ASSFN Executive Council Meeting and Business Meeting
Friday June 2, 5:15 PM

Members present: Baltuch, Henderson, Rosenow, Slavin, Starr, Lozano, Schulder, Alterman, Maciunis, Eskandar, Gross, Roberts, Rezai

Guests present: Chris Honey, David Roberts

1. Presidents report and progress report on ASSFN 2006- Drs. Lozano, Cosgrove/Eskandar/Maciunis/Alterman
   
   Meeting format: Drs. Cosgrove/Eskandar/Maciunis/Alterman were congratulated on the progress and content of the meeting. Regarding the format of meeting, many liked the intensive format having 5 min talks with 2 min discussion, but several dissenters: Lozano and Alterman noted the lack of time for questions/discussion, Dr. Starr noted difficulty for the moderators in keeping such a full schedule on time, especially with lunchtime being short and filled with special lectures. We discussed using an oral poster format, the need to building in a longer “buffer” time at lunch or breaks, possibility of having fewer talks, but keeping time at 5 minutes then having 5 minutes for discussion. Also discussed having longer lunchbreak so there is more space for morning session to run long.
   
   Number of registrants: As of the first full day of the meeting, 223 had registered at the registration desk
   
   Income - Dr. Maciunis reported that it appears that the ASSFN 2006 will not lose money, but exact profit margin not certain yet.
   
   Exhibitors- Dr. Lozano reported that exhibitors were thrilled at their location, in the area outside the entrance to the scientific session.
   
   Dr. Lozano expressed his appreciation for the hard work of the executive council during his tenure as president.
   
   
2. ASSFN 2008 - Chris honey
   
   Dr. Lozano introduced Chris Honey, who will be local arrangements host for ASSFN 2008 in Vancouver BC. Chris noted there is a lot to see in Vancouver, recommending that persons come early or leave late. The hotel will be the Westin Bayshores, which recently hosted a pediatric neurosurgery meeting. The Westin is removed from other Vancouver hotels, so Chris recommended that meeting attendees stay at the Westin or accept that they will not be able to walk from their other hotel to the meeting. The Vancouver location may help attract Asian participants.
   
   Secretary-Treasurer’s report- Dr. Starr
   
   Cash reserves – we continue to have $180K in the bank, minus a $30 K advance to Reese Cosgrove for the Boston meeting.
   
   Update on our Tax ID: We will work with Ron Engelbreit to have AANS file our tax return and invest our income.
   
   Election of new officers and executive council members.
   There will be 4 positions on the executive council to fill. Nominations were taken and they are: Brian Kopell, Josh Rosenow, Kelly Foote, Ash Sharan, Mike Kaplitt, Kathryn Holloway, Jeff Arle, Paul Larson. All of these individuals have communicated to at least one of the current exec council that they would serve if elected. Two of the nominated individuals are not members of the ASSFN and they have been notified. As per our current bylaws, the exec council nominates a proposed slate of candidates, the general membership of the ASSFN must be informed of the nominations at least 5 days before the vote, and the members may add new nominations. A vote by closed ballot for new exec council members and new officers will be held by closed ballot at the ASSFN. Drs. Roberts and Cosgrove strongly recommended that current exec council members NOT be nominated for another term except under unusual circumstances, as encouraging new faces in the leadership is an important goal.
   
   Bylaws changes- Several of our bylaws are badly outdated. Dr. Starr has prepared a draft of proposed changes in the bylaws, which will be sent do the executive council
   
   Webmaster Report – Dr. Eskandar
   
   Dr. Eskandar has updated the membership list and minutes on the website
   
   Journal report – Dr. Roberts
   
   Dr. Roberts would like to publicize the fact that the journal has converted to electronic submission and review, and he plans a very fast turnaround time. The rejection rate is increasing. He advised the council to submit preliminary data, and to remember to cite the journal in articles written for other journals. There was discussion of whether to publish a volume of proceedings with abstracts or longer papers, but there was no clear consensus on this.
   
   Upcoming joint section symposia at upcoming CNS/AANS
   
   The top choice topics for 2007 AANS (Washington DC), as per our last exec council meeting, was advances in neuroimaging, or update on the biology of depression. Mike Schulder as the incoming president will make a choice between these two.
   
   Miscellaneous items
   
   Fellowship guidelines - Dr. Henderson will work with persons currently directing fellowships, to prepare the more specific fellowship “curriculum” that the senior society requested.
   
   Merger with pain section. In the pain section, there are 60 persons who belong to both the stereotactic and pain sections, and 160 who are members of the pain section only. However, Dr. Rosenow noted that the leadership fo the pain section did not see value in a merger of the pain and Stereotactic section. They believe there needs to be a section focused exlusively on pain, in part as a way of maintaining this area of neurosurgery in the setting of non-neurosurgeons increasingly taking dominant roles in pain management.

   ASSFN Business Meeting
   Saturday June 3 5:15 PM
   

   Attendance: there were approximately 50 persons present.

   Election of officers. The following slate of new officers were approved by a show of hands:

   President: Mike Schulder
   Vice President: Philip Starr
   Sectretary-treasurer: Ali Rezai
   

   Election of executive council members: Of 8 candidates, five new members of the executive council were elected by closed ballot: Josh Rosenow, Kap Holloway, Paul Larson, Kelly Foote, Mike Kaplitt. A total of 32 ballots were cast.

   Dr. Lozano solicited members’ feedback on the format of the meeting. While there was support for the brief talk format, it was felt by several that the schedule was rushed with inadequate discussion time. The comments mirrored those in the executive council meeting (section Ia above).

   
   

   Copyright © 2008, American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery.