AL: Greetings from Astronomical League President

I received the following message from Bob Gent, President of the Astronomical
League, and want to pass it along.

Ed Flaspoehler, AL Press Officer

On behalf of the Astronomical League Executive Committee, I would like to wish
each of you a Happy New Year and thank you for your outstanding service to the
League. We have accomplished much over the past year, and none of our
achievements would have been possible without your enthusiasm and dedication to
astronomy and the League.

This message also provides some news and reminders. First, we are fast
approaching the next Reflector deadline. Please be sure to send observing
awards, and other news stories of interest to Reflector editor, Kent Marts, by
January 15.

Also, we are fast approaching deadlines for our National Young Astronomer Award
and other awards. The NYAA deadline is January 31. We also encourage you to
nominate young astronomers for the Horkheimer Service Award, deadline March 31.
What better way to encourage young astronomers than to nominate them for
these prestigious awards. Winning telescopes, conventions trips, and cash, is
a wonderful incentive. Please help us promote these awards.

For adults, we now have the Mable Sterns (Newsletter Editor of the Year) Award,
the Webmaster of the Year Award, and other awards. Deadlines for these awards
are March 31. For information on these and other awards, please contact
Carroll Iorg , or visit our website.

We also award the AL, Peltier, and Wright Awards. If you would like us to
consider anyone for these awards, please contact me directly. We are always
looking to give recognition to amateur astronomers who have made significant
accomplishments.

Next year's convention will be held in Kansas City at the Sheraton Overland
Park Hotel, and we are looking forward to a really exciting conference. This
hotel and conference center is conveniently located near the League's new
national office in Kansas City, and we have the ability to expand to the
Overland Park Conference Center in future years, if necessary.

The dates are official: August 11, 2005, Council meeting at League's
National Office.
August 11, 7pm Vendor setup begins.
August 12-13, 2005 Astro Expo at the
Sheraton (Friday-Sat)
August 13 Annual Awards Banquet

One of our primary our goals next year will be to have the best astronomical
trade show ever. In addition, we will continue to solicit top-notch speakers,
and we will host the annual awards banquet at the Sheraton. Please mark your
calendars and meet us at the National Office in Kansas City. We will be
posting additional information on the convention website soon, and in the
Reflector magazine.

We also have some new observing awards, including the Globular Cluster
observing award. These League awards are a great way to learn more about the
night sky. Also, we now have many challenging programs aimed at the advanced
observer. Good luck with these programs!

The League's full council and Executive Council will be addressing a separate
issue, namely the bylaws amendment approved at last year's council meeting in
Berkeley. If you are a member of Council, you will be receiving a separate
message from me on this subject. I regret that so many of you were flooded
with excessive e-mail on this topic.

I hope all of you had a chance to observe Comet Machholz. It is growing
brighter as we speak, and it's the first bright comet in some time. Also,
there were several reports of bright fireballs during the December Geminids
Meteor shower. The night sky is always amazing us with its wonders.

Please feel free to share this e-mail with your member societies. Thank you
again and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Clear skies and bright stars,

Bob

Robert L. Gent
President, Astronomical League
151 Somervelle Street
Alexandria, VA 22304-7731
USA
1-703-566-0971 (8 am to 5 pm M-F, EST)
www.astroleague.org
A nonprofit, educational federation of
astronomical societies