Dear XXX,

1. Introducing the James M. and Esther N. Schopf Fund
I'm pleased to report the Society has received an anonymous gift to establish the James M. and Esther N. Schopf Fund (BSA Paleobotanical Section). The fund is named in honor of Dr. James Morton Schopf and Mrs. Esther Nissen Schopf. James M. Schopf (1911-1978) was an active and influential paleobotanist, especially in the early years of the Section, and recipient of numerous awards and honors. Esther N. Schopf (1910-1997), educated in botany, mathematics and several languages, was known to everyone in the Section of which she was made an honorary member in 1991. Both James and Esther regularly attended Paleobotanical Section meetings and field trips, as well as hosted numerous paleobotanists through the years at their home in Columbus, Ohio.

The fund will be used to enhance the collegiality and effectiveness of the annual meeting of the Paleobotanical Section. This could include, but is not limited to, funding refreshments or other aspects of the Section's annual dinner, Section field trips (such as bus rental, preparation of field guides, etc.), attendance at the annual meeting of specially invited guests, and/or any other costs involved in the Section's annual meeting. These funds are to be distributed by, and at the discretion of, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Paleobotanical Section, Botanical Society of America.

The initial gift establishing the fund was for $50,000. Please feel free to support its growth as you go through the process of renewing your membership for 2008.

2. 2008 Membership renewal process
If you have not yet renewed your membership for 2008, please do so now. We are in the final process of preparing for the fall mailing. If you renew before December 2^nd, we'll remove you from the list of people receiving a renewal form in the mail. Your online renewal will save the Society printing and postage-associated costs as well as reduce our environmental impact.

Remember, your BSA membership has no fee attached. The Society feels this is one way we can say thank you for your years of service to the BSA. However, you may still want to affiliate with a section, purchase a print copy of the American Journal of Botany, and/or donate to a section or award fund. The BSA office also wants to ensure we have up-to-date contact information, as we will be sending out several key documents in 2008 requesting your action on updates to our bylaws and policies.

Please renew now at: https://payments.botany.org/joinbsa/.

If you would like to renew via mail, the membership form can be found at: http://www.botany.org/membership/2008MembershipJoinAJB-Web.pdf.

If you have any questions please contact us for assistance at bsa-manager@botany.org or call 314-577-9566.

Again, thank you for taking the time to renew! All the very best for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Sincerely,

Bill Dahl
Executive Director
Botanical Society of America
www.botany.org
www.BotanyConference.org
www.PlantingScience.org

Mission: The Botanical Society of America exists to promote botany, the field of basic science dealing with the study and inquiry into the form, function, development, diversity, reproduction, evolution, and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere.