I am happy to announce that we have two nominees to run for the board of directors. Julie Mayhew and Alan Burnham have both thrown their hats into the ring. I have no doubt that they will be excellent additions to the board. I would also like to thank the board members who will not be running again. John Chesley has decided to step down and we thank him for his contributions to the chapter. Mike Huston will not be a candidate due to illness, and we also thank him for his efforts and contributions as a board member and want him to know that our thoughts are with him.

Next, I want to thank all of the board members for making the December social a success. All the good food and conversation made it a most enjoyable night. Thanks to Bob and Julie Mayhew for re-capping our trip in October to the "International Academy of Humanism World Congress" in Amherst, New York. Much thanks also to board member Sarah Smith and her son Darrell Smith for the lovely violin and guitar medleys, which concluded the evening.

My trip to the International Academy of Humanism World Congress held in Amherst, New York, was enjoyable in a number of ways. The fun began when they lost our luggage, and we were left wondering if we would be wearing the same clothes for the whole trip. But we did get our baggage before the first event.

Being part of a group of over 600 attendees at the World Congress was very satisfying. Meeting and talking to many like-minded freethinkers was wonderful. Having the opportunity to meet and speak to some of the panelists and presenters was, as the saying goes, awesome.

There isn't space to tell the whole story here, but I want to relate a couple of things that happened to me. I spoke briefly to Richard Dawkins. In one of his presentations, he lamented that he wasn't sure how effective his book Unweaving the Rainbow was, in debunking the idea that science and scientist are cold and unemotional. I assured him that the book had clearly expressed how I feel about deriving joy from science.

The reception for the opening of the new "Center for Inquiry" was especially enjoyable. It was there that I had a few minutes with Jean-Claude Pecker, a world-renowned astronomer, and we talked about the need to get youngsters interested in science and to urge them to be inquisitive.

I spoke to Ann Druyan about Carl Sagan, and she made my day by saying that Carl would have loved to have been here because "we were his kind of people." At the reception I had a moment here and there with Paul Kurtz, Tom Flynn, Margaret Downy, physicist Lawrence Krauss, and several others. Again, all I can say is that it was awesome.

The only criticism I have is that the schedule was a bit frenzied, and I think that spreading it out another day or two would have been nice. I wish it could have gone on for another week or more. In closing, I would encourage any interested HoU members to attend such events as they can. They are informative and a joy to participate in.

--Robert Lane