President's Column - A Year of Accomplishments

John R. Crouse, MD

It has been a great honor to serve as president of SELA over the last year. My job was made much easier by all of those on the SELA board who have worked so hard to plan the course for this year, and by Chris Seymour and his staff who so effectively helped to bring the plans of the board to reality. This year SELA has put on an excellent annual meeting and kept the presses of the newsletter vigorously rolling.

Also important over this year have been the contributions of SELA to the evolution of the National Lipid Association, now beginning to rise in earnest as the major lipid entity in the United States. It has been especially gratifying to watch the latter take shape under the able leadership of Dr. Virgil Brown, and it is impossible to overestimate the potential importance of the NLA for bringing national attention to lipid management in the years to come.

It is a pleasure to turn over the leadership of SELA to Dr. Vera Bittner. I have known Dr. Bittner since she was a House Officer at Wake Forest before she moved to Alabama for her cardiology fellowship, and have followed her career with interest since she joined the faculty there. Dr. Bittner is an excellent choice for president for the next year and brings to the office the perspective of a card-carrying cardiologist with both practical as well as deeply grounded research interests. The times ahead promise to be even more exciting as further regions develop as arms of the NLA, and Dr. Bittner will provide excellent leadership to SELA for that growth in 2003/2004.

I am thankful for the opportunity to have served as president of SELA, and welcome Dr. Bittner as the new president of this superb organization.

Dr. Crouse is Professor of Medicine and Public Health Science at Wake Forest University, School of Medicine.