My personal welcome to Nancy Guy to our chapter (she has already gotten her feet wet as this year's program chair).

There were 12 student papers being considered for the Ki Mantle Hood Prize Competition. The committee is made up of Fred Lau (chair), Tara Browner, and Rene Lysloff. The winner of the 1998 Ki Mantle Hood Prize Competition is Heidi Feldman (UCLA) and the title of her paper is "Which Side are you On? Cultural Politics and the Art-Ethnography Continuum?" The committee found her paper provocative and the issues she raised timely and theoretically sophisticated. As the winner of the Ki Mantle Hood Prize Competition, she will receive a cash prize of $50 and we wish her the best of luck in her future endeavor.

The paper that deserved honorable mention is by Christi-Anne Castro (UCLA). The title of her paper is "Stealing a Myth: Filipino Americans and Contemporary Rondalla Music." Congratulations to both winners and thank you for those who have submitted their papers for consideration.

On a personal note: I was on sabbatical last fall and spent three months in Singapore conducting fieldwork on the amateur Teochew musical clubs as part of a larger project entitled Chinese Music in the Diaspora. During that time, I was also as a visiting scholar at the Center for Advanced Studies at the National University of Singapore.

Lastly: I will continue my duty as the interim vice-president until the end of my term. I have cast my votes to the changes Rene has proposed. Look forward to seeing you all in the near future and enjoy the meeting.

Submitted by Fred Lau