The John Decker Society is comprised of present and former faculty and trainees of the Rheumatology Training Program at the NIH, which has trained rheumatology fellows since the 1950’s.The rheumatology training program is sponsored by the National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). For more information about rheumatology at NIH see the program website http://www.rheumatology.nih.gov/. By its name, the Decker Society reveres the legacy of Dr. John Laws Decker, who was a researcher and rheumatologist in the NIH intramural research program and and NIH clinical center director from 1983-1990. Dr. Decker’s  promotion of excellence in research, training, and dedication to service, helped shape the NIAMS and rheumatology program that we know today. The Decker Society meets annually in conjunction with the American College of Rheumatology meeting, and in 2012, thanks to generous sponsorship by the Arthritis Foundation,  we had a special Decker Society Meeting at the Marion Koshland Science Museum, in Washington D.C. on November 11 from 6 pm to 9 pm. This was the largest ever gathering of alumni and friends of the NIH rheumatology training program.