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July 2011www.sname.org/sname/mt (founders and leaders) of more than 8,000 SNAME members today, just 193 have earned this distinction. Also in 1998, Michel was awarded the SNAME Distinguished Service Award. is is a soci- ety-wide recognition to those members who, through dedicated personal service and/or technical contribu- tions, have contributed to the Society and its various activities at the national and section levels. In 2002, Michel was awarded the David W. Taylor Medal for notable achievement in naval architecture and/or marine engineering. e medal was presented to Keith by his good friend and SNAME president-elect at the time, Bruce Rosenblatt. In his introduction speech before the awarding of the honor, Rosenblatt said, Keith is a leader whose soft-spoken words create such an impact that we are compelled to sit up and take notice.? A pro cient writer, with dozens of published tech- nical papers from the 1970s to today, Michel and his fellow authors in 2003 were given the Vice Admiral E. L. Cochrane Award, presented to the author of the best paper published in Marine Technology . The paper stemmed from work done by HEC to analyze why a post-Panamax containership that encountered extreme weather sustained extensive loss and damage to deck stowed containers. e paper was entitled An Investigation of Head-Sea Parametric Rolling and Its In uence on Container Lashing Systems.? Michel also contributed to the 2003/2004 completely revised new edition of Ship Design and Construction , compiled and edited by Professor omas Lamb of the University of Michigan, and is co-authoring, with Rob Tagg of HEC, a chapter in the upcoming Principles of Naval Architecture .Michel was elected president of SNAME for 2009-2010. During his time as president, the society went through many changes. Phil Kimball was the SNAME executive director at the time, and o ers his thoughts on the Michel presidency in the accompanying sidebar. As for Michel, he called it a n exciting and rewarding experience.? In addi- tion to the work he did at SNAME headquarters during his term as SNAME president, he gave technical presenta- tions to society members, including many at local sections within the continental U.S., as well as in London, Athens, Shanghai, and Honolulu. Other recognition In addition to his time spent building HEC, and as an active SNAME volunteer, Michel has found Keith Michel continued WILD RIDE Editors note: Phil Kimball was executive direc- tor for SNAME during Keith Michels presidency in 2009-2010. Following are Kimballs thoughts on the Michel tenure. Keith Michel was well prepared for his term as president of the Society in 2009-2010 and wasted no time instituting sweeping changes in every department at headquarters soon after he and I returned in early January from the World Maritime Technology Conference in Mumbai. He streamlined many of our procedures, reduced personnel by outsourcing both technical support and annual meeting papers, oversaw improvements in the new SNAME Web site, created the SNAME Featured Paper, and set into motion improvements in the annual meeting which led to vastly increased attendance in 2009 and 2010. He instituted new controls as we rebuilt the Finance and Accounting department with new personnel while simulta- neously changing the ? scal year and dealing with new tax requirements. Under his watchful eye, seven new scholarships were created and new procedures were established for tracking and reporting their progress. Always mindful of the Societys mission, he championed the introduction of SNAME technical symposia, con- tributing a paper for every one we held, while also attending our international technical collegia to involve potential new members. He spearheaded and carried forward the concept of moving head- quarters from Jersey City to a new location which, in the future, might open up new business sources as well as a ord easier access by a greater number of members. Perhaps Keiths most visible improve- ment was the ful? llment of his vision to replace Marine Technology with the new (mt) magazine in early 2010 by publishing themed issues with com- prehensive feature articles and technical content written by members, which has resulted in member approval and increased readership. SNAMEs PNA Series and a number of reference texts were also completed or signi? cantly advanced during Keiths term, a testimony to his focus and persistence. His was a most memorable presidency for me as I played an integral role in many of the changes and improvements that were instituted by Keith; sweeping changes that will surely impact the Society long after his presidency and my term as executive director. It was indeed the wild ride? previously predicted by one member who knew all too well the new ideas and improvements Keith had in store for the Society.