Present: <\/strong> The President called the meeting to order at 8.51 p.m.<\/p>\n Apologies: <\/strong> Minutes: <\/strong> Secretary’s report: <\/strong> Treasurer’s report: <\/strong> President’s report: <\/strong> Drs. Cheng and Egevad were thanked for successful recruitment of new members. The number of paying members has increased from 102 in 2004 to 184 in 2006 which means that the Society now has a more solid economical ground. However, the President also stressed how important it is that all members continue to pay their dues. The members were informed that we will continue to remind those who have failed to pay.<\/p>\n This year’s ISUP reception which was given earlier today prior to the companion meeting was unusually well-attended. Approximately 50 members visited the reception, which is far more than the usual number.<\/p>\n Approximately 30% of the members of the Society now come from countries outside North America, a fact that benefits the status of the ISUP as an international society. Our aim is to use e-mail as the sole means for communication with the members. The website of the Society has also been important for communicating with the members. The website is maintained at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Weekly genitourinary pathology cases are posted by Dr. Epstein. So far cases have been supplied by the President, but members are encouraged to contribute by sending 3-5 jpg images by e-mail to him together with a brief history, description of the morphology and discussion about differential diagnosis. The President also took the opportunity to encourage members to use the website to post suggestions for research collaboration, e.g. presenting unusual cases, soliciting for similar case.<\/p>\n The recruitment of new members was discussed. The suggestion has been raised that residents should be offered membership without paying dues the first year with the intention that they remain members thereafter. Dr. Gustavo Ayala reported that a similar strategy in Texas has been very successful for the recruitment of members to local societies of pathology. The meeting approved the suggestion. The Treasurer estimated that approximately 10% of the members are currently residents. However, we do not have any precise statistics on this, because the members are not asked questions about their professional status in the dues form.<\/p>\n It was suggested that an ISUP fellowship be offered to young members of the Society. An award of USD 1000.00 would be granted to cover expenses for visiting other insitutions for studies or research in the field of genitourinary pathology. The meeting approved the suggestion.<\/p>\n General business:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Dr. Bostwick suggested that the Society should have a formalized consensus process based on scientific evidence. This was unanimously acknowledged by the meeting. The President suggested that Dr. Bostwick would be responsible for this process, which he accepted.<\/p>\n 2. Dr. True expressed his satisfaction with the companion meeting that was given prior to the business meeting. He suggested that a question period should be offered after each speaker. As it was now, there was a general question period at the end, but no questions were asked before the audience left the room. The President pointed out the difficulty of having questions after each speaker when there is such a large audience as at the well-attended companion meetings. However, it was agreed that next year the moderators might ask after each speaker if there are any questions.<\/p>\n The President again expressed his gratitude for a successful year of the Society.<\/p>\n The meeting was closed at 9.15 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Society held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Atlanta, GA on February 11, 2006. Present: The President of the Society, Dr. Jonathan Epstein, the Treasurer, Dr. Liang Cheng, the Secretary, Dr. Lars Egevad, the President-Elect, Dr. Brett Delahunt, and 37 other members as recorded in the attendance register. … Continue reading Minutes Annual General Meeting 2006<\/span>
\nThe President of the Society, Dr. Jonathan Epstein, the Treasurer, Dr. Liang Cheng, the Secretary, Dr. Lars Egevad, the President-Elect, Dr. Brett Delahunt, and 37 other members as recorded in the attendance register.<\/p>\n
\nApologies for unavoidable absence were received from Drs. John Srigley and Mark Rubin.<\/p>\n
\nThe minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on February 26, 2005 in San Antonio, TX were read by the Secretary and approved by the meeting.<\/p>\n
\nThe recruitment of new members has been very successful during the last year. The communication between the board of the Society and the increasing membership is now mainly going by e-mail. When a new member has paid the dues, the Treasurer immediately sends an e-mail to confirm that dues have been received and a brief instruction is given on how to login to the website of the Society. Regularly, the Treasurer sends an updated member directory to the Secretary. The Secretary then sends a welcome e-mail to all new members with more extensive information from the board about the activities of the Society and the benefits of membership. During the last year, the Secretary has sent 120 welcome e-mails. Some of those members may actually have been members before, but appear as new members because they did not pay their dues the year before. Yet, there is a significant increase of members compared to a total of 102 paying members 2004. All new members are offered a printed diploma. During last year, 63 diplomas have been printed and distributed by the Secretary. All members who have still not received the diploma are encouraged to tell the Secretary so they can have one.<\/p>\n
\nThe Treasurer reported that the economy of the Society was strong with adequate funds to sustain current activities. The expenses during the last year amounted to USD 7080.00. The expenses have covered costs for maintainance of the website, the Society reception at the USCAP meeting, the Gleason grading consensus meeting in San Antonio and postage.<\/p>\n
\nThis has been a very successful year for the Society. A major event was the Gleason grading consensus meeting in San Antonio in February 2005 which was sponsored by the Society. The consensus document has now been published in The American Journal of Surgical Pathology and presents important guidelines for practising pathologists on how to apply the Gleason grading system for prostatic carcinoma.<\/p>\n