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April 2007
| Vol. 25, No. 4
 President's
Message
by Melissa A. Vickery, LPN-B, RVT
President’s Message
By Melissa Vickery, LPN-B, RVT
Welcome Spring!
2007 is well underway and SVU has been very busy. I would like
to take a moment to highlight some exciting events and opportunities.
SVU’s 2007 Annual Conference
In an ongoing effort, the Annual Conference Committee has been
working diligently to provide a variety of topics and speakers to
address the interests of those members and non-members who will
attend the 2007 Annual Conference in June in Baltimore. The SVU
website has the Preliminary Program posted with information related
to topics and speakers for this year’s Annual Conference.
Additional educational opportunities will be available prior to
the annual conference, along with the popular breakfast tutorials
to further enhance your educational choices. In addition to the
Annual Conference Committee’s work, the 30th Anniversary Subcommittee
has been hard at work developing special events and displays to
recognize this important milestone in SVU’s history. You will
want to attend the 30th Anniversary Gala Reception on Friday night,
June 8, at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel. I for one am looking
forward to the timely topics and celebration of this special time
in our Society. Online registration for the Annual Conference has
begun and online hotel room registration also is available at the
Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel, SVU’s headquarters’ hotel.
As you will see from the information on the SVU website, the 2007
Annual Conference will provide many opportunities for networking,
education and social events. SVU has been fortunate to have the
continued support of the many ultrasound Exhibitors, with whom we
have had a strong relationship. Without them we could not provide
many of the educational opportunities that exist at our meeting.
I appreciate the many areas that the companies have chosen to sponsor
at our annual conference this year, and their continued presence.
I would also like to point out that SVU will provide five Annual
Conference Scholarships for those members who need financial assistance
to attend the Annual Conference. Phillips Medical Systems has again
generously provided a $5,000 educational grant for these five scholarships,
with the five recipients being determined by the essays submitted
from interested SVU members.
Individuals and organizations also have an opportunity to participate
in the 30th Anniversary celebration by placing special SVU 30th
Anniversary Congratulatory Ads in the Final Program for the Annual
Conference. I encourage the SVU Affiliate Chapters to take this
opportunity to recognize the national society and its achievements
for the past 30 years, along with those who have enjoyed the opportunities
that have been made available to them in this specialized field.
Membership
SVU has been focusing on identifying those individuals who would
benefit from membership to our society. We are always trying to
identify potential members, and the ongoing Student Member Campaign
has been very successful. Currently, SVU has 267 student members,
who joined for only $25/year, and who also have the ability to have
a special discounted rate for a transitional membership for the
first year after they graduate and begin their professional career.
In addition, 2007 membership renewal notices have been sent and
more than 3,225 members have renewed for 2007. I can think of several
reasons why continuing to be a member of SVU is of importance to
you professionally and educationally. If you visit the SVU website,
read the e- Spectrum online newsletter, and receive by mail the
Journal for Vascular Ultrasound, you can appreciate the commitment
and many opportunities available to you as a member.
Recently SVU developed a new 2007 Products Catalog that has a variety
of products available to members at discounted costs. Look for it
soon in the mail, and you will appreciate the ongoing efforts to
provide products to enhance your profession and ongoing education.
Another exciting opportunity to SVU members is the creation of
the “Signature Lab Membership” category. The category
requires 100% membership participation in SVU by a lab’s vascular
technologists. Vascular Laboratories that have 3 or more SVU member
vascular technologists/sonographers and at least one affiliated
physician SVU member can become a “Signature Lab” and
receive significant discounts on the SVU membership rate. There
are four levels of SVU Signature Lab Memberships, please refer to
the SVU website (www.svunet.org)
for further information regarding this exciting new membership opportunity.
I am very proud of those individuals and committees who are working
hard to provide different opportunities and benefits to the membership.
I also want to thank the National Office staff for their ongoing
efforts to assist the membership in providing value and benefit
of membership.
Over the course of my term as President, I have had the opportunity
to interact with many individuals, not only from SVU, but from other
like societies. One of the great aspects of SVU is and has been
the voice it brings to vascular ultrasound. SVU is trying hard to
address the needs of members and potential members. Feedback from
the membership is an important aspect of that. In my last message,
I encouraged members to “Ask the President”, and I am
pleased to say some members have responded. Their questions or comments
have given me an opportunity to respond personally to them, or direct
them to the resources we have within our society to assist them.
Thank you for allowing me to be of assistance.
In closing I wish you well, and look forward to seeing you at the
2007 Annual Conference in Baltimore.
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