A little history…

On November 20, 1972, Barbara Z. Phillips, Clayton A. Cisar, James R. Pick, Eugene M. Wright Jr., Daniel Moncol, Joe Wagner, Don Feldman, Bill Macklin, Dennis G. Casey, Gordon Houston, Bill Lewis, Lyman C. Franklin and Helen R. Sanders signed a petition of affiliation to establish the Research Triangle Branch of AALAS. On December 14, 1972, the Research Triangle Branch sent the petition for affiliation to the national organization. The petition was sent by the first president, Clayton Cisar, who was Chief of the Animal Care Section at the Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park.

He was elected president at the first branch meeting in November 1972 which was attended by 25 people. Stephen Trombitas, from Becton Dickinson Research Center, was elected as the Secretary-Treasurer at the same meeting. Joe Garvey sent the proposed Branch bylaws to Harvey Sarner, an attorney in Chicago, Illinois for review. Mr. Sarner asked only that the word “fellowship” be deleted from Article II, Section 2.

Mr. Sarner also suggested that “this branch is unique in that it represents such a narrow geographic area.” He suggested that the “members of the Executive Committee may wish to discuss whether this is a major change in the branch system.” Joe Garvey called (and followed up with a letter dated 18 January 1973) Clayton Cizar and told him that “the subject of naming branches was reviewed very thoroughly the year that the Kansas City Branch was approved as an affiliate. The original application stipulated the name ‘Heart of America Branch.’ The Board of Trustees recommended that branches consider the use of states and large metropolitan areas in the selecting of branch names.” He then listed others branches which had changed their names and stated that he would be willing to submit the application as it stood or wait until the group reconsidered the name. Kenneth D. Quist, one of the District 4 Trustees at the time, wrote on January 23, 1973, to suggest that the branch call itself the “North Carolina Branch or something more descriptive of a broader area.”

The Branch met in February 1973 and voted to keep the name the Research Triangle Branch for several reasons expressed in a February 22, 1973, letter to the Board of Trustees.

“First, the majority of national members (all but three from the mailing list) in North Carolina are located either within the Triangle itself or commuting distance. Second the geographic area encompassed by the Triangle is larger than that of the area covered by the National Capital Area Branch which could also be described as a narrow geographic area and that the concentration of research facilities in this area now and expected in the future is somewhat unique. Last, because of this concentration and the characteristics of the Research Triangle Park itself we feel that the majority of the research institutions moved or established in North Carolina will be in our area.”

He stated that the branch was meeting the second Tuesday of each month in the auditorium of the National Environmental Research Center, EPA on Highway 54 starting at 7:30 PM. The Branch was affiliated on March 12, 1973. The first officers were: President, Gene Wright; Vice President, Bill Macklin and Secretary/Treasurer, Ann Troutman. The branch incorporated as a 501(c)(3) corporation in the State of North Carolina on 21 April 1980.

The first meeting of the directors was held at the offices of Sloan, Hassell, and Broadwell in Raleigh, NC on 24 April 1980. The directors were: Norman Braune, William Brown, Richard A. Carter, Don Feldman, Phillip T. Johnson, Blair Rehnberg, Helen Sanders, Billie Sumrell and Norman L. Sloan. Helen Saunders was elected Chairman and Blair Rehnberg was elected Secretary of the meeting.