Member Sponsors
The annual meeting of the SSCI and Southern Regional Meeting continues to be vibrant and successful. Despite the challenges of the current economy, the meeting had an excellent attendance and support of the workshops, symposia, plenary sessions and subspecialty sessions. The members are to be applauded for their continued support of the Southern Regional Meeting.
The strength of our meeting has not been serendipitous. As an example, the Southern Section of the AFMR awarded 20 Trainee Travel Awards to the meeting in the early 1990s. Along with the financial support of the SSCI, which agreed to co-sponsor (i.e., co-fund) the Trainee Travel Award Program, the number has continued to grow with each successive meeting. Additionally, the young investigator programs, subspecialty dinner clubs, and sessions for trainees to meet the Southern Chairs of Medicine have all been very successful. These venues, combined with the strong support of the membership, have allowed for a robust and continually successful meeting. Each year, approximately $90,000 was distributed to trainees attending the meeting.
The success of the meeting is in part dependent on successful fundraising. The Finance Committee continues to assist the Secretary-Treasurer and the Council in identifying opportunities for increasing support for the meeting in general, and the SSCI in particular. Fundraising has had to increase in parallel to support the Trainee Travel Awards Program. For our efforts to continue, the Council needs the help of individual members for additional fundraising. One initiative is the Fund for Academic Medicine (FAMe) which is designed to support the mentorship commitment of the SSCI. Solicitations of industry support by individual SSCI members allow continued growth in our programs and the annual meeting. All members are encouraged to donate to the FAMe.
The lifeblood of any volunteer organization is fundraising. We need your help in this effort.
Sincerely,
Monica Farley, MD, Chair, Finance Committee
Leslie Gewin, MD, Secretary-Treasurer