FROM THE CHAIR:

As I begin my tenure as chair of the GH Section, I want to thank my predecessor Nancy Miller for a superb job as our chair. Under Nancy’s leadership we celebrated our section’s 30th anniversary, had two very successful annual meetings, garnered national attention in The Nation’s Health for our Scientific Awards Portfolio, and added an additional award to this portfolio. Most importantly perhaps, Nancy mentored many young Section leaders who are continuing their contributions to the GH Section. I look forward to continuing to work with Nancy and Lené Levy-Storms (our section’s chair elect) as well as the GH Section’s leadership and members to promote our section and its mission “to stimulate public health actions to improve the health, functioning, and quality of life of older persons and to call attention to their health care needs.” Along the way, I hope we can remain optimistic about the possibilities of health reform as well as retain the enthusiasm for our work and our section that I witnessed at the 2009 Annual Meeting.

Speaking of the Annual Meeting, the 2010 Annual Meeting is in the wonderful mile high city of Denver, and I hear airfares are low now (so book early). We are planning a terrific program including several top-notch symposia (as described by Gerry Eggert in this newsletter) and a funder’s roundtable where members can meet face-to-face with representatives from foundations. Additionally, we are hoping to have a mentoring program in place at the meeting so young investigators and students can meet with more senior faculty and public health professionals to get feedback on their career paths and research ideas. Needless to say, the GH Section leadership is enthusiastic about the planned 2010 Annual Meeting, and we look forward to seeing you there. 

Best wishes for a healthy, happy and successful year ahead!