Orlando, Florida - March 2, 1997
Attendees
The meeting was opened by G. Richard Dickerson, President, at 7:30 p.m. Others in attendance were: Bruce Mackay, President-Elect and Chairperson, Ultrastructural Pathology Committee; Robert Erlandson, Vice-President-Elect; Guillermo Herrera, Treasurer; Douglas Weeks, Councillor for the Americas, Micheline Federman, Chairperson, Continuing Education Committee; Irving Dardick, Chairperson/Editor, News Bulletin Committee; Karlene Hewan-Lowe, Chairperson, Pathologist-in-Training Award Committee; J. Allan Tucker, Chairperson, Program Committee; Richelle Malott, Chairperson, Ultrapath Future Meetings Committee, John Shelburne, Local Arrangements Committee and Chairperson for Ultrapath IX; and Joseph Harb, Registrar and Secretary Pro-Tem.
Old Business
A motion was made and approved to waive reading of the Minutes of the General Business Meeting held at the UltraPath Conference in Oaxaca, Mexico last August. The Minutes are published in Volume 9, Number 2, November, 1996 of the SUP News, and available for review on the SUP Internet Website at http://sup.ultrakohl.com.
Guillermo Herrera updated the Executive Committee on the status of the symposium being developed to feature the role of electron microscopy in tumor diagnosis. A number of manuscripts have already been submitted and reviewed, and several others will be submitted in the near future. It is expected that the symposium will cover 80 pages in Human Pathology. Activities are currently on schedule for publication in July, 1998. Other symposia may be organized by the SUP membership to address non-neoplastic diseases, ciliary abnormalities, and mitochondrial abnormalities in later issues of HP.
Regarding placing advertisements for SUP activities in select pathology and electron microscopy related journals, members of the EC will explore the possibilities with journal and editorial representatives attending the USCAP meeting. Irv Dardick is exploring with the publishers of the Journal of Ultrastructural Pathology ways that publication and the SUP Website can be used for mutual benefits.
New Business
Guillermo Herrera gave the Treasurer's report, and declared the Society in good financial health (details are available to members in the printed Newsletter for May 1997). The UltraPath VIII Conference in Oaxaca generated a profit and the first royalties for the Handbook have been received. The balance on hand includes moneys in the main SUP account, the residuals from the UltraPath VIII Conference, proceeds of annual dues, royalties from the sale of the Handbook, and an advance to the Local Arrangements Chairperson to cover pre-planning expenses for the UltraPath IX Conference in 1998. There are no current outstanding expenses. Included in the report is a financial statement from Joe Harb, Registrar for UltraPath VIII with all income and expenses accounted for.
Irv Dardick reported that the initial royalty check from the sale of the Handbook for Electron Microscopy for Pathologists in Training has been received and that the Publisher will forward moneys from ongoing sales. A second printing has been necessary because the number of books sold is approaching the 1000 copies initially printed. The Executive Committee also discussed whether we should consider preparing a second edition of the Handbook that would deal with non-neoplastic diseases.
After discussion, a motion was approved to increase the annual membership dues to $30. Dues for technicians and residents will remain at $20 per year. The increase is effective for new memberships immediately, and for current members during the next renewal period. Guillermo is currently preparing renewal notices for distribution. The mailing will also include a questionnaire so members can revise their file listings to correct any address changes, and to include e-mail addresses and fax numbers.
Irv Dardick and Karlene Hewan-Lowe updated the Executive Committee on the SUP newsletter and website, respectively. We will continue to produce 2 SUP News issues per year, and Irv welcomes (implores) members to send articles and news items for inclusion in future issues. Irv and Karlene are cooperating to develop and share content between the newsletter and the website, and to use the website for distribution of the SUP News in addition to surface distribution. This has the advantage of reaching a broader audience than the membership because the website is accessed by 460 different people each month, or nearly 3 times the number of members. The website will continue to include information about Society activities, current and past volumes of the SUP News, and the Case of the Month, which is a popular item. Karlene also welcomes (implores) members to send items and interesting cases for inclusion on the web pages. Karlene also moderates the SUP internet listserver, and periodically will collect topical comments from the listserver to include on the website. It was the consensus of the Executive Committee to continue support for the website, and to seek (implore) more content.
Karlene also updated the Executive Committee on the status of the Pathologist-in-Training Program and Award (PITA). She has organized a committee to review candidate posters presented at the USCAP meeting for the 1997 award. In general, there are few candidates for the award, and possible incentives to encourage residents to submit papers in the future were discussed. The consensus was that we should continue to list the PITA with the USCAP meeting.
Bob Erlandson distributed draft copies of the Society brochure he is developing. The general objectives of the brochure and content were reviewed, and Bob will make revisions and continue development of the brochure based on suggestions made. Once completed, the brochure in its entirety or selected parts can be used for advertisements in various journals, as well as be distributed at other pathology and electron microscopy meetings.
John Shelburne distributed draft copies of the first announcement for Ultrapath IX, and made copies available on the handout tables during the USCAP meeting. UltraPath IX is scheduled for August 2-7, 1998 at the Grove Park Inn Resort, Asheville, North Carolina. Duke University will handle registration and CME credits. John raised the question of policy for vendors to offset some of the expenses by contributing to the cost of an invited speaker or social event. The possibility was also raised that commercial moneys could be used to offset the cost of a resident to attend the meeting and present a paper. The consensus was to bring the question to the membership at the General Business Meeting tomorrow.
The final item of business concerned the question of Emeritus membership. It was the consensus that Emeritus status be granted, with the following guidelines: An individual could request Emeritus status upon submission of a CV, so that the EC could judge whether the applicant has been involved in ultrastructural diagnosis, and proof that the applicant has retired from practice.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m.
Submitted by Joe Harb, SUP Secretary
