Do you have any friends in North Carolina who are classicists? Perhaps this is the time for a reunion with them. CAV and the North Carolina Classical Association will hold a joint spring meeting May 4, at the University of Richmond. We will hear speakers from vibrant universities in the far reaches of both states, with presenters Lora Holland of the University of North Carolina at Asheville and Rick Phillips of Virginia Tech. I heard Lora’s fascinating talk on reading sheep livers when she spoke at the CAMWS Southern Section in Richmond three years ago. Rick is one of our members-at-large whose field of papyrology is essential to our profession. And we are also glad to have as a speaker Ryan Smout who just a few years ago was conducting an experiment for his senior thesis in his double major of classics and psychology at the University of Richmond. He will give us the results of his study concerning eye movement while reading Latin, and several of us in the Richmond area served as participants in his project.

We also will have a display of old Latin books at the May meeting. Wayne Wray will be sharing his collection with us, just as he did for his local library. Although Wayne’s treasures are not for sale, many other items will be, as we compete for materials in a silent auction organized by Amy Petersen, our new Chair of the Professional Development Committee. Be sure to see her explanation elsewhere in the newsletter for details, and bring any contributions you can.

Perhaps you are a member of a local Latin teacher group around the state. I belong to one called CVLTA, or Central Virginia Latin Teachers Association which was started in 1982 by such familiar people as Sue Robertson and Linda Wagstaff. Today we still gather about once a month for dinner and sharing of ideas. In keeping with the tone of those meetings I would like to invite anyone planning to attend the spring meeting to come the night before to my house which is about 25 minutes south of the University of Richmond. It will be an informal gathering of our Richmond area members and any out of town, even out of state guests who would like to share dinner and conversation. We had a great time in Blacksburg last spring as well as in Charlottesville last fall, and I’d like to continue the casual dining idea. E-mail me with any questions or plans. Late notice is fine. We’ll be here.

Finally, please give some thought to sharing your ideas as a presenter at the next FLAVA conference October 3-5 in Williamsburg, and consider sharing photos on the CAV facebook page. We’d love to see pictures of you in Iowa City in April at CAMWS, Memphis in June for the ACL Institute, or Las Vegas in July for NJCL.

Hope to see you in Richmond in May.