39th IAMSLIC Conference
The Conference Planning committee and local hosts are working hard to ensure that our upcoming conference in Dania Beach, Florida is an exciting event which brings together many participants from different regions. The Call for Proposals is now open and are due April 19. We hope to see many of you in Florida in October 2013. The Call for Travel Grant Proposals as well as for Project Proposals will soon be out.
 News from the Executive Board
As proposed by the Membership Committee and approved by the Executive Board last year, membership fee can now be renewed for three years at a time. If renewing for three-year period, the rates remain the same while for one year renewal the rates have slightly increased. Membership rates can be consulted here. We encourage those of you who haven’t renewed a membership subscription yet to do it now. If you are not a member yet, please consider membership and join the Association!
 Our New Treasurer Lenora Oftedahl has taken over from Sandra Abbott-Stout in November 2012. Special thanks goes to Sandra for serving four years as a Treasurer. The Final Treasurer’s report is available from Annual Reports section.
Draft minutes of two Executive Board meetings and two Business meetings held during the 38th IAMSLIC Conference are now available from the website (Meeting Minutes section).
Regarding conference sites, it has been decided at the Executive Board meeting that IAMSLIC should not have conferences in the same region in consecutive years and to avoid consecutive meetings in North America when possible. Also, the conference sites should be planned 3 years in advance. Relevant wording change has been made to the conference site selection procedure.
 Sally Taylor and I attended 12 Session of the IODE Group of Experts on Marine Information Management to discuss the Joint IODE/IAMSLIC GE-MIM. Through establishment of the Joint GE-MIM, IAMSLIC and IODE hope to reach a new level of cooperation in areas of professional advice, expertise, and training. The Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the Group have been discussed and agreed at the meeting. ToRs are included in the Recommendation MIM-XII-1 on establishment of the Joint IODE/IAMSLIC Group of Experts on Marine Information Management (IODE/IAMSLIC GE-MIM) which is annexed to the Session Report (available for download from the IODE website). This Recommendation will be submitted, together with other recommendations and the session report, to the June 2013 Session of the IOC Assembly for approval. The IAMSLIC Executive Board will soon seek interest from the membership in order to identify 4 members to serve on the Joint GE-MIM.
 Best regards,
 Maria Kalentsits
IAMSLIC President 2012-2013
