The first draft of the preliminary program for the 2009 History of Economics Society Conference has been posted on the conference website, <http://www.hes-conference2009.com/>http://www.hes-conference2009.com/. In determining chairs and discussants for the sessions in which the organizers have not settled this already, we will follow the process used by HES President Avi Cohen at last year's conference. Many of you have shared the frustration at conferences of not being able to attend sessions in which you are interested, because harried conference organizers (always!) have unknowingly scheduled you as discussants or chairs at competing sessions. In an attempt to enhance your conference experience, I am asking for you to suggest up to 2 papers you would be interesting in discussing, and up to 2 sessions you would be willing to chair. We will do our best to match preferences and assignments, and hopefully have more of you at the sessions in which you are most interested. Please respond (again to <[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]) by May 5. Preference-matching will only go so far, so we thank you in advance for taking on whatever roles you are ultimately assigned. If you have not yet registered for the conference, please bear in mind that the deadline for discounted rates on registration is May 15, so be sure to complete your registration before then. A link to the online registration material can be found on the conference website (<http://www.hes-conference2009.com/>http://www.hes-conference2009.com/). As always, please do not hesitate to contact me (<[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]) if you have any questions about the conference. Best wishes, Steve Medema President-Elect, History of Economics Society 2009 HES Conference Organizer