February 1997
Greetings! I hope that everyone has had a terrific set of holidays and is ready for what promises
to be a great new year! I'd like to thank our Past President, Ken Smith, for an outstanding set
of conferences last year. They were of exceptional and extremely valuable content. It was a
pleasure to see many of you there. Several things are happening this year that deserve mention,
both at the upcoming conference and for the Division in general.
The Division is entering its 35th year! We are larger and more active than ever before. This
particular aniversary is important for several reasons ... New eras are happening in forensic
science every time we turn a page. From the early days of pre-WWII "call the print guy" to the
modern AFIS and DNA technology and everything in between, it's time to think about those that
brought us this far. At the Spring Conference in Frederick, Maryland, we will be doing just
that. All the Past Presidents that we could contact have been called and requested to attend.
On Friday night it will be their time to be with us, and for us to let them know how much we
appreciate what they did for this Division over the years. This conference will be loaded with
good speakers, and a lot of Division history. And IAI President Ron Jackson will be the keynote
speaker at the Banquet on Saturday. Plan on being at this one!
A By-Law Ammendment approved at the last conference added a "Distinguished Member" status to
our Division in Randy Goodwin's name. "The Randy Goodwin Distinguished Member Award" ammendment,
along with an application and guidelines are included in this edition of the Examiner.
The policies have been set and the committee members are ready for applicatons to begin hitting
their desks. I hope that a great deal of time is spent at the banquet handing out a large
number of these! Becoming a Distinguished Member means that your are being recognized for
the contributions that you have made over the years to the Division and its members. Please
take time to see if you qualify, and if so, complete and submit the required paperwork. If
you don't qualify, start now to collect the points that are needed to earn this distinction.
The Board of Directors has approved a membership drive for this year. Anyone bringing in
three new members will be dues-free for the next (1998) dues year. It's not that hard to sell
this organization. Teaching a class? Hand out apps! Visiting another agency? Hand out apps!
With full-time CJ college students now eligible for Associate membership, a lot of people
should not have to pay dues next year! The only way an organization like the IAI can grow
is to gain and maintain members. Recruiting now will save you money in the future and permit
us to put on even better educational programs.
See you in Frederick!!
September 1997
Tina and I have just returned from the 82nd Conference in Danvers. It was a great conference,
which broke all the old records for attendance and training. A pretty fair number of CBD
members were there, which is always good to see. Can we break the CBD records at the November
conference?
The Spring Conference was very much a success. We had a large number of Past Presidents in
attendance, and having Phil Conover and his family there was a fantastic topper for a 35th
anniversary!
The planning is complete for our Fall Educational Conference. Mike Grimm has put together
an outstanding speakers' program again, and Mark Neal has once again outdone himself with
vendor support. It promises to be a wonderful conference, thanks to the hard work of the
Vice-Presidents.
Last Spring, I was priviledged to give out the first Distinguished Member Awards. This
award is dedicated to Randy Goodwin, undoubtedly the most Distinguished of all members.
This award is not something that someone else can do for you. You have to have the drive
to earn this award yourself. By earning this award, you have shown pride in our Division,
and newer members notice this. By demonstrating your activity within the Division, you
make the Division better and allow it to grow. Take time to determine what you need to
earn this award, and perhaps discover that you have already earned it. Apply and
attain this, thus demonstrating to others "what it takes" to make this Division great.
Accept it, and you allow the Division to grow, allow new members to see what can be
attained.
There is an application form and a requirement listing in this edition of the
"Examiner". Take the time to complete the form if you meet the requirements.
If not, what do you need?
Presentations require that you teach us something. Is there nothing that you do well
enough that we cannot learn from it? Is there no case that you have worked that is
interesting or unusual? Articles can be written that also demonstrate new methods or
can show how a case was worked. Is there nothing that you have ever done that you
can't write about it and introduce it to us?
Remember that the Old Salts can always learn something new. Bear in mind that the
newer members may also be new to the world of forensics. They can benefit by going
"Back to Basics".
I would like very much to give out several more of these awards at this Conference ...
See you all in November.