Developing an agenda

Hi folks, a week ago I was in San Diego for the annual meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers.  It was wonderful to catch up with people, listen to presentations and discuss related intellectual issues .... and to, of course, enjoy the fantastic San Diego weather :-)


This is my third year as a member of this committee, and the initial appointment was for a three-year term.  I have no idea about AAG's policies on re-appointment and, therefore, I do not know whether I will be able to participate in discussions after June 2010.  Perhaps Michael can clarify this.
Over the last two years, I have come to understand that this Committee has less of a responsibility to initiate AAG actions, but is more about responding to ideas that the AAG plans to pursue.  Despite that limited scope, over the last two years, the Committee's chairs and a few of us tried to do something above and beyond.  (Let me know if you want details on what we tried.)  But the reality is also that we did not accomplish some of the larger goals we thought were possible.  And given my relatively late start here as the Chair for this year, I am not sure whether it is prudent to launch anything big.

So, here are a few suggestions that maybe we can start with:

• First, we will try our best to meet in DC at the AAG Annual Meeting.  My first year, we did manage to meet for an hour or so.  Even if that did not result in any specific actions, we could at least get a clearer idea of geography--from different people and places--as it relates to college and careers.
• Second, I wonder if even now--or at least by the AAG meeting--we might be able to (s)elect a chair for 2010-2011.  A first- or a second-year member will definitely return to the Committee next year, and with an earlier identification of a Chair, more productive discussions might be possible.  Again, Michael could clarify for us whether such a procedure will be consistent with AAG's operational policies.
• One of the advantages to such a head-start is that we might even be able to sponsor sessions at the AAG, or even call for papers focused on themes that are related to this Committee.  We attempted to do this last year and were moderately successful despite the limited time we had.  
• Finally, Michael, is there anything from the AAG that this Committee needs to think about and respond to?
  

I will wait for your feedback and suggestions before I bug you with more :-)