Dr. DeVries called the annual business meeting to order at 7:23 pm.

Officer's Reports

President's report - George DeVries

Dr. DeVries began his report by stating that it had been an interesting 2 years as President. In his report he wished to highlight initiatives that have been undertaken in the past 2 years that hoped would be continued by the next president Dr. Wendy Macklin.

Council Meetings at SfN
Dr. DeVries organized a meeting of Council during the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience that has enabled the Council to carry out more business, more efficiently.

Secretary-Elect and Treasurer-Elect
During his tenure the Council proposed and defined the offices of Secretary-Elect and Treasurer-Elect that were subsequently approved by the membership.

Meeting Planning
The Society has begun to plan meeting several years in advance in order to obtain better meeting venue contracts and more time for the meeting chairs to plan for the meeting. Currently, meetings sites have been chosen until the 2008 meeting.

Agreement with ISN for the 2007 Meeting
Dr. DeVries announce that he has worked with Dr. Arne Schousboe to work out an agreement with the
ISN regarding the joint meeting with the ISN that will be held in Cancun in 2007. This agreement establishes how the meeting will be organized and the responsibilities of the partner societies.

NIH Grants
Dr. DeVries stated that he followed the lead of the previous presidents, first started by Dr. Scott Brady, and submitted an R13 grant for the support of the annual meeting. He stated that the comments of the reviewers were very positive and that the grant received a score of 145. The grant was for $35,000. He stated that rather than submit the grant through an institution as in the past he was able to submit it from the ASN business office.

Membership Certificates and Cards
Dr. DeVries stated that he has initiated preparation of membership certificates and cards.

Recognition of Past Presidents
Dr. DeVries said that he was amazed that the outgoing presidents do not receive recognition so he has organized a luncheon at the meeting for past presidents that could attend and that each past president will receive a plaque honoring their service. He said that of the 18 past presidents, all are alive except for Jordi Folch-Pi.

Ethics
This year the program included an ethics workshop that was well-attended. He hoped that this would continue.

Exhibitors
The number of exhibitors at the meeting was a record. Dr. DeVries acknowledged the efforts of Dr. Ian Duncan, the local host chair, for his efforts in organizing the venue. He said that the feedback on the meeting was excellent and that the meeting site was a factor in these comments.

Committee Membership
Dr. DeVries said that he worked to reorganize the committee membership to make sure that members had increased chances of participation. He established 4 year terms for the committee members.

Recognition at the Meeting
Dr. DeVries said that he has begun to recognize and welcome new members, recognize the travel awardees, and the recipients of the various honorary awards at the opening sessions.

Dr. DeVries stated that there remained to be issues that needed to be addressed. There remained the concern that the finances of the society were not sound and that he thought that the Society would benefit from established its own journal. He said that there could be better member participation.

Dr. DeVries closed saying that it had been a privilege and a pleasure to serve as President of the ASN. He said that it could not have been possible without those that were on the committees, the local host and program chairs, and everyone that has worked hard to bring about the changes. He thanked the members of the council who were willing to take action and move the society ahead

Treasurer's report - Jean Merrill

Dr. Merrill stated that the Treasurer's report would be posted on the website so that she would limit her oral report to the some of the critical numbers. She said that at end of 2004 the total society assets were approximately $350,000. The income for 2004 was approximately $321,000 and the expense were about $370,000 for a loss of around $48,000 or over 10% of our reserve. The Society suffered a similar loss the preceding year. She said that it was important for the society to begin efforts to reduce costs.

Dr. Merrill said that she wanted to say some words of thanks to Sheilah Jewart for her efforts in cost cutting. She said that Ms. Jewart has moved $250,000 to certificates of deposit in Washington Mutual Bank with an interest rate of %4 compared to the former 1% interest rate. Ms. Jewart has reduced the credit card fees from 5% to 2.5% through the use of a Quickbooks service and reduced our accounting costs from $4,000 a year to $700.

Dr. Merrill said that our major expense is the meeting. One indication that meeting costs are being reduced the organizers have reduced the number of non-member speakers that are not charged registration fees. As an example she said that 1 in 3 speakers at the Newport meeting were non-members, 1 in 6 were non-members at the New York meeting and 1 in 8 were non-members at the current meeting. She said that the audiovisual costs have been reduced. The Newport cost was $40,000, the New York City cost was $27,000 and she expected the current meeting's cost to be lower.

Dr. Merrill said that Ms. Jewart had also substantially cut the office costs. The members gave Ms. Jewart a round of applause in appreciation of her efforts.

Dr. Merrill closed her report by thanking several sponsors who had given support to the meeting. She thanked Dr. George Siegel and the editors of the Basic Neurochemistry text for their support of the Basic Neurochemistry Lecture. She thanked Richard Wiggins for helping the organizers acquire funds from the EPA. She thanked Robin Miskimins for arranging funding for the workshop. She announced that Chemicon sponsored two sessions, EMD Bioscience sponsored the breaks, Signet sponsored the wine and cheese reception at the posters and the bags, and Springer sponsored the internet stations. There was a round of applause for the individuals and companies that helped finance the meeting.

Dr. DeVries added that Dr. Merrill's company, Sanofi-Aventis, also supported the meeting, as in the past.

The Treasurer's report was approved.

Secretary's Report - David Shine

Dr. Shine reported that the major effort in the past year of the Secretary's office was overseeing the nomination and election of the President-Elect and new members of Council in collaboration with the Nominations Committee. He said that he worked closely with Dr. Regina Armstrong, the chair of the Nominations Committee, and thanked her for her careful attention to detail and efficiency. He said that the members had the opportunity to nominate and vote electronically, by fax, or by post. He said that of the 213 votes casted all were submitted online. Ms. Sheilah Jewart acted as the official teller. She tabulated the votes and reported them to Dr. Shine; he then gave the results to Dr. DeVries who contacted the candidates as proscribed in the Bylaws and Standing Rules.

Dr. Shine said that the Society continued to offer a one-year complimentary, expedited, membership to the non-member speakers and travel awardees. He said that he mailed 85 letters of invitation to the New York City meeting participates and received 35 acceptances. He stated that it is not yet clear how many people that receive a one-year complimentary membership continue their membership the next year.

The day to day maintenance of the web site has been moved form the Secretary's office to the office of the chair of the Internet Committee, Dr. Eric Klann. Dr. Shine announced that he had registered the copyright of the web site with the US Copyright Office.

Dr. Shine said that email announcements would continue to be the primary means to alert the membership of important information. He said that there was some concern that some institutions' anti-spam measures may be blocking these electronic notices. He said that the Internet Committee was looking into this.

He said that the most important information will be sent to the members on the short newsletter that is mailed with the ISN newsletter. The bulk of the newsletter was posted on the website.

Dr. Shine closed his last report by saying that he had enjoyed and found it an honor to serve as the Society's Secretary for 4 years. He thought that his most significant contribution helping in moving the society to primarily using electronic communication to conduct its business. He thanked Sheilah Jewart and said that she had a true desire to maintain the Society as a vibrant and growing one. He thanked the committee chairs that he has worked with and especially those that got their report in on time. He thanked the officers, Dr. Yu, Dr. DeVries and Dr. Hudson for their collegiality and dedication to the Society. He thanked Dr. Gary Gibson for his willingness to begin learning the responsibilities of the Secretary. He said that Dr. Gibson will be a good Secretary. Finally, he gave the membership a heart-felt thanks for letting him serve as Secretary.

Committee Reports

2005 Program Committee - Douglas Feinstein

Dr. Feinstein reported that his committee received 50 submissions for sessions from which they selected 24. They received 360 abstracts. He said that they organized 4 oral sessions that were well received.

Dr. Feinstein thanked the members of the Program Committee and said that Sheilah was indispensable. He acknowledged Tim Stassines who produced the flyers and meeting booklet and Christian Schmitz who was responsible for the online abstract submission system and worked closely with Dr. Feinstein. He thanked Drs. Ian Duncan and George DeVries for their assistance.

He said that if anyone had suggestions to contact Dr. Monica Carson, Program Committee members or him.

2006 Program and Local Host Committee - Monica Carson and Mohammad Sabri

Dr. Monica Carson, chair of the 2006 Program Committee, encouraged the members to submit program proposals to her committee by July 5th. She said that the organization of the Portland meeting will be similar to the current meeting. She said that the tight deadline could not be extended since the next meeting will occur in March 2006. She announced that the plenary speakers have been chosen they are Freda Miller, Richard Tsien, Helmut Kettenmann, and Jenny Ting. Additionally, a workshop on alternative careers in science will be held.

She said that the pre-meeting workshop will be on neuronal-glial interactions and will coordinate with the Public Policy Forum that will be held on Saturday evening.

Dr. Carson closed in saying that she has visited Portland and she says that the meeting site is fantastic and that the hotel is well-situated for our meeting.

Dr. Mohammad Sabri, chair of the Local Host Committee, invited the members to Portland. He said that it was a beautiful city and that the location is excellent.

Dr. DeVries thanked Dr. Carson and Dr. Sabri.

Intersociety Liaison Report - Mary McKenna

Dr. McKenna thanked ISN's Committee for the Advancement and Enhancement of Neurochemistry for its support of 5 young investigators to the Madison meeting. She reported that the ISN and ASN held a joint reception at the annual SfN meeting in San Diego. Finally, she reminded the members that the ASN would have a joint meeting with the ISN August 19-24, 2007 in Cancun, Mexico.

International Society for Neurochemistry - Arne Schousboe

Dr. DeVries introduced Dr. Arne Schousboe, the President of the International Society for Neurochemistry and said that the two societies have always had good working relations. He was happy that Dr. Schoesboe was present to say a few words about the upcoming meeting.

Dr. Schousboe announced that the ISN/ESN meeting was to be held later in Innsbruck and welcomed ASN members to attend. He said that the Innsbruck was a very charming place for a meeting.

He stated that the planning of the joint ASN/ISN meeting is well underway. Negotiations between the Local Host Committee and the Professional Conference Organizer are underway and a contract for the Cancun Center has been signed. The Program Committee has been organized in consultation with the ASN officers and will begin its planning soon.

Dr. Schousboe said that the meeting location is excellent with many tourist attractions including beaches and archeological sites.

Dr. DeVries thanked Dr. Schousboe and the ISN.

Young Investigator Education Enhancement Committee - Richard Quarles

Dr. Quarles announced that the YIEA gave out 28 travel awards and collaborated well with ISN's CAEN to support travel of young investigators from Latin America.

He said that the committee's activities will be substantially different the following year brought about by the Society's financial constraints. The budget for the was cut by half so that the recipients will receive less funding though there number of recipients will remain about the same. The term used for travel support will be changed from an award to a travel grant. He said that his committee will attempt to identify those young investigators that need the support the most. He asked the members to keep in mind that need will be an important criteria for selecting future travel grant recipients

Basic Neurochemistry Editorial Board - George Siegel

Dr. Siegel announced that the 7th edition of the Basic Neurochemistry is underway and they are currently working on the page proofs. The publisher, Elsevier, projects that the book will be for sale in November 2005 and the price will be $99.95 to comply with the editor's wishes that the cost be under $100. Dr. Siegel said that ASN members will receive a 30% discount in the first year of publication.

Dr. Siegel acknowledged the contributions of more than 70 people that contributed to the book and said that the enterprise was truly a Society activity that made possible the funds to support neurochemistry education. He acknowledged the chief editors, Drs. Wayne Albers, Scott Brady, and Donald Price.

Nominating Committee - Regina Armstrong

Dr. Armstrong recounted the process used to solicit nominations and elect the President-Elect and Council members as proscribed by the Bylaws and Standing Rules. She thanked Dr. Shine for helping her collect nominations and votes online. She said that 55 people nominated 80 members for the positions. For the 10 candidates needed to fill the 6 council positions if any member received 6 nominations they were automatically placed on the ballot. To fill the balance of the council ballot the Nominations Committee selected from the list of nominees.

Dr. Armstrong announce the results of the election. Dr. Monica Carson was elected President-Elect. Drs. Regina Armstrong, Vittorio Gallo, Eric Murphy, Thomas Seyfried, David Shine, and Teresa Wood. Lucia Notterpek was elected as the Alternate Council member.

Membership Committee - James Connor

Dr. Connor said that the membership committee recommended 90 applicants to Council for membership in the past year. He thanked Sheilah Jewart for her hard work in helping collect the applications. He said that he has been working with Ms. Jewart and Tim Stassines to create membership certificates and cards as well as a letter of invitation to be distributed to groups of potential members.

He said that at the request of Dr. DeVries the committee evaluated the ASN's membership fees relative to other similar societies. He acknowledged the work that Carmen Sato-Bigbee did in analyzing the membership fees. Based upon their analysis the Membership Committee recommended that at the ordinary membership dues be raised to at least $120 a year to be in line with the membership dues of other professional societies similar to the ASN.

Dr. DeVries thanked Dr. Connor and his committee for their work.

New Business

Membership Dues

Dr. DeVries informed the members of the deliberations of Council regarding membership dues. He announced that Council has recommended that the membership dues for emeritus members be eliminated. He said that he had receive letters from emeritus members such as Lloyd Horrocks and Henry deForest Webster saying that they are quitting the ASN because it levies dues to emeritus members.

Upon the recommendation of Council to eliminate dues for emeritus members Dr. DeVries called for a vote from the members present. The recommendation was accepted by the membership without a dissenting vote.

Dr. Marjorie Lees suggested that those emeritus members that wish to could contribute the equivalent of the emeritus dues to other society initiatives. Dr. DeVries said that this was a good idea.

Dr. McKenna suggested that letters be sent to those former emeritus members that left the society to invite them back.

Dr. Muhammad Sabri asked how many emeritus members are members. The answer was 88.

Dr. DeVries then informed the members that the Council has recommended that the membership dues be raised to $125 a year for ordinary members at faculty status. (Graduate student and postdoctoral fellow dues will remain the same.) Dr. DeVries called for a vote to accept the recommendation. The measure passed with 47 votes for, 3 against, and 1 abstaining.

Dr. DeVries thanked the members for supporting these recommendations.

Presentation of Appreciation to David Shine

Dr. DeVries presented a crystal memento to Dr. Shine in appreciation of his service as Secretary from 2001 to 2005.

Succession of the Office of President

The meeting concluded with Dr. DeVries passing the President's gavel to Dr. Wendy Macklin.

Dr. Macklin thanked Dr. DeVries for his service to the ASN and his innovation of its activities. She presented a plaque to Dr. DeVries in appreciation of his service.

As there was no other business the meeting was adorned at 8:18 pm.

David Shine
Secretary 2001-2005

(Note: All officer and committee reports are online and in greater detail than presented at the meeting. Link to written reports. For the sake of time not all committees gave oral reports. HDS)