Secretary's Update, May 2014

John C. Morris, M.D. ATA Secretary/ Chief Operating Officer

I am pleased to announce the slate of candidates who will appear on the ballot later this summer for our election of officers. These candidates were selected from a long list of individuals whose names were submitted by our members. After review and discussion by the Nominating Committee, chaired by Carole Spencer, they were then recommended to the board of directors (BOD) who approved the slate during our most recent meeting. You will be receiving the election guide and a ballot from the ATA headquarters' office this summer. Results will be announced during the annual business meeting on Thursday, October 30, 2014. ATA is fortunate to have many deserving members, who work diligently and untiringly on behalf of our organization's interests. Choosing a small number to stand for election is a difficult task indeed. Thanks to Carole and all committee members for their careful deliberation.

This year, because we have 3 retiring members of the BOD (Sissy Jhiang, Jerry Doherty, and Vic Bernet), we have 3 slots to be filled on the board of directors. As directed by our bylaws, in order to have our board membership be representative of ATA's overall membership, two of these slots will be designated for candidates who represent specific constituencies, i.e. Surgeons and Laboratory Scientists. And the third slot has been designated as an "at large" position.

To fill a slot for a surgeon on the board of directors, the two candidates nominated are Julie Ann Sosa, from Duke University in Durham, NC and Ralph Tufano from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. For a slot to be filled by a laboratory scientist the candidates are Christine Spitzweg, from the Medizinische Klinik in Munich, Germany and Yaron Tomer from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Candidates for the third BOD position, to be filled by a member-at-large, are Maria Regina Castro, from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and Andrew Gianoukakis from Harbor UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, CA.

Bob Smallridge will transition from president-elect and become ATA president at the annual meeting when Hossein Gharib completes his term. Standing for election as president-elect will be Antonio Bianco of Rush Medical College in Chicago and Don St. Germain of Maine Medical Center in Scarborough, Maine.

This year, the third of my four year term as secretary/COO, it is also time to select a new secretary/COO-elect candidate for ATA. This position is a 5 year commitment and remains as an election-by-acclamation position rather than an open election. The BOD established a selection committee for interviewing and choosing candidates because of the special needs of this job (the same process we used 2 years ago for selecting our treasurer-elect). Jim Fagin generously and effectively led this committee, which also included several previous presidents and secretaries who have intimate knowledge of the duties of secretary/COO. Speaking to the strength of our organization, the selection committee reviewed an outstanding group of candidates who expressed their interest and willingness to take on the mantle of secretary, all of whom were highly qualified and excited about the position. I am pleased to announce that Vic Bernet from Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville will stand for election-by-acclamation as Secretary/COO-elect of the ATA.

You will be receiving biographical information and personal statements from each of these candidates as part of the election guide this summer. For now, please join me in congratulating each of them for this recognition of their contributions to ATA and in thanking them for their willingness to stand for election and to serve us in this way if chosen.

I hope that many of you are planning to attend our Satellite symposium at this year's Endocrine Society meeting, where the newest update to the Thyroid Nodules and Thyroid Cancer guidelines will be "rolled-out". If you have not yet registered for this, please do so quickly. Enrollment has been very good and we expect it may be sold-out by the date of the meeting. http://www.thyroid.org/events/ata-satellite-symposium/

Speaking of guidelines, please spend some time reading ATA's two newest guidelines, which will soon be posted for member commentary before final approval and publication. Sam Wells chaired a task force that has updated the Medullary Thyroid Cancer Guidelines. Gary Francis led a task force to develop a new guideline on Pediatric Thyroid Nodules and Cancer, the first of its kind. Congratulations to both groups for completing this work and bringing these forward towards publication. Both will add to our highly respected library of guidelines, which stand as the most authoritative and timely documents of their kind.

Lastly, I will remind you of the annual meeting, October 29 – November 2 at the Hotel Del Coronado, in Coronado, CA. The call for regular abstracts closes on June 18 and meeting and housing registration is at this link http://www.thyroid.org/events/84th-annual-meeting-of-the-ata/registration/. As always, it promises to bring the best in basic, clinical, and translation thyroid science for your education and enjoyment in a beautiful setting and collegial atmosphere.

See you there!

John C. Morris, MD
Secretary/Chief Operating Officer