Dear Members and Potential Guests:

I invite you to attend the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Surgical Association. I have been honored to serve as the President during this year which culminates at our annual meeting at Eagle Ridge Resort, Galena, Illinois on August 7-10, 2011.

This meeting will add a new session to our traditional format. Sunday afternoon, August 7, the Program Committee has added a hands-on Postgraduate Course offering entitled "Midwest Surgical Hernia Update 2011 - from the Latest BioMaterials to Simulators to Practice Your Techniques: To Become the 'Best in the Midwest'." This will allow attendees to immediately put to use skills discussed in didactic lectures on hernia simulators. Experts in hernia management from our Association will be present to provide additional pearls of wisdom during the simulation sessions.

Sunday night, President- Elect Richard Berg and I will moderate the "Spectacular Problems in Surgery" session. The Monday and Tuesday Scientific Programs will provide presentations on a wide variety of general surgery topics and feature the resident paper competition and poster competition. We again welcome Dr. David Hoyt, Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons, to give the Scott Woods Memorial Lecture. The Harridge Lecture will be given by Dr. Leigh Neumayer, Professor of Surgery, University of Utah, Jon and Karen Huntsman Presidential Professor of Cancer Research, Huntsman Cancer Institute, and Co-Director, Integrated Breast Program, Huntsman Cancer Hospital. Dr. Neumayer is also a member of the American Board of Surgery and the ACS Board of Regents. I am honored to give the Presidential Address which will conclude the scientific meeting on Tuesday. However, I am feeling the pressure to provide as heartfelt and as gracious an oration as last year's President, Donn Schroeder.

What keeps me coming back to the Midwest Surgical meeting, and I hope you all too will attend again, is the mixture of education together with time to spend with family and the friends I have made over the years. This year, our Local Arrangements Committee of Dean Godellas and Steve DeJong have a number of social events planned for members, guests, families and, of course, the kids. In addition to the Sunday night dinner and Monday night banquet, there will be "Kids Night Out" on Sunday night and an outdoor cookout, hayride, bonfire, marshmallow roast and karaoke on Tuesday evening. The traditional 5K run (or walk for some) and the golf and tennis tournaments will take place on Monday. I am sorry to say that this year may be the end of Team Scholten domination of the golf. There is a challenge already on the books from "The Albrecht Nation" consisting of my extended family who will be attending and who have the added incentive to "win one for the President".

New MSA members, welcome to the Midwest Surgical. We have a reception just for you on Sunday evening to mix with the membership and leadership of the society. You will also be honored at the annual banquet Monday evening where you will receive your certificates of membership. I encourage you all to attend this year and to make attendance at Midwest Surgical an annual event. The Association has continued its relationship with the American Journal of Surgery which publishes all the manuscripts from presentations at the annual meeting. I encourage new members to submit abstracts for competition for the "New Member" paper award.

Finally, to the members, I hope you are able to come to the meeting and also encourage you to invite junior faculty, surgical colleagues, surgery residents and medical students to come and enjoy the mix of excellent educational and scientific session, family, friendship and relaxation. I look forward to seeing you all.

Sincerely,
Roxie M. Albrecht, M.D., FACS
President, Midwest Surgical Association

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