Message From The President

My Fellow EAST Members:

Serving the Association as its President is a great honor; I am humbled to have been asked to serve the membership in this role. Like my predecessors, my task is not only to maintain the good work already being done by the Board of Directors and the members. Rather, the objective is to leave EAST next January with a board that is poised to best serve the association with my friend, Patrick Reilly.

We all should welcome Christie Eme, CAE, CMP as our Executive Director. She brings a wealth of experience in association management and has an affinity for the surgical approach to care. You will receive more information on the progress of the Central Office, housed in the headquarters building of the American College of Surgeons over the next few months.

At its first meeting this year, the Board challenged itself to better define the value that EAST brings to its members. The Association has excelled in its scientific assemblies, its focus on career development for young trauma surgeons, and its generation of camaraderie. However, much of this sense of value is related to the annual meeting. As the stewards of the Association, it is our duty to provide a return to you throughout the entire year.

Several committee chairs are investigating ways to provide CME online as a benefit of membership. Others do create products and services over the entire year, but need to find ways in which to communicate these accomplishments to the members on a regular basis.

If you have additional ideas on how EAST can better serve you and its community, please contact a Board Member, Christine or me directly.

Ernest F.J. Block, MD, MBA, EMT-P
President