Our conference this year was the biggest either organization has had to date. Four hundred fifty participants attended over 80 sessions scheduled over three days. In addition, we had three pre-conference workshops on Wednesday and a post-conference doctoral consortium on Sunday morning. Deborah Streeter and Peter Rainsford took case writing and teaching to a new level with their session on Multi-Media case development. Lynn Hoffman once again coordinated an SBI Directors Certification Workshop. Nancy Upton, Greg McCann and Michele De Moss shared their Holistic program in a Family Business Symposium.

There were five Plenary sessions this year. Thanks to generous support from the Coleman Foundation, Howard Stevenson from Harvard's Graduate School of Business kicked off the program on Thursday with a 15-year retrospective on entrepreneurship. Friday's plenary was a panel of women entrepreneur-researchers who talked about the challenges for women and the delicate balance between family relationships and business endeavors. The Lawrence N. Field Center sponsored Marjorie Alfus, a quintessential maverick entrepreneur who shared her views on the relevance of today's skills for tomorrow's businesses. The Kauffman Foundation brought Paul Reynolds from Babson College to talk about the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Project that has been collecting data over the last two years. At our closing luncheon, Joe Kaplan, our Entrepreneur of the Year Award recipient, entertained and enlightened us with some of his business venture experiences.

This year's conference also featured several panels. For academics, a panel of Deans discussed what it takes to put entrepreneurship courses and programs into the curriculum. Michael Hennessy, President of the Coleman Foundation joined the deans to talk about funding possibilities for entrepreneurship programs. The practitioner perspective was highlighted in panels on Thursday and Friday afternoon. Thursday's family business panelists discussed their philanthropic activities. Also on Thursday, academics and practitioners from the US, South Africa, Australia, and the UK shared their experiences with franchise programs. For those interested in starting their own businesses, a panel of entrepreneurs sponsored by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce discussed their experiences in growing their businesses "from the ground up." A panel of "cashed-out presidents" talked about selling their businesses.

High-tech and the Internet Age were highlighted in several sessions devoted to electronic commerce, distance learning, and information gathering over the internet. As in years past, we had a full slate of sessions on entrepreneurship education pedagogies, programs, and research. Our women and family business submissions were particularly strong this year, as were our research papers and workshop submissions. We also had an increased number of presentations this year focused on international competition and economic development, teaching and internship programs, and consulting activities.

There were over 150 competitive submissions, counting the papers, panels and workshops. Regular sessions this year were configured to facilitate discussion and promote idea-sharing. Several rooms were reserved for informal discussions on Saturday afternoon. We also instituted a musical "last session" for new and old friends to meet and mingle on the Rapids Terrace.

The planning for this conference began several years ago with inspiration from a group of SBIDA and USASBE members who believed that our two organizations could mount a stronger conference than either one separately. Spearheaded by Chuck Matthews, that dream became a reality in San Antonio. Many hands contributed to the strength and diversity of this venture. Mike Hennessy and Mindy Clarke of the Coleman Foundation assembled a strong series of sessions designed to broaden the scope of entrepreneurship education and outreach. Bob Brockhaus, Dot Moore, Gary Giamartino, and Tom O'Malia selected stellar speakers for the plenary sessions. Outreach efforts by Joyce Brockhaus, Chuck Toftoy and Michael Camp increased the involvement of the business community. Deft negotiations by Gary Giamartino, Joan Gillman and Mike Hennessy added the Kauffman and Lowe Foundations to our list of advocates. Ed Rogoff, George Solomon, and Mike Morris expanded our list of conference award donors. We are especially grateful to INC Magazine for once again providing conference bags and to Adams Media for printing both this conference program brochure and the conference proceedings. Behind the scenes, Abbas Nadim diligently handled the competitive review process and Mary Harvey beautifully assembled the Conference Proceedings. Jeanne Wohlers, Michael Meeks and Chuck Matthews kept everyone up to date with postings on the USASBE and SBIDA web pages. Jean Von Allmen and Joan Gillman efficiently managed the registrations and scholarships; and Geralyn Franklin and Joan Gillman masterfully worked with the Sheraton Fourpoints to arrange a pleasant and entertaining conference venue on the San Antonio Riverwalk. The biggest contributors to the success of this conference were the many presenters and participants who came together in San Antonio to share their research, teaching innovations, and ideas. Thank you all for helping make this first joint venture a success.