b'2021 ISSUE TWOMessage from the PresidentJeffrey A. Claridge, MD, MS, FACSDear EAST Members and Colleagues,news One of my duties as President is to write a few A SD R Presidents Messages. As I am approximately half V EA E way through my year of serving EAST I thought I N RACCwould share openly part of the statement I wrote two ING E A S T E R N A S S O C IAT I O NG years ago when I was asked about my interest inS NDIC F O R T H E S U R G E RYbeing considered for the position of President.IE O F T R AU M A ILN UC B I am doing this to be transparent with what my E F S personal goals for the organization were and give O IPSTERINGNSHRELA myself a midyear evaluation of said goals. Below is TIOmy initial submission that I sent to the Nominating Committee at that time. In this draft however, I only changed two words. I changed the word young to In This Issue early and mid-career and senior to later career.It is with great humility and gratitude, but extreme awkwardness, that I write Traumacaststhis personal statement for my candidacy for EAST President. I am sharing 10 year look back my confidential story to the committee in hopes that they recognize why thisMentoring Committee simple scrappy guy has a passion to mentor and make others lives better.Multicenter Trials What is my vision for EAST? I would like to see EAST become the mostEAST Trauma Centerinfluential organization in trauma and acute care surgery in the world. This is Challenge well within reach, but it will involve leveraging our strengths, acknowledging our opportunities, and going all in. We have amazing early and mid-career leaders. We must continue to give leadership opportunities to these members and let them lead, but provide advice and coaching from later career Strategic Goals members. We must continue to maintain our leadership in the area of PMGs LEADERSHIP and be the resource that other organizations reach out to and request as a partner. I would like to continue to foster and grow our relationship withPrepare young surgeonsAPPs. They are a growing number of bright and motivated individuals that to become leaders have time to dedicate to the organization, especially if we make it theirs. DEVELOPMENTWe must figure out how to keep later career members from moving on to Promote unique other organizations and abandoning EAST. We should fully support having programs for the careerleadership positions led by early and mid-career faculty, but we also need to development of young be vigilant in developing supportive leadership roles for later career members. surgical leaders If not, EAST is at risk for always being the children of AAST and the COT. SCHOLARSHIP Current and past leaders of EAST freely state that EAST is where you cut Provide education andyour teeth, and AAST and the COT is where you really get the opportunities.training across theI am convinced that this is not what EAST is, nor what we should be. I would continuum of acute also like to create a way to be more immediately responsive to important real-surgical care time membership questions via social media or website. I would tackle this as FELLOWSHIP one of my goals in leadership under the project name of Just Ask EAST. I Encourage a sense ofwould like us to continue to move forward and be the trauma organization thatcommunity for personalpeople look to first.professional growth Now half way through my term as President of this fantastic organization I COLLABORATION have had the opportunity to serve an amazing group of colleagues. I stand behind by my statement and goals that I wrote two years ago.We have Work with our stakeholders to advanceworked to make EAST inclusive, and thus I eliminated terms around young patient care and trauma systems(continues on page 2)'