2004 after an alumnus made a trip to our local landfill. We hope everyone found the little stuff-sac sewn inside.

The Student Awards Banquet took place in the Bell Memorial Student Union ballroom, providing a fitting conclusion to the meeting on Saturday evening. Chair Dean Fairbanks welcomed everyone and emceed the event. Doug Richardson, executive director of the AAG, provided a brief opening talk about the achievements and future direction of the AAG. Brian Pompeii and Paul Starrs presented the awards...