Message From the President

Nicholas C. Friedman MD
2005-2006 Chapter President

This is the first electronic newsletter published as part of our new and improved web site. First, a thank you to Dr. Davide Bova and Karen Martin, CNMT for their efforts in getting the newsletter underway.

I have been pondering whether my first message should be light hearted, or “business as usual”. Perhaps a little of each will suffice.

The spring meeting organized by Doctor Gary Dillehay and Rebecca Sajdak, CNMT was one of the most intellectually stimulating Central Chapter meetings I have attended in years. The schedule was so appealing, I found myself rising on a Sunday without hesitation, despite the fact that I have a dearly held belief that Sundays are for goofing off and for gardening, biking, reading, movies and generally recharging your batteries for the upcoming week – anything but serious stuff like sitting in a chair, listening and thinking. This is why when I was Central Chapter program chair, there was no Sunday session. The efforts of Gary and Rebecca should receive an huge round of applause.

My first official duty as the chapter president was to attend the Society of Nuclear Medicine Chapter Retreat on May 24, organized by the SNM to meet with Chapter Presidents and Executive Directors to improve communication and collaboration between chapters and the SNM.

Chapter presidents reported on some of the difficulties they have experienced. Low member participation in their chapters and lack of new “blood” in the leadership of the Society was a common theme. There were many discussions on how the society could create a framework to help individual chapters. Why reinvent a newsletter or a web site 14 times? (There are 14 chapters). As there is no competition between chapters, it would be far more efficient if resources could be pooled. A speakers list of the most popular speakers and topics will be considered to help plan meetings.

Membership penetration was also a topic of discussion. Less than 1/2 of registered technologists are members of the SNM. New features of membership, such as online recording of CME credits and a changing environment (in the future more states will require CME), will likely help recruit new members.

Finally, as the person responsible for finding new leadership in the Chapter, if you are a physician or a scientist who would like to participate in any way in the leadership of your society, please contact me via the chapter email, info@ccsnm.org.

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