PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS Aquatic Plant Management: A Sense of History

1This year, our Society has returned to Lee County, Florida, and its roots. Thirty-six years ago, a group of dedicated professionals, under the leadership of T. Wayne Miller, Jr., met just a few miles from here at the Useppa Island Club and formed the Hyacinth Control Society. And, of course, in 1976 that organization became the Aquatic Plant Management Society (APMS). Two days ago, some of the Society’s founding fathers, many of its past presidents, and a few of its longstanding friends returned to Useppa Island to commemorate that historic event. In the spirit of that reunion, I took the opportunity to review some of the history of the Society and the presidential addresses that have been published in the Journal. For in order to understand the present, and to plan for the future, it is often useful to examine the past. Only about half of the presidential addresses from past meetings have actually been printed in the Journal, so if your favorite president is not mentioned, please don’t be disappointed. Although these executive presentations reflected the realities and aspirations of various eras, two common themes were readily apparent: A) our Society is a very diverse group of individuals, comprising applicators and operational personnel, industrial formulators and developers, consultants, government and academic researchers, educators, resource managers, regulatory personnel, and water resource users; and B) as a group, we are very opinionated in our specific area of expertise, but dedicated to problem solving. Indeed, these characteristics have attracted and enhanced the participation of many members, including past presidents such as Joe Zolczynski, as noted in his address in San Antonio, Texas in 1994 (Zolczynski 1995). But before we jump to the mid 1990’s, let’s peer deeper into the past. As might be expected, in the first decade or so, the presidential addresses were focused on the establishment of the Society, and the efforts to identify and define its basic scope and mission. These early local struggles were documented in the addresses delivered in the 1960’s by past presidents such as Herb Friedman (Tallahassee, Florida, 1964), John Woods (Palm Beach, Florida, 1965), Zeb Grant (Lakeland, Florida, 1966), James Gorman (Fort Myers, Florida, 1967), Bob Blackburn (Winter Park, Florida, 1968), and Frank Wilson (West Palm Beach, Florida, 1969); and in the next decade by presidents Paul Cohee (Huntsville, Alabama, 1970), Bob Gates (Miami Springs, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1973), Al Burkhalter (Winter Park, Florida, 1974), Ray Spirnock (Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 1976), and Julian Raynes