President Walter J. Armbruster called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. in Room 251 of the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1. The minutes of the 1997 annual business meeting, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, were approved as printed in the December issue of the AJAE.
2. Armbruster reported on the "State of AAEA", giving an overview and highlights from each of the following four areas: membership, finances, publications, and strategic planning.
   1. The number of members in AAEA currently stands at 3,387. The final 1998 numbers will show a decline similar to the decline shown in 1997, if not smaller. He believes AAEA has turned the corner on membership decline. Armbruster believes that there will be membership increases in coming years due to new initiatives to market the Association to current and potential members and to provide products and services useful to a broad array of agricultural economists.
   2. The 1997 net gain in Association and the Foundation net worth was $240,000. That included dividends, interest and unrealized capital gains from our portfolios. Noticeable changes in income and expenses from 1996 were lower revenue from Choices due to the Best of Choices income being included in 1996 and expenses in 1997, and the addition of RAE as a new AAEA activity in 1997. He noted increases in revenue from increased ads on the web page, from larger attendance and higher registration fees for the annual meeting, and an increase in dividends and interest from the growing value of the portfolio. Executive and Foundation boards have established a new committee to work with a professional financial advisor to manage the portfolios.
   3. Choices continues to operate smoothly and is widely recognized beyond our profession. The board and the business office continue to look for opportunities to improve it as a principal AAEA outreach mechanism. Harry Ayer's seven-year term as editor ends in December 1999. A search for a new editor will be underway by early next year. The current RAE editors are completing their two-year term. Gail Cramer and his team of associate editors have assumed responsibility for the 1999 RAE. The AJAE editorial team of Giancarlo Moschini, Kathleen Segerson, Richard Sexton and Spiro Stefanou has established a process to facilitate manuscript processing. The editors are also developing a format change that will clearly identify non-refereed meetings papers included in the AJAE. The recent lag in AJAE distribution has been corrected and the journal is back on schedule.
   4. Armbruster noted that AAEA's strategic objectives are to provide high quality products and services to keep members on the frontier of economic issues, provide methods of analyzing those issues, and communicate the results of our work. Recent actions include: hiring a full-time executive director; developing plans for more effective coordination of communications to members and nonmembers; planning to upgrade our management information system to better manage the membership base, to market AAEA to current and potential members and to those who can use the output of the agricultural economics profession; broadly marketing our annual meeting; and marketing AAEA products and services to the broad range of agricultural economists. (A complete "State of AAEA" report appears in the December issue of the AJAE and on the AAEA home page .)

3. Gary Seevers, President of the Foundation, reported that the board approved a total of $69,180 in grants, of this about $20,000 were carryover from previous years and the balance was from the 6% endowment spending rule. In addition, the Foundation allocated $31,500 donated by individuals and organizations for support of activities at this Annual Meeting. The Foundation has selected five strategic focus areas for grant making (including two new ones: technology in education, and industry involvement in the Association.) A major highlight of the year was an effort, led by Ralph Christy, to obtain substantial multiyear funding for the undergraduate program. The undergraduate section and related activities are 100% funded by earmarked donations for the next three years. Two new Appreciation Clubs have been chartered, one honoring Rueben C. Buse and the other D. Gale Johnson. An Eagle Award was presented to James Graves at his retirement. There are now 19 appreciation clubs and 7 Eagle Awards. (A complete report of the Foundation president appears in the 1998 Special Committee Report issue of the AAEA Newsletter available on the AAEA home page .)

4. On behalf of the Board, Ralph Christy, past-president, recommended approval of an amendment to the AAEA Constitution changing all references to "Executive Secretary" to "Executive Director."

   MOTION: Christy moved the change. The motion was seconded from the floor. Motion carried.

5. President Armbruster reported on the Board's recommendation to raise the membership fees for 1999 as follows:
   
   

   Regular member	$ 80
   Senior member	$ 40
   Junior member	$ 40
   Family member	$130
   Lifetime member	$840
   Industry member	$250
   AJAE subscription	$ 10

   
   

   MOTION: It was moved from the floor to adopt the membership fees as recommended by the board. The motion was seconded. The motion carried.

6. MOTION: Jeffrey LaFrance moved the following amendment to the AAEA Constitution, Article XIII: (addition is in bold and brackets)
   Article XIII Bylaws may be adopted, amended, or rescinded by the executive board by a majority vote of the members thereof present at a meeting at which a quorum is present and at which the same is voted on [, or by a majority vote of members of the association having voting rights present and voting at any annual business meeting of the association at which a quorum is present, or by a majority vote of members of the association returning ballots by mail.]
   The motion was seconded from the floor.

   Armbruster reported that the executive board had discussed this issue and the board recommended a vote against the motion and gave the board's reasons. He noted that, in the board's discussion they found a number of ambiguities and inconsistencies between the Constitution and Bylaws. A committee, with Armbruster as chair, has been charged with conducting a comprehensive review of the contents of the AAEA governing documents and to make recommendations necessary to bring these documents into conformity with each other and to allow members easier access to those documents.

   MOTION: There was a motion from the floor to amend the original motion by striking the following from the original motion:

   Bylaws may be adopted, amended, or rescinded by the executive board by a majority vote of the members thereof present at a meeting at which a quorum is present and at which the same is voted on [, or by a majority vote of members of the association having voting rights present and voting at any annual business meeting of the association at which a quorum is present, or by a majority vote of members of the association returning ballots by mail.] The proposed revised motion would read as follows: Bylaws may be adopted, amended, or rescinded by the executive board by a majority vote [, OR BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION RETURNING BALLOTS BY MAIL.] There was a second from the floor. The amendment failed. The original motion failed.

7. Armbruster recognized the retiring members of the executive board, Ralph Christy, Susan Offutt, and Jerry Skees. Each was presented a plaque in recognition of their service to the board and the Association.

8. Seevers presented plaques to the retiring members of the Foundation Governing Board, Patricia Duffy and Les Myers.

9. Armbruster also presented plaques to David Debertin and Angelos Pagoulatos for their two years as co-editors of the Review of Agricultural Economics.

10. Armbruster presented the gavel to President-elect C. Richard Shumway.

Rueben C. Buse
Executive Secretary