Dear valued members of the college,

It is with great pride and joy that I take office as the 68th president of the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists. I would like to thank Dr. Robert Debbs, our outgoing president, for a terrific year. Dr. Debbs has pushed all of us to think outside the box and challenge us to look within ourselves for new ideas for excellence in postgraduate education. It was through Dr. Debbs’s leadership that ACOOG has developed a relationship with the Challenger Corporation to establish a standard for all our residents to learn. To date, approximately one fourth of the programs have taken advantage of this program and the number is growing. In March we convened for the 77th Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA. Under the direction of Octavia Cannon, DO and Thomas Dardarian, DO, a fabulous meeting was held. A pre-course of Urogynecology was led by Patrick Woodman, DO. We had stellar support from our members and the attendance was spectacular. Drs. Thomas Alderson and Michael Sobel were received as Distinguished Fellows of the college. Mark Barbee was awarded Honorary Fellow for his many years of support as a representative of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. I would also like to thank Peter Konchak, DO for his years of leadership on the Postgraduate Evaluation and Standards Committe (PESC). Incidentally, Dr. Konchak was also honored for his outstanding contribution to ACOOG. Dr. Alderson will be taking over for Dr. Konchak as the chair of the PESC. David Forstein, DO was elected Vice President and, in doing so, Eric Carlson, DO will replace his as the chair of the Continuing Medical Education Committee.
I would also like to thank Drs. Michael Geria and Anita Showalter for their valuable years of confirmation to the Board of Trustees. Dr. Geria will continue as the ACOOG Representative to the AOA Bureau of Federal Health Programs. Dr. Showalter has worked tirelessly on the OMM project that is near completion as a product we can all be proud of. In closing, I would like to remind our members of the ACOOG Mission statement, it reads...

ACOOG is passionately committedto excellence in women's health. With integrity we shall educate and support osteopathic health care professionals improve the quality of life for women.

I truly believe each and every osteopathic obstetrician and gynecologist has been given an equal responsibility of caring for those that will bear future generations. It is our mission and goal over the next year to work closely with the American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Osteopathic Association to construct and put in place the highest quality Osteopathic Continuous Certifi cation process so no local, county, state or Federal entity will question the competence of our certifi ed members. I look forward to seeing all of you in either Chicago in September at our Fall Conference or at the AOA Unified Women's Health Update in October in San Francisco.

Fraternally,

Jeffrey Postlewaite, D.O., FACOOG (Dist.)