On behalf of the North Central Chapter of the AAPM, I would like to welcome you to Milwaukee for the 39^th Annual Meeting of the AAPM. I would like to thank the many people from AAPM headquarters, the Local Arrangements Committee and the Milwaukee Convention Bureau who have worked to organize this year's meeting.

The scientific program, the symposia, the refresher courses, and the technical exhibits will be excellent and are reason enough to come to Milwaukee. As an additional attraction, the LAC has arranged social and companion programs which are family-oriented and relatively inexpensive to encourage members to bring their families. It is our hope that AAPM members will bring their families and use the annual meeting as a focal point of their family's vacation. Some of the highlights of the social and companion tours program are:

SUNDAY EVENING - WELCOME FEST

The traditional icebreaker, usually held in a hotel ballroom, will be held at Milwaukee's Maier Festival Park located on the lakefront. Our Welcome Fest (Icebreaker) with coincide with German Fest, one of the largest ethnic festivals held in Milwaukee during the summer. German Fest is a two-day festival celebrating the German heritage of many Milwaukeeans, and it includes craft exhibits, beer tents, ethnic food, music, folk dancing, etc. Your social program ticket for Welcome Fest will also include admission to German Fest. For those with free time on Sunday afternoon, you will be able to attend German Fest and then attend the AAPM Welcome Fest held in a private tent within German Fest itself.

TUESDAY - NIGHT-OUT

This year's Night-Out will be held at the Milwaukee Public Museum, Discovery World and IMAX Theater complex. Food and beverage stations will be distributed throughout the museum. Food reflecting the ethnicity of the exhibit area will be served. Discovery World, which is a hands-on museum ideally suited for children, and the IMAX Theater, which will be playing short selected subjects, will be available.

COMPANION TOURS

A number of excellent companion programs, ranging from a tour of Milwaukee, a visit to an outdoor museum reflecting Wisconsin's heritage, to a visit to Kohler's bathroom and kitchen fixtures Design Center have been arranged. The premiere tour, in my estimation, is a day-long trip to the Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-In in Oshkosh. The EAA Fly-In is the world's largest gathering of privately owned aircraft: antique, classic, light planes, rotorcrafts, sea planes, ultralight, and World War I and World War II planes. Also included is this tour is the air show in the afternoon. (Please check the companion program listing for details of programs available).

We have set up a Web page with links to Milwaukee and Wisconsin attractions to help you in planning your visit to Wisconsin. Our page can be accessed at http://www.mcw.edu/medphys/html/aapm__97.html

Charles R. Wilson, Ph.D. Chairman, Local Arrangements Committee