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Mercury
Winter 2007 Table of Contents

By
Kevin Marvel
The
American Astronomical Society was founded in 1899, and, within its
first year, 114 astronomers were active members. Since then, the
Society has grown to more than 7,000 members and grown along the
way from a completely volunteer-managed organization to one with
a full-time Executive Officer and professional staff.
As
I transition from Deputy Executive Officer, mainly responsible for
public policy issues, to Executive Officer, responsible for all
aspects of the Society, I am happy to accept an invitation from
my long-time colleague and Mercury Editor Jay White to muse
a bit on where the Society stands and where we might be going. Indeed,
this article represents a humble attempt to summarize all the great
accomplishments my predecessors, especially Peter Boyce and Bob
Milkey, have accomplished and some thoughts about the Society’s
future and its role in the field of astronomy.
If
you enjoyed this excerpt from a feature article and would
like to receive our quarterly Mercury magazine, we invite you to
join the ASP and receive
4 issues a year.
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