June President's Message

6/6/2011

The President’s Corner

David Wilson, PA-C

Seasons change, although this year it seems to be taking a little longer for summer to finally get here. As I write this it is another cool and rainy day but I know the sun will shine and temperatures will warm. With the change of season comes a new WAPA Board of Directors ready to continue the work of the academy as we continue to build PA practice in Wisconsin.

I am honored to again serve as president of this academy. Having just returned from the AAPA House of Delegates and having taken part in discussions at the North Central Region of the AAPA, I am happy to report that our academy is strong and heading in the right direction. This is a credit to our active members who serve on our committees and as officers of WAPA. We have outstanding members and I wish to thank everyone for their work this past year. This year our chief delegate Anne Hletko, PA-C was honored by AAPA with the House of Delegates Outstanding Service Award for 2011. Congratulations to Anne for outstanding work as our chief delegate and as a committee member in the AAPA.

I wish to thank our outgoing President Clark Collins for his leadership and work this past year. Clark not only served as our president but also continues to be the chair of our Legislative and Government Affairs Committee. The LGA continues to focus its efforts on getting PA legislation passed in the state legislature which will improve practice for all physician assistants in Wisconsin. I appreciate the work Clark has done moving the academy forward and I hope to continue the work he has started.

The WAPA Executive Committee has met as a precursor to the WAPA Summer Board meeting to set a direction for the academy this next year. I believe in open and frequent communication between the academy and the membership. This year we will be trialing a new board structure implementing the regional representatives as regional directors at large. This will increase the WAPA board of director size from two directors to five. My goal is for each of the regional representatives to host informal meetings in their region to provide an open forum for discussion of academy business. As president my goal is to attend these meetings. More on the trial as the year progresses.

I also wish to thank the committee chairs and members of WAPA. These are the folks who give their time and energy to make our academy run effectively and work to improve PA practice in the state. Our quality CME conferences happen twice a year because of the hard work of the CME committee. The LGA committee meets by phone once a month to plot the course of our legislative initiatives. Each of or committees is important to the mission of the academy and new committee members are welcome at

any time. This past year saw the addition of a new website editor and development of the political action committee. If you have the ability to join and help out on a committee please feel free to contact the WAPA office or myself. We are happy to have all who willing to be involved.

I wish everyone an enjoyable summer and I look forward to serving as WAPA president this next year.

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