Paul Price presents the Distinguished Service Awards at the 2008 World Congress Opening Ceremony.

The Distinguished Service Award recipients are chosen by the SIVB President and awarded at the annual meeting. The award is given to a select person or persons who, in the eyes of the President, went that extra mile to ensure the continued viability of the Society and in doing so, made the office of the President smoother and more efficient.This year’s recipients are the outgoing Board of Directors (BOD). My BOD was probably unique in its closeness and co-operation. It was a very hard-working BOD that discussed every issue thoughtfully and when it came time to vote every vote was unanimous. This was true for both years of my Presidency. We did not have a single negative vote.The outgoing BOD members are as follows:

David Ellis – David has been a member of the BOD since June of 2002 as Member-at Large. He was also the 2008 Program Chair. Dave was always a voice of reason on the Board and could always be counted on for thoughtful sensitivity.
David Altman – David has been a member of the BOD since June of 2002 and a member of the Executive Committee. He was President Elect from 2002 – 2004, President from 2004 – 2006 and Past-President for 2006 -2008. Among his many accomplishments during his Presidency, the Journals were moved to Springer and he and his BOD started the Society on the road to solvency. As head of the Nominating Committee, he oversaw the move to electronic balloting.
Nancy Reichert – Nancy was Secretary from June of 2004 and a member of the Executive Committee. She took and transcribed the meeting minutes and made sure that “Action Items” were visited and if needed revisited. Up until the last election she was responsible in getting the paper ballots counted.
Richard Heller – Richard was Treasurer since 2002 and a member of the Executive Committee. He played a major role in eliminating the inherited debt and moving the Society into the black. This will allow us, under Todd’s leadership, to look at new initiatives that we could not afford in the past.
John Harbell – John has been the Vice-President since June of 2006 and prior to that a Member-at-Large. He was a member of the Executive Committee and 2007 Program Chair. As Vice-President he was responsible for fund-raising and through his efforts and that of his Committee, our annual meetings have shown a profit.
Michael Horn – Michael became Publications Chair in 2006. Through his hard work and the work of his Committee we have had a smooth transition to Springer.
Dennis Laska – Dennis has been a Member-at-Large since June of 2004. He was also key in making the meeting in Indianapolis a success. As the new Chair of IVACS he remains on the BOD, but as a non-voting member.