15 March 2010

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Greetings from Vermont, and my warmest wishes to the ISSS family. With the recent Winter Olympics just completed, it is my hope that everyone enjoyed the strong international competition, and for our group, kept an eye on safety issues which certainly were raised. Both during and before the Olympics, there have been several incidents that highlight the importance of our work to improve safety, from a young girl in Canada who died on the slopes to a severe brain injury to American snowboarder Kevin Pearce.

It has almost one year since our last Congress in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and it is now time to begin preparing for our next meeting together.

The 19th ISSS Congress is now officially set for 1 May-7 May 2011 in Keystone, Colorado, USA. Irv Scher and I are organizing the Congress, which will blend scientific discussions with social opportunities in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Skiing will available daily at nearby Arapahoe Basin. Please look for information at http://isss2011.isssweb.com. More information regarding the 2011 Congress will be available shortly.

Our efforts at maintaining and growing our membership continues. The current two-year membership period ends 31 March 2010, so it is now time to ask ALL members and friends of the society to please consider renewing your membership or joining our society for the first time. We thank all of the current members who have continued to pay their dues.

There are two ways to pay your dues - 1) credit card payment - please go to Become a Member; 2) print out the subscription notice and send either a bank draft/bank check (no personal checks please) or a wire transfer (see attached instructions). The membership rates are as follows:

• US$150 individual
• US$300 corporation
• US$ 75 student

Members will receive a free copy of the Special Technical Publication (STP) published through ASTM international that is published following each of our Congress meetings. Guest editor Bob Johnson has indicated that there are currently 21 manuscripts in the review process, and we anticipate that the STP willl be available prior to the Keystone meeting. There will be significant member discounts for the Congress – we hope this will provide incentive to join the Society.

I thank you for your continued interest and support of the ISSS, and we look forward to seeing you this year on the slopes and next year for our Congress in Keystone. Please contact me directly if you have any questions.

Best regards

Rick Greenwald

President, ISSS