The Society Meeting 2004

 The meeting in Norman, Oklahoma, USA.

The business meeting of the Society took place in conjunction with the joint meeting of the three large American herpetological societies (HL/SSAR/ASIH) in Norman, Oklahoma, USA, on Saturday, 29 May 2004. The meeting was attended by 14 members and was preceded by a shared luncheon with members and guests.

Executive Committee members Richard Wahlgren, Ron Javitch, and Aaron Bauer indicated their willingness to continue in their respective capacities as Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Meeting organizer respectively. Kraig Adler wished to be replaced on the Executive Committee as Secretary-Treasurer, and that Ralph Tramontano had requested to be relieved of his duties as editor of the Newsletter and Bulletin, although he was willing to continue to take responsibility for the publicaton's layout, the web site and related issues as Managing Editor. John Moriarty (USA) was proposed as a candidate for the position of Secretary-Treasurer and Patrick David (France) as a candidate for the position of Editor. The members unanimously approved the election. The Chairperson made a statement of appreciation for the contributions of Kraig Adler and Ralph Tramontano since the founding of the Society in 1998.

Following the meeting a group of 12 members were treated to a special guided tour of the world class University of Oklahoma History of Science Book Collection. This tour was arranged through the kind invitation and prearrangements of Dr. Marilyn Ogilvie, Professor of the History of Science and Curator of the History of Science Collection, and Dr. Victor H. Hutchison of the Department of Zoology. Highlights of the collection were first edition works by Galileo, Newton, Darwin and Mendel, some inscribed or annotated by the authors, as well as herpetological works by Aldrovandi, Lacepède and others. ISHBH members spent part of the visit inside the large, climate-controlled vault in the library, where they could browse through the large collection of rare books. Our thanks are dedicated to Dr. Ogilvie for a superb demonstration and to Dr. Hutchinson for making this behind the scene visit possible.