The Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, nestled in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains, served as a perfect location for the 127th meeting of The Climatological. This desert setting was also the site of our 2007 meeting. The combination of perfect weather and a picturesque resort provided the ideal backdrop for our meeting. The total attendance was 204 with 95 members and 109 spouses and guests.
In his President's Address, titled “Quercus (Oak): A Perspective,” Frederic T. Billings, III, M.D. (Baton Rouge, LA) enlightened us by elucidating the role of this majestic tree in providing fuel, naval warships, shade, pollution control and beauty. He pointed out numerous bonds between the macroscopic and microscopic features of the oak tree and The Climatological, including several current and past members whose names are “family trees” (i.e., derived from or associated with oaks). His presentation is the first in the history of The Climatological to include drone pictures (aerial views of the oaks that grace downtown Baton Rouge) and a rotating 3-D scanning electron micrograph of an oak leaf.
The Gordon Wilson Lecture was delivered by Peter M. Howley, M.D., the Shattuck Professor of Pathological Anatomy in the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology and the Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. In his address titled “Infectious Disease Causes of Cancer: Opportunities for Prevention and Treatment,” Dr. Howley noted that approximately 20% of human cancers are caused by infectious agents (i.e., bacteria, parasites and viruses), and he reviewed their history, mechanisms of action, treatment and preventative vaccines.
The Jeremiah Metzger Lecture titled “Inflammation, Immune Modulators and Chronic Disease” was delivered by Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Director of the Biodesign Institute, Dalton Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Arizona State University and Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ. The presentation elucidated the association of inflammation and colorectal cancer, the role of prostaglandin signaling in modulating the immune response, and the role of anti-inflammatory agents in prevention and recurrence of colorectal cancer. Prior to the lecture, Joseph Alpert, M.D. (Tucson, AZ) provided a history of the “man behind the lecture” in his presentation “Jeremiah Metzger and the Era of Heliotherapy.”
The sixth Bert and Peggy Dupont Lecture was delivered by Nicholas R. Spitzer, Ph.D. Producer and Host of Public Radio's American Routes and Professor of American Studies and Anthropology at Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. His provocative multimedia presentation was appropriately titled ““Goin' Where the Climate Suits My Clothes …”: What the Blues Highway Tells Us About American Cultures and Community Life.” He wove together a professional and personal history using snippets of “American Blues” to depict the highs and lows of life in America, his personal experience with cancer, his introduction to President Frederic Billings, subsequent cancer therapy, and success as a national curator of Americana music as he obtained a new lease on life. After artfully weaving the toe-tapping/finger-snapping music with his compelling personal story, The Climatological's first DJ was given a hearty standing ovation.
MINUTES FROM COUNCIL MEETING
President Frederic Billings convened the meeting of the Council at 9:00AM on Thursday, October 16, 2014, at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson, Arizona. Those in attendance were Anne Moore (President-Elect) Edward Benz, Laurence Boxer, (Vice President), Virginia Collier, James Hughes, Richard Lange (Secretary-Treasurer), Philip Mackowiak (Immediate Past President), Gerald Mandell, J. Glenn Morris, and Fred Schiffman (Recorder). Two of the Council members – John Oates and Ronald Sacher – were absent.
Dr. Mackowiak moved, and Dr. Benz seconded, the motion that the minutes of the 126th meeting of the Association be approved as published in volume 125 of the Transactions. The motion carried unanimously.
Dr. Mackowiak (chair) reported that the Nominating Committee – consisting of James Marsh, Mark Okusa, G. Richards Olds, James Pennington, Sharon Rounds and Richard Lange (ex officio) – nominated Anne Moore for President, David Dale for President-Elect, Peter Howley for Vice President and Frederic Billings and Tom DuBose as new Council members. The Nominating Committee also recommended that Richard Lange continue as Secretary-Treasurer and Fred Schiffman continue as Recorder. Dr. Benz moved and Dr. Morris seconded the motion that Council accept the Committee's nominations, which will be presented to the membership for election. The motion carried unanimously.
The names of the members whose death was made known to the Association during the previous year were presented: Gerard Burrow, James Clifton, Nicholas Christy, Thomas Hendrix, Edmund Pellegrino, and Robert Whalen. The names of the spouses of members whose death were made known to the Association during the previous year were also presented: Marion Greer, wife of David Greer. Their names will be read to the membership at the first business meeting.
Dr. Benz moved and Dr. Mackowiak seconded the motion that the resignation of one active member – Abraham Verghese – and three provisional members – Janet Schlechte, Joseph St. Geme and Haywood Brown – be accepted. The motion carried unanimously. Dr. Lange will notify the 4 members of the Council's acceptance of their resignation.
Terminations for failure to comply with the attendance requirements as stated in the Constitution and By-laws (Article IV, Section 5) were addressed by the Council. Because Janet Schlechte (elected 2011), Joseph St. Geme (elected 2011) and Haywood Brown (elected 2012) failed to attend a meeting or present a paper within 2 years of election to provisional membership. Since the Council accepted their resignation, their membership was not rescinded involuntarily.
The following members whose last meeting attendance was 2010 avoided being removed from The Climatological by registering to attend the 2014 meeting; Roland Blantz, Valerie Castle, James Fagin, Larry Jameson, William Little, Lanny Rosenwasser, Kelly Skeff and David Stevenson. Steve Nelson did register but last minute illness prevented attendance. The following members whose last meeting attendance was 2010 provided satisfactory explanations of why they were unable to attend the 2014 meeting; Phyllis August, Manikkam (Suthan) Suthanthiran, Steve Nelson and Lawrence Crabb. Dr. Lange was instructed to notify these members that they must be current on their dues and attend the 2015 Association meeting in Ponte Vedra, FL in order to maintain their membership.
The Council requested that Dr. Lange determine why David Crabb, whose last meeting attendance was in 2010, had not provided an explanation regarding his absence at the 2013 meeting nor registered for the current meeting.
Dr. Benz moved and Dr. Morris seconded the motion that the following 17 members be transferred from active to emeritus membership: Stephen Baum, Stanley Chapman, William Crowley, Jeffrey Glassroth, Marc Hochberg, Marc Lippman, James Marsh, William Martin, Eric Neilson, Jules Puschett, William Roper, Sharon Rounds, George Schreiner, J. Sanford Schwartz, Kelly Skeff, William Stead, and David Stevenson. The motion carried unanimously. It was noted that Kelly Skeff was eligible for emeritus status last year; however, he was not transferred from active to emeritus status because his last attended meeting was in 2010 (i.e., he had missed 3 consecutive meetings). With attendance at this meeting, he will become emeritus.
Following the action of the Council, Dr. Lange reported that there are 161 active members, not including 27 provisional members and 292 emeritus members. One provisional member – Arun Sanyal – provided a satisfactory explanation to the Council as to why he was unable to present a lecture at the 2013 meeting. He was informed that our Bylaws state that provisional members must present a paper within 2 years of election to the organization to maintain their membership. Accordingly, he must present a lecture and submit a corresponding manuscript for publication in 2015 in order to avoid losing his provisional membership.
Dr. Billings moved and Dr. Greenberg seconded the motion that the following 21 provisional members be advanced to active membership upon presentation of their papers at the annual meeting and timely submission of their manuscript to the Recorder for publication in the Transactions: John Buse, Molly Carnes, Leslie Crofford, Mary Crow, Kim Eagle, Michael Edmond, David Ellison, Faith Fitzgerald, Phyllis Guze, Katherin Hajjar, Daniel Hayes, Barbara Hempstead, Joanne Jordan, Mary Nettleman, Laura Petersen, Arun Sanyal, Victor Schuster and George Weiner. The motion carried unanimously.
The winner of the 2014 Mary Allen Engle Award (i.e., the member who was most prompt in submitting their lecture manuscript to the Recorder) was announced and is Mark Anderson. The prize – a bottle of wine – will be supplied by Dr. Schiffman. The Theodore E. Woodward Award (to recognize the presenter at the 2013 annual meeting who spoke the most eloquently … .“on the importance of clinical skills in medical practice and teaching.”) winner was announced and is Robert Bradsher who presented a talk entitled, “The Endemic Mimic: Blastomycosis. An Infection Often Misdiagnosed.”
At the 2013 meeting the Council asked Dr. Schiffman to investigate the costs associated with providing a digital version of Transactions. Currently, ∼350 copies of the Transactions are printed annually. Dr. Schiffman provided the Recorder's report which noted a potential savings of greater than $10,000 annually for the organization if the Transactions were transitioned from a print version to a digital publication. Cenveo Publisher Services provided a cover-to-cover estimate of $20,135 to include all content services for provision of a PDF version. Additionally, providing mobile access via mobile browsers would cost ∼$600 in one time set up costs and $600 per issue plus hosting fees (100,000 page views per month included. Views over the included amount is $1.00 per 1,000 page views). The Council expressed concern that the membership was not yet ready to transition to a digital publication solely and suggested that the Recorder explore the costs of providing the entire Transactions in pdf form.
Fred Schiffman requested that a stipend be offered to his administrative assistant in recognition of the many hours she spent working with the Transactions' manuscript authors and publisher. Dr. Mackowiak moved and Dr. Morris seconded a motion that a one-time stipend of $1000 be provided. The motion carried unanimously. A proposal was made that President-Elect Anne Moore and Dr. Schiffman convene a committee to (a) decide upon a reasonable annual stipend for the assistant to the Recorder in recognition of his or her contribution to The Climatological and (b) provide this recommendation to the Council at the 2015 annual meeting. A motion for this proposal was made by Dr. Collier, seconded by Dr. Mackowiak, and unanimously approved.
The Membership Committee – chaired by Anne Moore, and consisting of Paul Auwaerter, Thomas Duffy, Jeannette Shorey, Glenn Morris and Joanne Wilson and ex-officio members Frederic Billings and Richard Lange– reviewed the mandate by President Billings to consider and target candidates from all demographic areas; ethnicity and gender; younger candidates; and unrepresented and underrepresented institutions. The Committee reviewed the ACCA members by categories (i.e., geographic, institution, gender, etc.) and decided to send a “blast” email to all Climatological members alerting them to think about proposing new members with the aforementioned targets in mind. This email was sent in early May and resulted in a record 48 candidates proposed for membership in 2014.
Based on inquiries concerning whether Presidents should spend fewer than 4 years as a Council member following their term – especially when having served as either the Secretary-Treasurer or Recorder – the Council commissioned a committee to study the situation and offer recommendations. The Governance Committee – chaired by Anne Moore and consisting of Jeremiah Barondess, Robert Carey, John Oates and ex officio members Frederic Billings, and Richard Lange - was not aware of an objection raised to the 4-year term by the ACCA membership or by the Council. However, the Committee felt that the option of a 2-year term for the Past President should be discussed, as this would afford more ACCA members the opportunity to rotate on the Council. A 2-year term was thought sufficient to retain the wisdom and experience of the Past President for the Council. The Council recommended that President Elect Anne Moore convene a committee to consider proposing a Constitutional change which would result in reducing the President's term on the Council from 4 to 2 years.
The Governance Committee also reviewed the 2013 and 2010 Constitutions for comparison and recommended that a committee be convened to advise format and content revisions to the Constitution. The Committee focused on a few areas that would benefit from thoughtful revisions: (a) whether the 2013 mission statement is needed; (b) whether the honorary membership category needs definition and reconsideration of its usefulness; (c) whether details of the publication of papers is appropriate or necessary in the Constitution or By-laws; and (d) updating the language (i.e., “The Council shall constitute a Board of Trial for all offences against the Constitution and By-laws or for unbecoming conduct, and shall have the sole power of moving the expulsion of any member.”) The Council proposed that the Committee continue its work with David Dale as Chair. A motion was made by Dr. Morris and seconded by Dr. Mackowiak to accept the Committee's report and their recommendations. Unanimous approval followed.
Ron Sacher chaired an ad-hoc Committee that was tasked with providing guidance concerning how ACCA should handle monetary gifts from members who express an interest in naming rights. The Committee was unable to formulate a recommendation that would adequately cover all such situations. Hence, the Committee recommended that the Council have the discretion to take appropriate action with “significant” gifts, which may include forming ad-hoc naming committee to consider the specifics of the gift. A motion by Dr. Mackowiak and second by Dr. Morris to accept this recommendation received unanimous support from the Council.
The Finance Committee – chaired by Nancy Berliner (2015) and consisting of Lewis Landsberg (2014), Frank Abboud (2016) and Wayne Riley (2017), and ex officio members Frederic Billings, Richard Lange and Philip Mackowiak – reviewed the 2013 Financial Portfolio Review submitted by Merrill Lynch as the compilation under preparation by Postlethwaite and Netterville, A Professional Accounting Corporation, was not available at the time of the Council meeting. The financial compilation will be subsequently sent to the Audit Committee - chaired by Hugh Calkins and including Henry Bodenheimer and Anupam Agarwal for review.
The financial compilation, when available will be turned over to the Audit Committee. Both the financial compilation and the Audit Committee's report will be published in the Transactions and will be reviewed by Council at its next meeting.
The Financial Portfolio reported that the Association's net assets as of December 31, 2013 were $581,386.83, with much of the increase in assets due to investment income. The Council was informed that investment income should be no more than 1/3 of the income of a non-profit organization to maintain its non-profit status with the IRS. The Council agreed by consent that the Association should be willing to spend more of its budget for invited lecturers, especially for “non-academic” professionals, whose typical speaking fees are higher than academicians.
The financial statements were presented and discussed. No modification in investment strategy was made as recommended by Stanford Roy of Davis, Miller, Roy Group (Merrill Lynch).
Susan Billings and Bobette Lange reported to the Council that the spouses/guests of the Officers and Council members discussed the following sites as potential locations for future meetings: Santa Fe (NM), Savannah (GA), New Orleans (LA), Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (near Pittsburgh, PA), Caribbean (including cruises), Bermuda, Dana Point (CA), and San Juan (PR). They also recommended that the following factor be considered when evaluating future meeting sites: desirable cities rather than resorts.
The established dates and sites for upcoming meetings are as follows:
October 15–18, 2015 Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
October 20–23, 2016 The Homestead, Hot Springs, VA
October 19–22, 2017 La Cantera Hill Country Resort, San Antonio, TX
October 18–21, 2018 Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, FL
New Business:
A proposal was made to recognize Marshall and Katie Wolf at the general meeting for their sponsorship of the Council dinner. The Council unanimously agreed.
After careful consideration of the qualifications of all nominees, Council elected the following 25 individuals to provisional membership in the Association: Brian Annex, Andrew Arnold, Jeffrey Balser, John Carethers, Augustine Choi, Michael DeBaun, Jonathan Ellen, Johns Forrest, Victoria Fraser, Julie Freischlag, Daniel Garry, Jeannete Guarner, Joel Howell, Robert Hromas, William Kaelin, George Karam, Thomas Lee, Alan Partin, Christopher Plowe, Daivd Schwartz, Debra Schwinn, Eric Sorscher, Robert Taylor, Peter Weller, Joseph Zabner.
The Association's 2014 Committee memberships were provided to the Council for informational purposes:
Nominating Committee: Philip Mackowiak (Chair), James Marsh, Mark Okusa, G. Richard Olds, James Pennington, Sharon Rounds and ex officio Richard Lange
Finance Committee: Nancy Berliner (Chair), Neil Blacklow, Lewis Landsberg, Frank Abboud, and Wayne Riley and ex officio members Frederic Billings, Richard Lange and Philip Mackowiak
Woodward Committee (kept confidential at the meeting)
Membership Committee: Anne Moore (Chair), Paul Auwaerter, Thomas Duffy, Jeannette Shorey, Glenn Morris and Joanne Wilson and ex-officio members Frederic Billings and Richard Lange
Audit Committee: Hugh Calkins (Chair), Henry Bodenheimer, Anupam Agarwal.
Governance Committee: Anne Moore (Chair), Jeremiah Barondess, Robert Carey, John Oates and ex officio members Frederic Billings, Richard Lange
After transfer or qualified active members to emeritus membership and after accounting for deaths, resignations and terminations, and upon election of 25 new members, the active membership of the Association is 213. The number of members with emeritus status is 292 for a total membership of 505. Council reaffirmed its policy of not having members of Council sponsor or second nominations for membership in the Association.
The meeting adjourned at 4:30pm.
MINUTES OF THE FIRST BUSINESS MEETING
The meeting was called to order by President Frederic Billings on October 17th, 2014. The names of the members whose deaths were made known to the Association during the previous year were announced: Gerard Burrow, James Clifton, Nicholas Christy, Thomas Hendrix, Edmund Pellegrino, and Robert Whalen. The name of a spouse of a member whose death was made known to the Association during the previous year was then announced: Marion Greer, wife of David Greer.
President Billings introduced those new members and their spouses/guests present for their first meeting: John Buse and Mary Beth Cassely, Molly Carnes and Bennett Vogelman, Leslie Crofford, Mary Crow, Kim Eagle and Darlene, David Ellison and Kristin, Faith Fitzgerald, Phyllis Guze and Frederick Easerling, Katherine Hajjar and David, Daniel Hayes, Barbara Hempstead, Joanne Jordan and Robert Harrell, Mary Nettleman and Scott Maxwell, Laura Peterson, Arun Sanyal, Victor Schuster and Sandra Masur, and George Weiner and Teresa.
Members who moved from active to emeritus status were announced and included Stephen Baum, Stanley Chapman. William Crowley, Jr, Jeffrey Glassroth, Marc Hochberg, Marc Lippman, James Marsh, William Martin, Eric Neilson, Jules Puschett, William Roper, Sharon Rounds, George Schreiner, J. Sanford Schwartz, William Stead, and David Stevenson.
The report of the Council meeting was given by the Secretary. The Financial Statements of the Association prepared by Postlethwaite and Netterville, a professional accounting corporation were referred to the Audit Committee (Hugh Calkins [Chair], Henry Bodenheimer, Anupam Agarwal. Fred Schiffman, Recorder, awarded the Mary Allen Engle Recorder's Award for promptness in submitting and completing his/her manuscript to Mark Anderson, with the prize being a bottle of wine. To assure fair selection of the best paper of clinical merit, the names of the Woodward Award Committee are kept “secret.” The committee selected Robert Bradsher as the 2014 Theodore E. Woodward Award winner and, he was presented with a plaque and a $500 check. The award was based on his talk entitled, “The Endemic Mimic: Blastomycosis. An Illness Often Misdiagnosed.”
The report of the Nominating Committee (Philip Mackowiak [Chair], James Marsh, Mark Okusa, G. Richard Olds, James Pennington, Sharon Rounds and ex officio Richard Lange) was presented by Philip Mackowiak. There were no nominations from the floor, and the nominees were approved by acclamation. The Association's officers for the upcoming year are: President, Anne Moore; President-Elect, David Dale; and Vice President, Peter Howley. Newly elected Councilors are Frederic Billings (2018) and Tom DuBose (2018) who join Edward Benz (2016); Virginia Collier (2017); Philip Mackowiak, (2017), J. Glenn Morris (2016), John A. Oates (2015) and Ronald Sacher (2015). Re-elected were Richard Lange as Secretary-Treasurer and Fred Schiffman as Recorder.
The sites and dates of the upcoming meetings were announced: October 15–18, 2015 at Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL; October 20–23, 2016 at The Homestead, Hot Springs, VA; October 19–22, 2017 at La Cantera Hill Country Resort, San Antonio, TX; and October 18–21, 2018 at the Ritz Carlton, Sarasota, FL.
The last order of business was to announce the provisional members who would move to active status upon presentation of their lecture and submission of their manuscript: John Buse, Chapel Hill, NC; Molly Carnes, Madison, WI; Leslie Crofford, Nashville, TN; Mary Crow, New York, NY; Kim Eagle, Ann Arbor, MI; David Ellison, Portland, OR; Faith Fitzgerald, Sacramento, CA; Phyllis Guze, Riverside, CA; Katherine Hajjar, New York, NY; Daniel Hayes, Ann Arbor, MI; Barbara Hempstead, New York, NY; Joanne Jordan, Chapel Hill, NC; Mary Nettleman, Sioux Falls, SD; Laura Petersen, Houston, TX; Arun Sanyal, Richmond, VA; Victor Schuster, New York, NY; George Weiner, Iowa City, IO.
MINUTES OF THE SECOND BUSINESS MEETING
The meeting was called to order by President Frederic Billings at 8:00 a.m. on October 19, 2014. Secretary-Treasurer Richard Lange informed the members that the report of the Audit Committee was pending (as the final report was not yet available) and would be forwarded to the members next month. The Audit Committee subsequently received the final audit report and confirmed that the financial affairs of the Association were in order. The newly elected members were announced to the membership. The gavel of the Presidency was passed from Dr. Frederic Billings to Dr. Anne Moore who, as her first and only order of business, closed the one hundred and twenty seventh meeting of the American Clinical and Climatological Association.