I would say it was further back then that. MY guess would be when the AMA office was moved from DC to Muncie. IIRC, that was when the EC decided they needed a home office, a flying field and all the rest of the unneeded crap that's now about to bankrupt the organization. IF the powers that be were to move back to DC, where they could interact directly with Congressional leaders and dispose of all of the non-cost effective overhead they(or should I say the membership) are now paying for, maybe the organization would become relevant again