Attended by some 35 members, the business meeting was called to order by President Douglas Clark at 12:40 p.m.

1. Doug Clark reported the following concerning the 2000 meeting on the campus of Gonzaga University. As of 10:13 a.m. on April 29, 96 people had registered for the meeting; thanks was expressed to all those who made it! 9 publishing houses were represented at the book display (3 sent representatives). Sincere thanks were offered to all the people and units at Gonzaga University who helped make the meeting possible, especially for sponsorship of Adela Collins’ Saturday morning lecture and financial assistance with the receptions after the plenary talks on Friday and Saturday evenings: to the Graduate School and to the Religious Studies Department, its chair, and other staff members. The local host, Linda Schearing, was lauded as a delight to work with; her organizational skills, energy, and ability to communicate were praised. She made everyone else look good!
   
   
2. Minutes of the May 8, 1999 business meeting, held on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University, were approved as submitted.
   
   
3. Mark Lloyd Taylor gave the treasurer’s report for the past fiscal year: 3/1/99 - 2/29/00. The report was approved by the members present.
   
   
4. Gary Chamberlain reported on the student essay contest. He expressed concern about the low numbers of submissions this year: 1 SBL graduate student and 2 undergraduates submitted papers; 5 AAR graduate students and 4 undergraduates. He suggested that information about the contest needs to go out to members earlier in the fall (September, ideally): Winners for 2000 were announced at the banquet later that evening. [For your information, the winners were: Jason Unsworth, SBL undergraduate; Julie Neuffer, AAR graduate; Sr. Noelina Namusoke, AAR undergraduate first prize; Erin Radke, AAR undergraduate second prize.] Scott Noegel and Ehud Ben-Zvi volunteered to read SBL papers next year; Nicholas Gier volunteered on the AAR side.
   
   
5. One submission for the SBL Regional Scholar Award was reported.
   
   
6. The following persons have been selected as new section chairs: Norman Metzler, Theology and Philosophy of Religion; Patrick Hartin, Nominating Committee. One more person is still needed on the Nominating Committee.
   
   
7. Jon Taylor walked members present through the regional web-site (pnw-aarsbl.org). He spoke of the need for members to check their personal information on the site and update it if need be. He also showed how the Message Board and Chat Room can be used. The suggestion was made that one member from each school in the region take the initiative to make sure all his/her departmental colleagues are listed on the web-site. Discussion ensued concerning the use of the regional e-mail list-serve: electronic versions of the Fall and Spring newsletters; notification when new materials have been posted on the web-site. The list-serve needs to be updated.
   
   
8. Mark Lloyd Taylor gave his report as a member of the AAR’s Board of Directors. He highlighted the first-of-its-kind census of all undergraduate programs in religion in the U.S. and Canada being undertaken in the fall of 2000 by the AAR. He also mentioned the workshop for department chairs that the AAR will sponsor just before the November annual meeting in Nashville. Both initiatives reflect the AAR’s commitment to provide a range of professional services to its membership.
   
   
9. Linda Schearing then gave her report as a member of the SBL’s Council of Regional Coordinators. She spoke of the on-going dialogue between the Council and regional organizations concerning the SBL’s operations after the demise of Scholars Press. She reported on discussions of the mission of the regional organizations. And she described the new two-tiered membership structure being used by the SBL (with a new category of associate member).
   
   
10. It was agreed to set up an electronic bulletin board discussion of a proposal to link the Pacific Northwest AAR/SBL more formally with ASOR.
    
    
11. Brief discussion was held concerning the possibility of arranging carpools from major airports to regional meetings.
    
    
12. It was announced that the Sixth Society for Buddhist/Christian Studies will be held at Pacific Lutheran University in August 2000.
    
    
13. Doug Clark expressed thanks to the other officers and section chairs for working with him during his tenure as president.
    
    
14. John Petersen, Pacific Lutheran University, was elected Vice-President (and President-Elect).

The meeting was adjourned at 1:50 pm.m.

Minutes prepared by Mark Lloyd Taylor, Recording Secretary

2000-2001 OFFICERS
Pacific Northwest Region