Any 50th anniversary should be noticed as a milestone of some sort, whether of a person or a thing. In this case, any of you who can subtract will recognize that from 1946, when the first Caddo Conference occurred, to 2008 is more than 50 years. This is because between 1946 and 1965, there were only eight meetings, and we ran out of things to talk about (or people to agree to host the meetings) and did not meet in 1969. After the 12th meeting in 1970, we have managed to have a meeting every year, and we have maintained a pattern of meeting in a different state of the four encompassing our research area, or at least a different host institution (see Appendix I).
We have maintained flexibility by not organizing: no constitution/by-laws, no officers, no members, and no 501c(3) status. This is not uncommon amongst regional archeological conferences, although several have felt the need for more structure as their attendance and publications grew
