Message From Outgoing President

George F Steinhardt, MD

Dear AAPU Members,

    As outgoing President of our estimable  organization I am  afforded an opportunity to reflect on where our organization has been and where it might be headed. Disregarding my inclinations to wax poetic with  metaphorical excesses, I will  observe directly  that  we have been to Jackson Hole!   And we’re going to the Dominican Republic!  Wherever we locate,  the annual meeting of the AAPU is decidedly the best Pediatric Urology forum extent.   Teton Village was a marvelous location with a surfeit of activities for skiers and non-skiers alike.  Though the social program was enjoyable, the scientific sessions were a worthy focal point.   As always, the presentations were excellent; the discussions informative, insightful and thought provoking.  As is typical for our meetings, in presenting two difficult cases of patients with  cloacal exstrophy with vaginal duplications  I looked around the room,  counted 7 members who had written papers relating directly  to my patient’s problems.  True-to-type,  our experts  were not the least bit  reticent to correct my misguided impressions of reality.   This amalgam of  experience,  unbridled enthusiasm  and  good nature invariably makes for an exceptional meeting experience.

    I should recognize that both arrangements for  these meetings and the maintenance of our organization  are daunting tasks. Our Secretary/Treasurer  Bob DeFoor  deserves   the highest  commendation  for  his diligence on our behalf.   The 18 hours of CME earned at our meeting  come directly from his  efforts  working with Children’s Hospital of Cincinnati CME Department. Bob’s annual report was reassuring  in that the AAPU  has robust membership  and is in  very good financial shape. With ample funds in our treasury, we agreed to continue the AAPU research awards and we urge all members to apply for this grant money.  

I would  like to thank my wife Julia for all that she did  to help plan the Jackson Hole meeting.   She was there from start to finish and paid attention to all of those little details so as to ensure a successful meeting.

   Lastly I would like to congratulate Brad  Kropp on his assumption of the Presidential duties for the AAPU.   I urge all members to consider attending next year’s meeting in the Dominical Republic.   Brad has chosen a resort that looks absolutely fabulous and I am certain that the meeting will be most  memorable.

.With Warmest Regards,

    George Steinhardt