January 2004 | Vol. 22/No. 1

President's Message

Welcome to New President

by George L. Berdejo, BA RVT FSVU
2004-2005 SVU President

Seasons greetings fellow SVU members! I hope this message finds you in good health and in good spirits after a joyous holiday season. This is my first official act as President of your Society and also the inaugural issue of the "e-Spectrum", the new electronic version of SVU's member newsletter.

On behalf of the membership, I would like to extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to Immediate Past President Bonnie Johnson for her dedicated and excellent service to the Society over the last two years. Bonnie has accomplished many of the goals that she identified at the outset of her term and has positioned SVU and its Board very nicely for growth over the next two years. In addition, I would like to thank Pat Marques and Rita Shugart for their insight and guidance to SVU's Board, and acknowledge the efforts of outgoing Board Members Allen Tabor and Ajay Zachariah.

I look forward to reporting to you on the activities of the Board and its Executive Committee over the next two years and will communicate with you via the "e-Spectrum" on a bi-monthly basis. The incoming Board and Executive Committee are committed to the advancement of the agenda that was established in our last Strategic Planning session, early in 2003. We are calling it Vision 2005 and have already implemented some of the strategies identified at that session. The Board will meet in Virginia in early February 2004 and I will provide you with an update on the status of the Society and on the progress of Vision 2005 in my next President's Message in the March 2004 "e-Spectrum" issue.

The next two years will be filled with obstacles to our growth and vision. However, the leadership of the SVU has declared that success is in its future. We must look at these challenges as opportunities to grow, not reasons to quit. Using Vision 2005 as our Strategic Plan, we will keep our eyes focused on the goals we have set forth as we walk the path of success.

In order to accomplish our mission, we must have the support of the membership. Without you, it cannot happen. Your support is best demonstrated by your membership in this Society. If you are reading this you are probably a member and we thank you for your continued and loyal support. If you are not a member we encourage you to become a member and join us in our pursuit of the "SVU Vision." A visit to our website, www.svunet.org , will very quickly reveal the many ways that SVU membership can be of significant benefit to you in your practice.

The Society must continue to grow in order to be successful. I challenge the membership to an "Each One Reach One" membership campaign. If over the next twelve months, each one of us reaches out and identifies at least one other person who is not currently an SVU member and convinces them to join our Society, we can double our membership in one year. This small effort will go a long way in advancing our initiatives and allowing us to accomplish our objectives.

The SVU Leadership has pledged to bring this Vision to reality and in that process meet the needs of its membership. If we work hard and persevere, the next two years promise to be a time of incredible growth and multiplication.

In closing, I extend to you best wishes for a blessed and prosperous New Year and success alongside the Society for Vascular Ultrasound.