It is apparent that orchestrating meetings of a professional society is a multi-faceted balancing act. The existing section and program committee structure provides an effective approach to the organization of ESA meetings. Yet a common complaint is the difficulty a member has in integrating into that process. Every attendee at ESA meetings expects to have the opportunity to deliver a presentation. However, the membership desires shorter meetings with high quality presentations.
Prominent disciplines tend to occupy more time and space.
Yet a clear strength of ESA is its diversity which requires time and space for multitudes of events. Both annual and branch meetings serve valuable functions. However, members often state that they must choose between attending either the annual or branch meeting. Additionally, while the annual meeting is one of the three major sources of revenue for ESA, along with membership and publications, the high cost of registration is frequently cited as a reason for not attending. By comparison, branch meetings are not a source of income to the Society, but they do expend a significant amount of ESA revenue.