CNS President
BY NOW YOU ARE ALL RECOVERING FROM the indulgences of the holiday season and have logged your first full month successfully adhering to all of those New Year resolutions. Hopefully one of those resolutions will be to give generously to the Philip R Dodge Young Investigator Award Endowment Fund. It is especially timely because your donation means twice as much in 2011. The Pediatric Epilepsy Research Foundation (PERF), which closed out 2010 in high style with a lump sum contribution of $50,000, will add to that generous gift in 2011 with a $50,000 challenge grant. For every dollar contributed by CNS members to the PRDYIA Endowment Fund in 2011, PERF will throw in a matching dollar up to $50,000. A combination of 100 members contributing $500, or 200 members contributing $250 will earn the full matching grant from PERF, and will demonstrate a level of commitment to the Society and to the PRDYIA Endowment Fund that will help the Steering Committee, chaired by Dr. Darryl De Vivo, in its efforts to raise funds from sources outside the CNS. This is a great opportunity that I hope all CNS members will take advantage of on behalf of our Society (See page 20).
Committees have turned over with new chairs and many new members to carry the charge of keeping our society and field abreast of all of the changes, and making sure our voices are heard. The Training Committee, under the new leadership of Dr. Anne Comi from Kennedy Krieger Institute, will focus on addressing the Maintainance of Certification requirements developed by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (See page 16). There are also recent requests to provide curricular material to train pediatricians in child neurologic basics, and they will meet this request as well, building on some work done by former groups with Dr. John Bodensteiner.
We will be sending out a survey soon to see how well the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are serving the membership. Please help us improve our efforts by responding to this important questionnaire. Currently we have 13 SIGS, including a new one announced on page 22 of the newsletter focusing on “quality and safety in child neurology.” Please go to the CNS website for a complete listing of the SIGS at www.childneurologysociety.org/members/ workspace/specialinterest.
Finally, thanks to all the CNS members who continue to think creatively and give generously of their time and expertise at the CNS Annual Meeting. Fifty proposals were submitted by members willing to organize and present a breakfast seminar or morning/afternoon symposium at the 40th Annual CNS Meeting in Savannah. The commitment and collegiality evidenced by these numbers as well as by the number of members contributing their time and efforts to committee and special interest groups throughout the year is what makes the Child Neurology Society such a great organization to be a part of in these challenging and exciting times.