the many hours of time contributed not only by the authors but by the peer-reviewers who carefully read and critiqued various versions of the manuscripts. This is often a thankless and difficult job. In many cases, the authors and peer-reviewers are never known to each other, as the process is kept as “blind” as possible. Special thanks to all who were involved in this process. I want to personally thank the Area Editors who agreed to help me by managing manuscripts in their particular fields of study. Their task was to garner peer-review for any manuscript that I sent their way and then to make final decisions on whether it should eventually become part of the Proceedings. This is a difficult job because reviewers do not often agree with each other, and the Area Editors often had to make difficult decisions about the papers under their purview. Assisting me in this effort were Paul Garner, Steve Gollmer, Aaron Hutchison, Jeremy Lyon, Sarah Maithel, Bob Paris, and Clayton Schultz. I am very grateful for their time and effort. I must apologize for my illness during much of the proposal and paper submission process. Many deadlines were extended, and the peer-review process was rushed in too many cases. I was tardy in getting proposals and manuscripts to Area Editors in a timely fashion. Due to the nature of my illness, it prevented me from thinking clearly and processing materials for ICC. I apologize for the difficulty this caused for many of our authors. Thank you for the grace and understanding that you afforded me during this time. Many from the ICC board stepped in to help, but the delays were entirely my responsibility. Diagnosis and treatment for Lyme disease is a vii long process, but I finally seem to be responding well after about six months of treatment. I want to give special recognition to my wonderful, beautiful wife Jamie whom I married 35 years ago. She has been extremely patient, encouraging, and supportive of me as I have had to spend many hours preparing the Proceedings. Lydia Bradley and Joy Miller assisted me in formatting author manuscripts. Because of some health struggles over the past year, I could not keep up with the task of formatting the manuscripts; the many hours they spent in my stead were much appreciated. Thomas Purifoy of Compass Cinema also played a significant role in finishing the Proceedings when he realized I was struggling. Thank you! Clear memories of the first ICC in 1986 at Duquesne University, now 37 years ago, are beginning to fade for me. But, one thing I do remember, as a young graduate student at the time, is being overwhelmed with the realization that God had prepared so many well-credentialed scientists like Drs. Austin, Baumgardner, Humphreys, and Wise. You will still find papers from these four scientists in this installment of the Proceedings, and their tribe has increased! I trust that you will carefully read and study these papers as you participate in “developing the Creation model of origins.” May all glory and honor go to our Lord and Creator! Dr. John H. Whitmore Senior Professor of Geology, Cedarville University 2023 International Conference on Creationism Editor July 2023
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