A special story from Jim Hagy -

Every CERF conference is a special time. For many of the younger people in our community, it’s perhaps the first time to share your science on the bigger stage of an international meeting. For those like me who’ve been at it a little longer, we look forward to reconnecting for a time with friends and colleagues, some of whom we might not have seen since the last conference 2 years prior. And of course, we look forward to sharing our passion for science, sharing our latest work, learning what others are up to, and seeing the younger generation spread their wings. For me, returning to CERF this November for the 27th Biennial CERF conference is particularly special. Yes, it’s my 16th CERF conference – I’ve missed just one since 1991. But this year is special. I’m excited to be returning to CERF with my wife, Melissa, and this year marks nearly 30 years to the day since our first date – a stroll through historic Savannah, South Carolina – at ERF 1993. In 1993, CERF was just ERF, the Estuarine Research Federation, and the venue was Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We married in 1997, one of a few years that the biennial conference has been in Providence, Rhode Island.

Over the years, we’ve grown our family. Our youngest of 3 daughters graduates from high school next May. CERF too has grown in size, scope, and sophistication. Back in the day, ERF was run from the basement office of executive director Joy Bartholomew. Past CERF president Walter Boynton was Treasurer, I was his student, and our home at the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory was just a few miles away. Thus began my long and varied association with CERF and the distinct privilege to serve alongside many of the great individuals who helped make CERF into the organization it is today. Like my family, the CERF family has faced changes and challenges over the years. Overcoming those challenges makes every moment today that much more worthy of celebration. As Melissa and I celebrate 30 years together at CERF this year, we celebrate with the ever growing and changing CERF family. May this conference create fantastic new beginnings, whether personal or professional, to be celebrated 30 years from now, and every 2 years in between.