The business meeting was called to order by President Gerald W. Esch at 2:41 PM on Saturday, 1 July 2017 in the El Mirador Meeting Room of the Hilton Palacio del Rio hotel. President Esch made his opening remarks and recognized the new Officers and Nominating Committee members for 2017–2018. He then thanked the outgoing Officers and Nominating Committee for their service to the Society. See Council meeting minutes for lists of these individuals. President Esch also thanked the many sponsors who donated funds for the meeting; see the Council meeting minutes for the list of sponsors. Finally, President Esch thanked the Local Organizing Committee for a job well done in hosting our meeting.
President Esch acknowledged and congratulated Vasyl Tkach, North Dakota State University, as the Henry Baldwin Ward Medal recipient for 2017. Prior to the Business Meeting, Robin Overstreet introduced Dr. Tkach as the Ward medalist and along...