NewThis morning we had an important kick-off coordination meeting concerning the renewal process the Committee will undergo next year. Members are appointed, rather than elected, but nevertheless have fixed terms. The end of the current mandate comes in September 2010, with the new or re-appointed members taking up their duties in October. In these so-called ‘renewal’ processes we can expect a turnover of upto 30 per cent of our membership. In my opening remarks I quoted the old cliché about how you never get a second chance to make a first impression. So we’re starting early, because many of the things we want to do require long lead times (especially those requiring IT development or calls for tender). There were some thirty people in the room and we had a full agenda, but I was nevertheless able to bring the meeting to a close after one hour. This was primarily because the meeting was typically well prepared by my secret weapon, Super Anna, but also because everybody in the room came with positive ideas. Such meetings are a pleasure to chair and everybody in the room deserved a big pat on the back.