There is much excitement surrounding the upcoming Academic Surgical Congress (ASC) in Jacksonville! Thank you to the Program Chairs, Dr. Becke White and Dr. Eugene Kim, and ASC Core Committee for their amazing work in putting together such an engaging program!
As we approach the final days leading up to the ASC, I wanted to update you on a new voting process the AAS is implementing this year. If you are an AAS Active member and you are attending the ASC, please see below for important information.
WHAT: The AAS will be holding its election of AAS Officers online this year, similar to how we conduct our AAS Committee Elections.
WHY: As you may recall from previous years, officers are voted for in person at the Annual Business Meeting and only current Active members are eligible to vote. The business meeting is usually attended by only 10% of our Active membership and in an effort to increase the number of members involved in the voting process, the AAS Executive Council approved managing the officer election on-line. This will allow those who are registered for the ASC, but are unable to attend the business meeting, the opportunity to participate in the process.
WHEN: The AAS Nominating Committee will finalize the slate of officers during its meeting on Monday, January 29, 2018. On Tuesday, January 30th, that slate will be announced. The voting period will take place on Wednesday, January 31st from noon-4pm (ET).
HOW: If you are an Active member AND you are registered for the ASC, you will be sent a direct link that will take you to the voting page, where you can cast your vote. You will only be allowed to vote once and the results will be announced during the AAS Annual Business Meeting, which will take place Wednesday, January 31st from 5:30pm-7:00pm in the Grand Ballroom 1-3 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville.
QUESTIONS: If there are any issues or questions that arise on-site, or if you did not receive the voting link by noon on the 31st, Jason Levine, the AAS Webmaster, will be located at a table outside Grand Ballroom 1-3 and can assist with any technological issues. He can also be reached at webmaster@aasurg.org.
We hope that this process will continue to support the AAS’ value of providing transparency and inclusivity and if you have any questions, please feel free to email our Executive Director, Christina Kasendorf, at christina@aasurg.org.
Thank you, again, for your membership, and I look forward to seeing you in Jacksonville!
Rebecca S. Sippel, MD
AAS President