Title: Chair's Corner
Author:
Section/SPIG: Aging & Public Health
Issue Date:
As the APHA Annual meeting approaches, it’s a good time to review the accomplishments of the past year and anticipate upcoming activities. We have a lot to celebrate!
Awards are a great way to celebrate the accomplishment of individuals, and also to bring visibility to the field. This year, GH is proud to honor a number of individuals and the institutions they represent. Dr. James Zimmer was elected for the GH Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Sue Hughes received the GH Leadership Award. Dr. Larry Branch was honored by all of APHA by receiving the APHA Award for Community Service. Details about winners of the other GH awards can be found in this issue of the newsletter. All will be recognized in various ways at the Annual Meeting, with Monday in particular devoted to several award programs. Visit <www.apha.org> to learn more about GHS sessions during the Annual Meeting, how to register and other important information.
The Annual Awards Reception, Raffle, and Silent Auction are always highlights! See the accompanying article to learn about the many great items you can take home through the raffle or silent auction, ranging from a round of golf at a beautiful East Bay country club to special bottles of wine donated by Fox Wetle and Tom Rundall.
Selecting the award winners is a complex process, involving many GH members as award committee chairs, reviewers, and nominators. On behalf of the entire section, I would like to thank all who participated! Special thanks overall to Awards Committee Chair Penny Feldman, and to those who chaired the review for specific awards: Marcia Ory, Allan Goldman, and Susan Martin, as well as the indefatigable Gerry Eggert.
Advocacy is one of APHA’s distinguishing features, and this year GH played an especially important role as the prescription drug benefit worked its way through Congress. Under the leadership of Policy Committee Chair Allan Goldman, GH had prepared a resolution passed in 2002 that brought this issue onto APHA’s radar screen. Meanwhile, APHA is reviewing ALL of its policies, and Sue Hughes, the GH representative to the APHA Action Board, led an initiative to review policies pertaining to aging to determine their continued relevancy. Thanks to Sue and those who volunteered to participate. As a follow-up, the Policy Committee will meet during the Annual Meeting to consider future policy actions suggested by the review, including policies that need to be updated and gaps in policies that would lend themselves to new resolutions.
The Annual Meeting is one of APHA’s key educational endeavors. This year it’s in San Francisco, November 15-19. The full program and registration can be found online at <www.apha.org>. We will have a two-page listing of GHS sessions available for distribution which we think will be a helpful resource when planning your days at the meeting. Contact either me, <cevashwk@csulb.edu>, or Program Chair Lene Levy-Storms, <llstorms@ucla.edu>, for a copy. We have some particularly timely sessions, including a day-long pre-conference on November 15 on the role of public health professionals in dealing with issues of older drivers. Thanks to Lene for her super job of organizing the program, as well as to all who submitted and reviewed abstracts.
New officers have been elected—but the results are still in the secret envelope! As soon as we learn the results of the election, we will post them on the listserv and Web site.
The GH Web site and GH Listserv are available to all GH primary and secondary members. If you have not taken advantage of these electronic communication vehicles, please do so! The Web site can be reached through <www.apha.org>, and you can be put on the listserv by contacting <vgutierr@ucla.edu> Our continued thanks to Veronica Gutierrez of UCLA, who manages both.
Finally, we’ve been engaging in a Membership Drive, led by Membership Committee chair Jim Swan. Our membership has hovered around 550 for the past year. We believe there are more people out there who would like to be involved and/or who would benefit from participating in APHA and GH activities. If you know someone like this, please encourage them to go to <www.apha.org> to join online. It’s easy!
Want to become involved with these and other GH activities? Please let us know! We’ll be recruiting in San Francisco for new committee members, chairs, and officer candidates. If you cannot attend the annual meeting, don’t let that stop you from participating! Most of the work is done during the year via email. Contact Steve Wallace, incoming GH Section chair, at <swallace@ucla.edu> or me, Connie Evashwick, the outgoing chair, at <cevashwk@csulb.edu>.
Now, on to the rest of the newsletter, which has details on the above and more!