11/13/2022
GSACEP Presidential Address
Lt Col (ret) Roderick Fontenette, MD, FACEP
Hello GSACEP team!!
After 21 years of active-duty service, I finally decided to hang up the uniform and transition into the civilian sector. It was a tough decision, as I had been associated with the military since graduating high school and felt this was a large part of who I was. After years of deployments, Humanitarian Missions, Computer Based Trainings (CBT’s), and numerous short notice taskings, I have officially retired and have decided to remain in Northern California. Now that I’ve been out just over five months and have had time to look back and reflect (though I feel that I’m working harder in retirement), what I’ve realized is that being a member of this chapter gives me a way to stay connected and, in some way, still contribute to the mission. What makes our chapter unique and different from state chapters is that we are not bound by geography but by mission. Our members are spread all over the world and this chapter provides a way for us to all come together, share experiences, learn, and most importantly, relax and have fun!
It was great catching up with everyone at ACEP2022 in San Francisco. It’s always a great time to come together and hear what folks are up to and how they are contributing to the mission. It was an amazing conference that closed out a tremendous year of presidency for our very own Dr. Gillian Schmitz as ACEP President. Thank you Gillian for your leadership! We welcome in Dr. Chris Kang as President and look forward to supporting his vision for the organization. Chris is also a member of GSACEP. This highlights the contributions our chapter continues to make to our specialty and the ever-changing and evolving healthcare landscape.
During the ACEP conference, we also met for our general body meeting to discuss the business of the chapter, and I hope you left as excited and charged up as I did! Our chapter continues to make great strides in delivering high-yield, value-added and up-to-date content to its members. The pandemic has changed the way we learn, network and conduct our day-to-day operations, and the chapter is hard at work creating content that will meet members wherever they may be in their career or their physical location. We have one of the largest chapters in ACEP and my focus during my time as Chapter President is to make our large chapter feel small, and I need your input! Please reach out with ideas or innovative concepts you feel would make our chapter even better. This is YOUR chapter and we want to be sure we are meeting your needs.
I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to mention the tremendous loss of two of our members, Bernadette Carr and Dr. Dave Barry. Bernie was our former Executive Director and a true leader. She lived service before self and was instrumental in keeping our chapter growing and moving forward. The chapter will continue to offer the Bernadette Carr Legacy Scholarship. GSACEP co-sponsored a memorial resolution for Dave to highlight his many accomplishments and contributions to the specialty of Emergency Medicine, our chapter, and our country. Bernie and Dave’s contributions to the chapter and specialty are too numerous to list, and it is an understatement to say they will surely be missed.
The Government Services Symposium 2023 will take place 13-15 April at The Courtyard Marriott, Austin, TX. Please watch our website for further details. The conference planning committee is hard at work and this will be one of the most exciting conferences yet! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there!