President’s Message
Linda Sehkon, PA-C
As we welcome the New Year we offer the promise of great things to come for the PSPA in 2008. Our membership high for 2007 was 1,629 members. Our membership chair, Deanna Bridge has done an amazing job of reaching out to the membership in Pennsylvania. Her energy and endless ideas are unmatched and the society is very lucky to have her on board. As we enter the into the membership drive this spring, we are encouraged by your commitment to build a strong society.
The New Year will also see changes in leadership within the society. I want to offer our thanks to those individuals who have stepped down from leadership positions. Lane Bower will step down as liaison to the Department of Health. Fortunately she will not be going too far as she assumes her position as liaison to the Pennsylvania Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians; Pa-ACEP. Rob Emery will be stepping down as liaison to the Pennsylvania Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics; PAAAP, and the Pennsylvania Children’s Insurance Program; Pa-CHIP. We are very fortunate to have Bill Reynolds step into that position. Bill has done an exceptional job as the Liaison Coordinator and we expect great things from this group in 2008. This year will also see changes with regional representatives. Region 1 will greatly miss Laura Delliquadri who served the society for many years as the Region 1 representative. The society is truly grateful to Laura for her years of service to the society. We would like to welcome Marianne Taft-Schroeder as she takes on the role of co-region representative for Region VIII with Cathy Gillespie. You may remember Marianne as the recipient of the PSPA Humanitarian of the Year in 2007. Finally Lane Bower will co-chair the Student-Faculty Affairs Committee with Michele Kauffman. Thank you all for your service to the PSPA.
The board of directors has also taken steps to making 2008 a great year. Many of the projects started in 2007 are taking shape under great leadership. Tracy Wright has taken on the important task of chairing the PSPA Leadership Development and Mentoring ad-hoc committee. The purpose of this committee is to foster the development of current and future PA leaders, both professionally and personally. This is done in the hopes of advancing the PSPA and the PA profession through effective leadership and mentoring. With elections just around the corner, we would hope that this would encourage those individuals who would like to get involved to run for office in addition to ensuring a smooth transition into newly elected positions. Elections will be held in April and May of this year. Positions open include directors-at large, representatives to the AAPA House of Delegates, student directors-at-large, and president-elect.
Rob Emery continues his role as the chair of the website committee. This is an adhoc committee which has taken on the task of evaluating ways to improve the look and navigation of the PSPA website. Dee Soltes continues to work diligently as she chairs the By-laws and Policy Review ad-hoc committee. This has been no easy task and I would like to thank all those on Dee’s committee for their hard work in this endeavor. Abby Jacobson continues her work on employment development by researching various employment listings and job links. I would like to thank the BOD for their hard work and commitment to the society.
Under the strong leadership of Dee Soltes as the Chief Delegate for the Pennsylvania representatives to the AAPA House of Delegates, we expect this year to be very successful. The delegates met during the January Board of Directors meeting in Carlisle at which time several issues and proposals were discussed. I will have the opportunity to serve on Reference Committee C this year. I am very encouraged by the group of individuals that will be representing Pennsylvania under Dee’s leadership.
In January the conference committee met to begin plans for the 33rd Annual CME Conference in Valley Forge. Just when you thought it couldn’t get better. This year promises great lectures and an opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues. This year the 2008 PSPA Charity will benefit the Valley Forge Volunteer Fire Company. The focus of the 2008 PSPA Diversity Writing Competition will be on Preventative Care.
Be sure to renew your PSPA membership so you will be eligible for the member discount price.
Finally there is no rest for Mark DeSantis in 2008 as he chairs the Governmental Affairs Committee. This is a committee with over 25 members who all work to improve the working environment for Pennsylvania PAs. Be sure to read this issue of the PSPA newsletter so that you don’t miss out on important information regarding the profession.
As always, thank you for belonging to the PSPA. The PSPA is your voice…and it’s a voice that grows stronger with each new member.