2 VISIT OR GUIDE whic h an y GS A member may join con vene at this meeting where geologists from around the world present their latest researc h and disco veries in the feld and in the lab GS A also has seven regional sections including the recently formed International S ection plus six in Nor th America Cordilleran R oc k y Mountain Nor thCentral S outhCentral Nor theastern and S outheastern GS A is also dedicated to advancing the interests of the geosciences in public policy and main tains an offce in W ashington DC where it monitor s developments relating to the ear th sciences and its funding on Capitol Hill Finally in realizing the impor tance of continuing to fund promotion of and in vestment in the geosciences the GS A F oundation established in 1 980 recei ves and administer s contributions in suppor t of GS A s mission As an independent tax exempt org anization the F oundation accepts gif ts by c hec k or credit card wire transfer s stoc k and by bequests to the S ociety s programs R ecently completing a 1 0 million capital campaign the F oundation also contributes to GS A s researc h grants program and supplies matc hing student travel grants for eac h of GS A s S ections Over for ty year s since mo ving from New Y ork to Boulder the S ociety s employees are as dedi cated as ever to working on behalf of the S ociety s mission to pro vide access to elements that are essential to the professional growth of ear th scientists at all levels of exper tise and from all sector s Throughout 20 1 3 we at GS A headquar ter s in vite member s and friends to celebrate 1 25 year s of our science stew ardship of the Ear th and service to the ear th sciences with us A Bit of Our 1 25 Y ear History The Geological S ociety of America w as founded in 1 888 for the purpose of the promotion of the science of geology by the issuance of sc holarly publications the holding of meetings the pro vision of assistance to researc h and other appropriate means Initially 37 renowned geologists responded to an in vitation to join the new S ociety and by the end of the fr st year member ship had grown to 1 91 The question of beginning a S ociety sponsored publication w as tac kled at the org anizational meeting in December 1 888 and a series to be known as the Bulletin of the Geological S ociety of America w as proposed and adopted The fr st v olume of the Bulletin appeared in F ebruary 1 890 the J anuaryF ebruary 20 1 3 v olume is the 1 25 th in a continu ous series Annual meetings org aniz ed by the S ociety for the exc hange of new knowledge were successful from the star t With the growth and specialization of the geologic profession the formation of as sociated societies beg an in 1 909 when the P aleontological S ociety w as org aniz ed followed by eight additional associations Mineralogical S ociety of America S ociety of Economic Geologists S ociety of V er tebrate P aleontology Geoc hemical S ociety National Association of Geology T eac her s Geo science Information S ociety the Cushman F oundation and Sigma Gamma Epsilon The Geological S ociety of America depended primarily on dues from its relati vely few member s until 1 931 when the S ociety recei ved a substantial bequest from Ric hard AF P enrose Jr As a result it w as able to expand its acti vities in man y w ays and to begin publication of its series of Memoir s and Special P aper s and the annual Bibliograph y and Index of Geology now published by the Ameri can Geological Institute The S ociety also beg an issuing color w all maps and special publications in the feld of engineering geology The 24par t T reatise on In ver tebrate P aleontology a major refer ence work w as introduced in 1 953 The series w as copublished by GS A and the Uni ver sity of K ansas for a number of year s In 20 07 the Uni ver sity of K ansas P aleontological Institute became the sole publisher The Geological S ociety of America today is proud to have been an integral par t of that develop ment as it continues to play an acti ve role in the direction of the geologic sciences of the future