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On behalf of the council, officers, and 2015 program committee, I would like to welcome you to the 45th Annual Meeting of the Southeast Decision Sciences Institute (SEDSI) in beautiful Savannah, GA. The program committee has worked very hard to put together an excellent program with more than 100 papers, panels and workshops that I think you will find to be very enlightening and enjoyable. In addition to participating in some great sessions, I hope that this meeting will also provide you an opportunity to renew old friendships and to meet new colleagues from universities, businesses, and other organizations throughout the southeast and beyond. We are very fortunate this year to have a number of the nation's leading publishers and software vendors participating in the sessions and exhibiting their products in the exhibition area. Please stop by to thank them for their support of our meeting and to see what they have to offer.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of those who helped make this conference possible and it was truly a team effort. There are many key individuals who worked very hard to help develop this conference and program for all of us to enjoy. They include a wonderful team of track chairs, reviewers, session chairs, discussants, special session developers, and graduate and undergraduate student paper judges. Also included are the officers, both current and past, who were there to offer friendly advice, encouragement, and support throughout the process. I am very grateful to them for offering to share their knowledge and expertise and I thank them for their support. I have quickly learned that one of the most critical elements in developing and delivering a successful conference is the availability of a conference management decision support system. Jay Teets, our CMS coordinator, deserves a colossal "Thank You!" for all of his help in this respect. Our CMS system proved to be quite stubborn at times and I honestly could not have done it without Jay. I truly appreciate all of his hard work and dedication. I would also like to thank all of those at Virginia Tech for their support of the conference over the past year. A special thank you goes to Robert T. Sumichrast, Dean of the Pamplin College of Business Administration and Bernard W. Taylor III., head of the Business Information Technology Department for all of their support which enabled me to serve as your program chair. My final expression of gratitude goes to you, the participants and members of SEDSI. The purpose of this conference is to serve you and it is because of you that this conference continues to be a success and continues to grow. If I can be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to ask. I hope that you enjoy your time in Savannah and have a great conference. Jason Deane, PhD 2015 SEDSI Program Chair |
Updated 02/09/2015