PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
John F. Bebawy, MD
SNACC President
Dear Colleagues,
It was great to see so many old friends (and make so many new ones) at our 51st Annual Meeting in Alexandria, Virginia! By all accounts, the meeting was a marvelous success, with the high-quality and diverse perioperative neuroscience content we have come to expect from the SNACC annual meeting, and some incredible social events. I hope that all attendees felt the same excitement and enthusiasm that I did (and that I do every year).
As your President for this year, I want to share with you some of my thoughts. First of all, SNACC has truly been my “intellectual home” for about 20 years now, and I know that many, if not most, of you feel the same way. Hence, I look to this position as a solemn responsibility and am humbled to be entrusted to it, with all gratitude. Following in the footsteps of some amazing predecessors, I hope to continue to guide SNACC to new heights of scientific quality and discovery, maintain its very high professional regard in the larger scientific community, while paying very close attention to its financial sustainability and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
But one thing that has always stood out for me in SNACC, perhaps the most important thing, is the people who make up our membership. It’s not too outlandish or an overstatement for me to say that I feel like I’m with family when I’m with SNACC members, both at and away from the annual meeting (and yes, I actually do like my family). I have relied on so many of you throughout the years, for scientific guidance, for professional advice, for camaraderie, for mentorship, and for friendship. I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today, in my career or in my life, without the unwavering and sincere support of so many of you, ever since the first abstract I ever presented to the present day. I know that so many of you feel the same way.
SNACC has an illustrious past of which we should be immensely proud (Past Presidents and other luminaries such as Jack Michenfelder, Maurice Albin, and the list goes on), but I truly believe an even brighter future. I see it in so many of our members, some mid-career, some just starting out, some with impressive funding, others with remarkable and potentially groundbreaking ideas. I am honored to be a facilitator for these things, to learn from all of you, and that is what I hope to provide.
Governance of SNACC is 100% a team effort, however, and the Executive Committee works tirelessly (at all hours of day and night) to honor our commitment to our wonderful society. I want to thank those members, as well as all of the members of our Board of Directors, all the Committee Chairs, and all others who voluntarily commit time and effort to make SNACC the educational and scientific powerhouse that it truly is. I also want to thank our management company, IMI, who coordinates thousands of moving parts to make our daily processes and annual meetings a success.
In this year to come, I hope to be able to foster our commitment to scientific inquiry and the dissemination of high-quality guidance, to push us forward on many of our educational pursuits (including the important work of ICPNT and trainee education and engagement, as well as novel educational opportunities for all of our members), and to ensure that SNACC has a sustainable financial pathway forward. And such goals require a team effort every time. I’m just honored to be part of that team. And part of that family.
Best Regards
