Recently refurbished, the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club provided an ideal setting for our annual meeting. The Association met for the ninth time at this oceanfront resort that opened in 1928. The congenial atmosphere and lovely beaches have only improved since the Association first visited this beauty spot over forty years ago. The total attendance was 234. President Abboud gave a heartfelt talk about his personal and professional journey that began with his lovely bride, Doris, in Cairo, Egypt. The address, entitled “Knowledge, Compassion and Restless Spirit,” took us from his days in medical school with roommate, Omar Shariff, to the river city of Iowa City. We were spellbound watching the life of such an extraordinary man unfold. The sublime concepts of caring, compassion, dedication, competence, and perseverance took on new meaning. More than one set of eyes was moistened as we watched and listened as a real doctor spoke of doctoring.
The Gordon Wilson Lecture, by Michael Welsh, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Carver Trust-Roy J. Carver Biomedical Chair in Internal Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, was entitled “Developing New Models to understand Cystic Fibrosis.” Dr. Welsh delivered a magnificent tour de force as he brought the hogs of Iowa to an entirely new plane. His stellar work with cystic fibrosis using gene modifiers and manipulation in an animal model has yielded steady progress. He showed brilliantly what can be accomplished by “clear minds without preconceived ideas.”
The Jeremiah Metzger Lecture, entitled “Gene Therapy for Inherited Disorders: From Christmas Disease to Leber's Amaurosis,” was given by Katherine A. High, M.D., William H. Bennett Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania Medical Hospital, Director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Dr. High dealt in a remarkably concise manner with an enormous spectrum of genetic problems as diverse as immune tolerance in lymphoma, parvoviruses in snakes, and maintenance of circadian rhythm in the blind. She extolled the marvelous collaboration among multiple laboratories and the synergy resulting from such cross-fertilization.
The Banquet Speech was given by Donald A. Gurnett, Ph.D., J.A. Van Allen/Roy J. Carver Professor of Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa. Professor Gurnett explored the possibility and almost certain probability of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Pervading his talk was a thinly veiled undercurrent that we may be creating, by both negligent and reckless behavior, an “atmosphere” which will be unable to sustain intelligent life on our own planet. He showed our progress to be enormous, and pointed out our boundless opportunities.
AMERICAN CLINICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
121st Meeting
Ponte Vedra Inn and Club
October 16–19, 2008
MINUTES FROM COUNCIL MEETING
President François Abboud convened the meeting of Council at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 16, 2008 at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Those in attendance were: François Abboud, Marschall Runge, Frederic Billings, Philip Mackowiak, Anne Moore, Katherine High, Wayne Alexander, Marshall Wolf, Gerald Mandell, Andrew Schafer, Robert Luke, and Herbert DuPont.
Dr. Alexander moved, and Dr. Luke seconded that the minutes of the one hundred twentieth meeting of the Association be approved as published in Volume 119 of the Transactions. The motion carried unanimously.
Dr. DuPont, Chair, reported that the Nominating Committee, consisting of Anne Moore, Donald Wesson, H. David Humes, and Robert Schrier, had nominated Wayne Alexander as President, Gerald Mandell as President-Elect, James Winchester as Vice-president, Andrew Schafer and François Abboud as Council members. David Hillis was nominated Council member to fill the remaining term of Gerald Mandell. The nominating committee also nominated Frederic Billings to continue as Secretary-Treasurer and Philip Mackowiak to continue as Recorder. Council accepted the committee's nominations, which will be presented to the membership.
Dr. Wolf moved, and Dr. DuPont seconded the acceptance of the following three (3) resignations: Karen Antman, James Curran, and Alan Fleishman. The motion carried unanimously. Dr. Billings will notify these members that their resignations have been regretfully accepted.
Dr. Mackowiak moved that Active Membership be further clarified: “A member is qualified for Active Membership once the provisional member has presented his paper at the annual meeting and the appropriate manuscript has been submitted to the Recorder for publication.” This reaffirms Council's deliberations as documented in “The Minutes of the Council Meeting,” Transactions, 2004, Volume 115, p.xxxiii. Dr. Schafer seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.
Changes in the Constitution and By-laws regarding the Active Membership will be duly sent to the entire membership in the February 2009 mailing and will be voted upon at the First Business Meeting of the Association in October 2009. Upon passage of the changes, the appropriate portion of Article III, Section 2 will state: Such as are approved by the Council shall be considered elected as provisional members. In order to progress to Active Membership, the provisional member must submit a paper, acceptable to the President, for presentation at the annual meeting within two years of election and must submit an original manuscript derived from that presentation to the Recorder for publication in the Association's Transactions no later than December 31st of the year of presentation. All manuscripts published in the Transactions are to be original and will become the copyright property of the Association. This replaces the current language of a portion of Article III, Section 2 which states: Such as are approved by the Council shall be considered elected as provisional members who must submit a paper, acceptable to the President, for presentation at the annual meeting within two years of election to become an active member. Provisional membership may not extend beyond two years.
After clarification of definition of Active Membership was established, Dr. Wolf moved, and Dr. Luke seconded that the following eleven (11) members be transferred from Active to Emeritus membership: Stephen Achuff, Franklin Adkinson, Jr., Robert Clark, Lawrence Frohman, Ralph Giannella, John Glick, Stanley Goldfarb, Richard Guerrant, Donald Lindberg, James Pennington, George Thibault. The motion carried unanimously.
Terminations for failure to comply with the attendance requirements as stated in the Constitution and By-laws (Article III, Section 5) were addressed by Council. Dr. Wolf moved, and Dr. Mackowiak seconded the termination of the membership of Eric Larson. The motion carried unanimously. Dr. Wolf moved, and Dr. Mackowiak seconded the termination of the membership of Douglas Richman. The motion carried unanimously. Dr. Luke moved and Dr. Mackowiak seconded that Arthur Rubenstein must attend the following year to maintain membership status in the Association. The motion carried unanimously. Dr. Mackowiak moved, and Dr. Runge seconded the motion that John Ball, Sanjiv Kaul, Stanley Lemon, William Martin, Michael Parmacek, Jean Robillard, David Stevenson, and David Walker must attend the following year to maintain membership status in the Association.
Dr. Billings reported that there are 156 Active members after transferring the above eleven (11) members to Emeritus membership, after accepting three (3) members’ resignations and after terminating the membership of two (2) members for failure to comply with attendance requirements as stated in the Constitution and By-laws.
In accordance with By-law (4), Dr. Billings moved, and Dr. Wolf seconded a motion that Stanley Lemon must pay dues up to current year to maintain membership status in the Association. The motion carried unanimously. Dr. Billings moved, and DuPont seconded that a motion that Donald Castell must pay dues up to current year to maintain membership status in the Association. The motion carried unanimously. Dr. High moved, and Dr. Luke seconded a motion that Richard Lifton, a provisional member, both must pay dues up to current year by December 31, 2008 and must present an appropriate paper at the annual meeting in October 2009 to maintain membership in Association. After discussion, the motion carried. Dr. Wolf stated that he will contact Dr. Lifton regarding his responsibilities.
Dr. High moved and Dr. Luke seconded a motion that the following provisional members be advanced from to Active Membership, upon presentation of their papers at this annual meeting and the timely submission of their manuscripts to the Recorder for publication in the Transactions: Phyllis August, Tomas Berl, David Brenner, David Corry, Charles Czeisler, Richard deShazo, Gerald Dorn, George Dover, Thomas Duffy, Timothy Flanigan, Lawrence Smith, Lynne Stevenson, William Stevenson, Robert Strieter, Manikkam Suthanthiran, and Steven Weinberger. The motion carried unanimously. The Council accepted the Recorder's recommendation that Victor Scott's manuscript be published in 2009, Volume 120 of the Transactions.
Dr. Mackowiak presented the Recorder's Report and commended Cadmus for its excellent services throughout the year. Authors requesting figures to be printed in color in lieu of black and white will be asked to bear the extra expense. Dr. Billings moved, and Dr. Luke seconded that the Recorder's Report be accepted. The motion passed unanimously.
Dr. Billings reviewed the financial compilation submitted by Postlethwaite and Netterville, A Professional Accounting Corporation. The financial compilation was accepted. It will be further reviewed by the Audit Committee chaired by Ed Benz and consisting of Joe Garcia and Robert Clark. The Finance Committee was chaired by Robert Rich and consisted of Andrew Schafer, Sankey Williams, and Maria New. Schafer reported the deliberations of the Finance Committee to the Council. It was reported that the portfolio balance as of September 30, 2008 was $403,623. On October 10, 2008, the portfolio balance was $351,285. Because of this financial recession, Dr. Billings recommended to Council that there be no subsidization of the registration fee from the endowment of the Association. Dr. Mackowiak moved, and Dr. Abboud seconded that there be no subsidization of the registration fee. The motion carried unanimously. No modification in investments was made as recommended by Sanford Roy of Davis, Miller, Roy Group (Merrill Lynch). Dr. Wolf moved, and Dr. Luke seconded a motion to accept the report of the Finance Committee. The motion carried.
Dr. DuPont announced that he and his wife Peggy would like make a donation in the amount of $75,000 to the Association to underwrite an annual speaker. Dr. DuPont excused himself from the room. Dr. Alexander moved the donation be accepted, with the provision that any remaining income from the donation not used to underwrite the annual speaker be used at the President's discretion to enhance the annual meeting. Dr. Wolf seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Dr. Billings welcomed Dr. DuPont back into the Council meeting where the extraordinary and generous donation was accepted. Dr. Abboud and the other members of the Council expressed their appreciation to Dr. DuPont and his wife.
After discussion of the Association's website, the Council agreed to have the website password-protected. The username shall be member. The password shall be acca1884. Dr. Mackowiak moved, and Dr. Luke seconded that the changes be made. The motion carried unanimously. The website will have the names of Officers and Council members, the Constitution and By-laws, nominating instructions and forms, the most recent mailings, all contact information, including email, home and business addresses and telephone numbers of all members and spouses. An individual member may request the Secretary not to include portions of the contact information.
Susan Billings and Doris Abboud reported to the Council on the spouses’ meeting. They confirmed the desirability to have a speaker at the Ladies’ Coffee each year. The spouses agreed that the website should be password protected, and they requested a spouses’ tab for the spouses’ letter. Spouses’ emails will be included in the membership section. Resources will be made available for an honorarium for the speaker.
Dr. Abboud proposed that a task force be formed and chaired by Dr. Alexander to consider: 1) the applicability of our name “Climatological” and its implications, 2) financial goals for our investments, 3) review of Constitution and By-laws, 4) review of the process of sponsoring, proposing, and nominating new members, 5) review of the cap on our current active membership at 175, and 6) review of the attendance requirements. Dr. Billings moved, and Dr. Mackowiak seconded that the proposed task force be formed. The motioned passed unanimously. Dr. Alexander agreed to serve as chair of the task force and to select appropriate members that will include as ex officio members, the Recorder and Secretary-Treasurer.
The established dates and sites for upcoming meetings are as follows:
October 15–18, 2009 The Homestead, Hot Springs, VA
October 21–24, 2010 Westin La Cantera, San Antonio, TX
October 20–23, 2011 Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, FL
October 18–21, 2012 Marriott Grand Hotel, Point Clear, AL
October 17–20, 2013 Charleston Place, Charleston, SC
October 16–19, 2014 Loews Ventana Canyon, Tucson, AZ
Dr. DuPont moved that Abraham Verghese be approved without discussion of the candidate because of his qualifications and because of his being The Gordon Wilson lecturer in 2007. Dr. Mackowiak seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. After careful consideration of the qualifications of all nominees, Council elected the following fourteen (14) individuals to Provisional Membership in the Association: Valerie Castle, Lawrence Friedman, Holly Humphrey, Gary Hunninghake, Richard Johnson, William May, Alvin Mushlin, Jan Patterson, Thomas Patterson, Paul Rothman, Val Sheffield, Roy Silverstein, George Stouffer, and Abraham Verghese.
After transfer of qualified active members to Emeritus Membership, and after accounting for deaths, resignations and terminations, and upon election of fourteen (14) new members, the Active Membership is 170. Council reaffirmed its policy of not having members of Council sponsor or second nominees for membership in the Association.
The meeting adjourned at 3:30 pm.
MEETING OF THE FIRST BUSINESS MEETING
The meeting was called to order by President Abboud at 9:00 a.m. on October 17, 2008. The names of the members whose deaths were made know to the Association during the previous year were announced: Drs. William Atchley, Nathaniel Berlin, Mary Allen Engle, Sheldon Greisman, James Haviland, G. Watson James, III, Claude Joyner, Jr., Richard Lewis, Victor McKusick, Louis Tobian, and John Utz. The name of the spouses of members whose death was made known to the Association during the previous year was then announced: Jane Colwell and Celeste Woodward. A moment of silence was observed in their memory.
President Abboud introduced those new members and their spouses/guests present for their first meeting: Phyllis August and Manikkam Suthanthiran (both new members), Tomas Berl and Diane Pincus, M.D., David Brenner and Tatiana Kisseleva, M.D., David Corry and Farrah Kheradmand, M.D., Charles Czeisler and Theresa Shanahan, M.D., Richard deShazo and Gloria, Gerald Dorn and Deborah Hauger, M.D., George Dover and Barbara, Thomas Duffy and Susan Lewis, M.D., Timothy Flanigan and Luba Dumenco, M.D., Lawrence Smith and Debbie, Lynne and William Steveson (both new members), Robert Strieter and Marcia, Steven Weinberger and Janet, Joannne Wilson and Kenneth.
The report of the Council meeting was given by the Secretary. The Accountant's report and Financial Statements of the Association prepared by Postlethwaite and Netterville, A Professional Accounting Corporation, were referred to the Audit Committee (Drs. Ed Benz (chair), Joe Garcia and Robert Clark). Dr. Philip Mackowiak, Recorder, presented the Mary Allen Engle Recorder's Award for promptness in submitting and completing his manuscript to Walter Daly. To assure fair selection of the best paper of clinical merit, the names of the Woodward Award Committee are kept anonymous prior to selection of the paper. This year's Committee, composed of Drs. Dick Hornick (chair), Dan Goodenberger and Glenn Morris selected Dr. Lynne W. Stevenson's paper entitled, “Coming In and Out of the Rain: the role of Congestion in Heart Failure.”
The report of the Nominating Committee [Drs. Herbert DuPont (Chair), Anne Moore, Donald Wesson, David Humes, Robert Schrier] was presented by Dr. Abboud. There were no nominations from the floor, and the nominees were approved by acclamation. The Association officers from the upcoming year are: President, R. Wayne Alexander; President-Elect, Gerald Mandell; Vice-president, James Winchester; and Councilors, Andrew Schafer (2012), François Abboud (2012), and David Hillis (2009) to fill the remaining term of Dr. Mandell. Reelected were Secretary-Treasurer: Frederic Billings; Recorder: Philip Mackowiak. Continuing as Councilors are Marshall Wolf (2009), Robin Luke (2010), Katherine High (2010), Herbert DuPont (2011), and Anne Moore (2011)
MINUTES OF THE SECOND BUSINESS MEETING
The meeting was called to order by President Abboud at 8:00 am on October 18, 2008. Dr. Ed Benz presented the report of the Audit Committee, and stated that the financial affairs of the Association were in order. The report was accepted by the membership. The newly elected members were announced to the membership.
Respectfully submitted,
Frederic T. Billings, III, M.D.
Secretary-Treasurer