Letter from the President

December 6, 2006
Dear Fellow Alumni,

The past months have flown by and much of what your officers have been occupied with has been "behind the scenes" in an effort to strengthen our foundation and foster improved relationships within the SGU system.

Earlier this year the Alumni Coordinating Board (ACB) was created for the purpose of streamlining all of SGU's Alumni Associations and working together under one entity. The ACB is comprised of the Chancellor (Dr. Modica), the Provost (Dr. Pensick), the Director of Instituional Advancement (Dr. Paul), a Secretariat and the four Presidents of SGU's Alumni Associations (SOM, SVM, Graduate Studies and Arts and Sciences). The Secretariat is made up of the Director of Alumni Relations (Dr. DiMilia), the Director of Alumni Development (Dr. Stransky) and a secretary (Rona McIntyre). All alumni activity is now to be coordinated out of Grenada under the direction of the ACB. It is hoped that this will assist toward enhanced communications between the associations and the University.

Another exciting project is the Virtual Medical Staff. This concept is being developed and brought to fruition under the direction of our Vice President, Dr. Joe Feldman. Utilizing our alumni , this program will assist toward enhancing the medical community in Grenada and will begin in the field of Emergency Medicine (Casualty) in 2007. As you can imagine, this has taken a tremendous amount of time and effort on Joe's part and will serve to provide an opportunity for alumni to share their professional expertise to benefit all involved. 2007 will recognize the 30th year of our alma mater. A "kick-off" celebration has been planned by the University for January 17th (in recognition of the first day of classes for the Charter Class of the SOM). This is to be a year-long celebration. Our goal for this celebratory year will be to reconnect with our graduates through the relaunching or new startup of our Regional Chapters. The first of these will be in January with the Grenada/Caribbean chapter. Plans are "in the works" for additional chapters throughout the year concentrating initially on those areas which have the highest number of alumni. At this time, those areas are NY/NJ (1700+ grads), CA (635 grads) and FL (425 grads). We are in the process of finalizing sites for these regions where we will be hosting a social event and would appreciate your input. If you would like to assist in planning, please contact me at: bigshot92@excite.com. Please note that while we are concentrating our efforts on these particular states, each and every alumnus is an important part of our association. Once we get these chapters going, we will be looking at other geographical areas where we can combine numbers to form additional regional chapters.

Plans are also under way for enhancing our website under the direction of our Treasurer/Webmaster, Dr. Nilay Shah. We have asked for and hope to receive support in this area from the University with web design and maintenance staff. Dr. Martin Stransky is also providing technical support and assistance with our website. Future plans include restoring our Bookstore to this site, creating a Professional Information Board to provide our graduates with positions available/positions wanted among alumni, class notes and updates and an interactive link to promote communication between interested alumni and current SOM students. This is YOUR websiteÉso please give us your feedback and keep us updated on your personal information under the "Contact Us" link.

With regard to upcoming CME events, we are in the process of researching information/ beginning plans for our first International CME conference to be held in London (2008). We are hoping to Co-sponsor this event with our SGUSVM AA. We will keep you posted.

Much has been going on with our charities. In reviewing AA documentation, it was discovered that our IRS status is currently consistent with a "social club" (supported by membership dues). In order for us to become a truly charitable organization (see Mission Statement), it would benefit us to move from from a "dues" system to a donation/pledge system. We are asking for your input in making this important decision (See Attention: All Alumni). Additional paperwork must be completed and filed to request this change in status. Your officers are hoping you will support this change. Once we have made this decision (move from a membership dues system to a donation/pledge system), you will be receiving updated information on the charities we support along with either a membership dues card or a pledge card to return with your financial support of our association.

Lastly, a "Save the date" request to all of you for June 15th, 2007. Following commencement exercises (to be held once again at Radio City Music Hall), your Association will be cosponsoring with S.A.I.N.T.S an event for all SOM graduates. Details will soon be forthcoming. I encourage all of you to attend.

Warm wishes for a healthy and happy Holiday Season.
Sincerely,

Linda Klokow, MD
President, SGUSOM Alumni Association