We just turned the page on another month into 2023 and there is much to celebrate — in spite of Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow, which means that Spring is near. Other celebrations in February include Black History Month, American Heart Month, National Cancer Prevention Month, and a few specific special days — Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, World Cancer Day, Fat Tuesday — and, my favorite Celebration of Chocolate Month.
We just turned the page on another month into 2023 and there is much to celebrate — in spite of Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow, which means that Spring is near. Other celebrations in February include Black History Month, American Heart Month, National Cancer Prevention Month, and a few specific special days — Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, World Cancer Day, Fat Tuesday — and, my favorite Celebration of Chocolate Month.
In all seriousness, we have much to celebrate and much to be thankful for, including good health and meaningful work. As we approach the one-month countdown to our annual conference in New Orleans, the team is extremely busy putting the final touches on what will be a remarkable series of programs and social events to ensure both educational needs are met and there is time to reconnect with friends and meet new ones. If you haven’t yet registered to attend, there is still time to do so before the early bird deadline.
As we approach the ten-yard line, I want to take time to thank some of the key players who have been instrumental in putting together a remarkable program. Our ACPM Board President, Dr. Tonette Krousel-Wood for her leadership and vision as well as passion to amplify the evidence-based science of prevention; Conference Chair, Dr. Linda Hill, for her expertise and tenacity for ensuring a diverse mix of plenary speakers and panels to meet the varying needs of our membership and those practicing preventive medicine; and Conference Vice Chair, Dr. Hunter Smith, for his insights and expertise to ensure a range of timely and relevant topics are included in the program.
We’re grateful to the amazing track chairs Drs. Yuri Jadotte, Karen Studer, Michele Soltis and Beverley Taylor and all the track faculty who have distilled the abstracts and sessions to ensure a thoughtful program of timely topics. I also want to thank Dr. Lorraine Yeung and her team who reviwed more than 120 poster abstracts — you all did a yeoman’s job of selecting the top posters for presentation. I also want to give a grateful shout-out to the ACPM staff — our key lead of the conference efforts Cara Molinari and her mentor Dr. Angela Mickalide as well as their side-kicks Clara Richards and Claire Gugerty and the entire ACPM team who are pulling in double time to ensure all the membership booth, reception activities, awards, Fellows, Committee meetings and Board meeting are all in place and properly prepared. It truly takes a village to put on a meeting of this magnitude and I appreciate the time, energy and passion each member of the ACPM team takes to make it all happen — while they continue to advance the normal duties of both the association and our grant portfolio. Thank you seems trite, but it is heartfelt.
Looking forward to seeing your smiling faces in New Orleans,
Donna
Donna Grande
ACPM CEO