This publication has moved from one handled outside of the TSA office, with documents sent via overnight delivery, to the current periodical, the preparation of which is handled solely through e-mail. On-line publication is now a reality, though we still mail out a true page-turner for the members who are of the Greatest generation or are baby boomers. One change that was suggested for the Bulletin was to make the entire publication larger, to more closely mimic the size of a standard magazine. This idea never gained traction, as the Editorial Board and Communications Committee wanted to keep the publication unique in size, to differentiate it from all the other magazines each TSA member receives. Another constant through my editorship has been the dedication and superb work of the office crew at the TSA—my thanks go out to Ms. Chris Bacak, Ms. Dawn Atwell, Ms. Selina Mirza, and those who went before them; thanks, ladies—and the frequent article contributions of the Editorial Board and other TSA members—thanks to you all, as well.
From time to time, the TSA office received some feedback from the membership about one of my pieces. But these have been few and far between. That is okay with me. My goal is merely to stimulate a bit of personal consideration by each reader, and few of my topics have been controversial. In other words, I’m not so proud as to assume that many of the Bulletin’s readers were waiting for each issue, only to read my column. But if that is the case, you will still have a President’s article from me in each of the two 2013 issues. And readers will also be able to continue perusing my thoughts in the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Newsletter in 2013. Now, however, it will be my pleasure to turn the reins of the Bulletin over to Dr. Chris Cook, from Beaumont. I wish him the best in his future efforts and am certain that he will carry on the tradition of excellence that you have come to expect from your Bulletin.
The past six months have brought a great deal of change to my family and me. Of course my father, a Past President of the TSA, passed away December 24, 2011. Drs. Joshi and Hein published a nice article about “Buddy” Giesecke in the last issue of the Bulletin, and they have my personal thanks for doing so. In late April, my mother had some unfortunate health issues. These ultimately led to her death on May 15, 2012. I’ll be the first to admit that my mind was in a bit of a daze from the first part of May through June, as my siblings and I dealt with this family tragedy. Many things ended up taking a back seat on the burner. Please accept my apologies for the delay in publication of this Bulletin and for other things delayed.
It is with anticipation and honor that I look forward to my new role within the TSA. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to serve you.
