I have never been to a conference held by the American Historical Association (AHA) before. Indeed, I am not even a member and was surprised that I could attend the conference. I am currently a substitute teacher in Albany, New York, and was able to use that to my advantage in getting in at a cheaper rate. Now if only I could do that with airlines and hotels.

Atlanta looks like an interesting place to explore. Unfortunately, the weather inhibited that greatly. The conference was held at the Atlanta Hilton Towers and the Marriott Marquis. They are directly across the street from each other. The are connected via walkways on the 4th floor or so. This also leads to other walkways which connect to at least one other hotel, the Hyatt. There are several shops and restaurants to be found here. So don't feel trapped and that you have to eat in the hotel or order room service like I did.

There were an awful lot of folks attending this conference. Downtown Atlanta seemed inundated with historians. Well, at least the bars and restaurants were.

I think the AHA is something the research community should reach out to and befriend. This is a very large untapped resource. For example, there was a very large room in the hotel where book publishers and various university presses displayed their books, many at considerable savings. There were convention discounts as much as 50% off the retail price. There were several books on President Kennedy, his administration, cold war foreign policy, Vietnam, a few on his assassination and other related topics. You had to look around for some but they were there. The new book many in the research community are talking about, Thy Will Be Done, was available for $18. I also feel that the people who write these books and who showed up at the conference do have an active interest in this subject.

According to a Conference schedule there were about 23 things going on at the same time as the Board's presentation. Yet, there was a good crowd in attendance for the Review Board's presentation.

I was quite curious to see how these professional people in academia viewed the assassination, the research community and this Review Board. I still do not know how they really feel. I tried to observe rather than actively engage any of them in conversation.

Dr. William Joyce very nicely said hello. I told him I was just here to pay attention to the Review Board. He told me, "Oh, that flattery is more than we're worth." He warned me of a storm that was coming. I did not think much of it at the time. I figured a little snow in Atlanta, big deal. It might be amusing seeing these so called southerners panic at the sight of a snowflake. Little did I know.

Chairman Tunheim started the presentation promptly at 2:30. Dr. Graff was not present, nor was Mr. Marwell. Frank DeBenedictus, a fellow researcher, was here. We sat together.

Chairman Tunheim gave his somewhat standard opening statement, introducing the Board members, giving a background on how the Board came to be and what the job and responsibilities