Students whose papers were competitively selected for presentation by the ECA were: Amanda Abbiate of Blairstown, N. J., Aaron Barr of Covington, Va., Christopher Bennett of Grantsville, W. Va., Katie Bowles of St. Albans, W. Va., Erin Bryan of Georgetown, Del., Kristen Buttermore of Tuckerton N. J., Andrea Conde of Buckhannon, W. Va., Ashley Durkin of Newbury N. H., Megan Geib of North Canton, Ohio, Nicholas Hamiesevicz of Dunn Loring, Va., Carly Kildare of Valley Head, W. Va., Steve McGrew of Bridgeport, W. Va., Aaron Noland of Vienna, W. Va., Melissa Riffee of Bridgeport, W. Va., and Elizabeth Wilson of Parkersburg, W. Va.

All of the college students are communication or public relations majors. They presented in paper sessions or the undergraduate and master's student poster sessions. Student papers were based on work they had completed in their Public Address, Communication Theory, or Communication Research Methods courses during the fall semester.

The students' participation in this conference was funded in part by the Dr. Martha D. Cooper Memorial Fund for Student Development. Dr. Cooper was a 1979 graduate of Wesleyan.

All five faculty members from the Communication Department -- Dr. Danette Ifert Johnson, Professor Kristi Lawrence, Dr. Kathleen Long, Dr. Elizabeth Oppe, and Professor Sandra Presar -- accompanied their students to Washington D. C. Each of the faculty also participated on panels, presented their own research, responded to papers, and attended other research presentations.

At the annual business meeting of the ECA, Dr. Kathleen Long received the ECA “Distinguished Service Award.” The Distinguished Service Award honors an individual ECA member for his/her contributions to the field of communication in general, and to the Eastern Communication Association in particular. A committee appointed by the President, who acts as chair, selects the recipient.

The Eastern Communication Association was founded in 1909 and is one of the four regional associations in the United States. Its membership consists primarily of communication scholars and teachers from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.