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Note from the Chair
07 July 2011
Greetings from England!
We’re getting ready for another busy year with the Associate Fellows Group and I wanted to start things off with a big thank you to all who have worked to make this past year such a success. I hope you all enjoyed the Anchorage meeting as much as I did. The lectures and social events were absolutely fantastic! We closed the event in style with 2 of our members taking home AsMA Awards and 15 of our members being picked up for Fellow. Congratulations to Nora Taylor for receiving the Mary Klinker Award, Kathryn Hughes who was awarded the Julian E. Ward Memorial Award, and our AFG members who were selected as Fellows: Christopher Armstrong, Genie Bopp, Eilis Boudreau, Gordon Cable, Robert Carroll, Arthur Hadley, John Heil, Debbie Hinkley, Kathy Hughes, Petra Illig, Peter Lee, Janet Sanner, Richard Scheuring, Willis Simmons, and Carols Staff.
Before I get too far along, I would be remiss without thanking Genie Bopp, Will Simmons, Deb Hinkley, Rob Carroll, Janet Sanner, Brian Musselman, Shannon Phares, and Nereyda Sevilla for their outstanding leadership and devotion throughout the year. Our accomplishments this past year would not have been possible without their commitment and hard work. For those that were unable to be at our Tuesday morning breakfast meeting, we welcomed 100 new Associate Fellows this year! We also, caught up with several of our past AFG Chairs, recognizing their contributions with a commemorative gavel and plaque. In addition, we presented the Annual Ellingson Award to, Dr. Desmond M. Connolly, PhD for his ASEM article, Decompression sickness risk at 6553 m breathing two gas mixtures. The annual AFG reception was a very well attended, and for the first time, we partnered with the AsMA Fellows on a joint event which gave current and prospective Associate Fellows a great opportunity to socialize and network.
In an effort to maintain the momentum that we gained this past year, we’ve stayed busy in the months since the annual meeting getting things rolling for our newly elected officers and chairs. In addition to the preparations for the annual meeting, I have three goals in mind for this year:
- Move toward a one stop payment for AsMA and Constituent organization dues using PayPal or other secure payment system,
- Finalize and approve the Associate Fellow and Fellow electronic biographical database application, and
- Combine resources with some of the other Affiliate and Constituent organizations in the form of scholarships.
A special thank you to all of those that have already volunteered to take on this year’s challenges. Our 2011-2012 AFG Officers are: Lance Annicelli, Chair; Brian Musselman, Chair-Elect; Nereyda Sevilla, Secretary; and Shannon Phares, Treasurer. Damann Volker will take over as Informatics Chair, Ernest Prochazka will serve as our Ellingson Award Chair, and Bob Haddon & Fred Bonato will co-chair the Program Committee. With the attrition of many of our AFG Chairs to Fellow comes the opportunity for other Associate Fellows to step up and fill the void. The Atlanta 2012 meeting is just around the corner, and if you wish to become more involved, opportunities abound! We have a few open committee chair positions and welcome volunteers to serve. Those interested in leading the way on the Membership Committee, Reception Committee, Nominations Committee, or Merchandizing Committee, please let us know via email at associatefellows@gmail.com.
We have already put quite a lot of work into our website at www.asmaafg.org to provide you with more information about Associate Fellowship so please visit often and let us know what you think! Changes will be ongoing as we continue the work towards including the biographical database and online payment of dues.
Our deadline for receipt of new Associate Fellow applications is 30 November, so if you know someone that is interested, encourage them to visit our website and apply. Application is easy! If you are not yet an Associate Fellow and you have been a member of AsMA for 5 or more years, simply send your CV with a request for consideration to the AFG Membership Committee at associatefellows@gmail.com.
Please take a moment to consider becoming more involved in AsMA and the AFG. There are many ways in which you can serve.
We’ll be getting to work very soon with the following:
- Membership Committee – compiling a slate of Fellows nominations
- Informatics Committee – ongoing work on integrating online payment and member biographical database
- Scientific Program Committee - developing a scientific program panel for the annual meeting
- Reception Committee – making arrangements for hosting our annual breakfast and social
- Nominations Committee – preparing for our officer elections this fall
If you would like to get involved, you can find out more information on our website www.asmaafg.org, or contact the appropriate committee chair at associatefellows@gmail.com. Don’t forget that you can also serve on an AsMA level committee that interests you.
I’m looking forward another successful year with the Associate Fellows Group and look forward working with you all!
Lance Annicelli
AFG Chair, 2011-2012
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