Minutes of the General Assembly Meeting at the 26th Politzer Society Meeting
13:30-14:30 Tuesday 16 October, 2007
Call to Order
President Jacques Magnan called the meeting to order. Minutes of the 2005 Seoul General Assembly meeting were approved.
Cor Cremers, Klaus Jahnke and Gordon Hughes will retire from the Board after the Cleveland meeting. Dr. Jahnke is retiring from active practice. The Board approved P. Ashley Wackym as Secretary and Hans Peter Zenner as member (with Thomas Lenarz to be reconsidered for member beginning 2011). The Board approved making the position of Program Advisor (formerly Chairman, Program Advisory Committee) an Officer, then reappointed Per Moller to serve in this capacity four more years. Therefore the Board after completion of the Cleveland 2007 meeting is:
President Jacques Magnan Term 3 ends 2009
President-Elect O. Nuri Ozgirgin 2 2009
Past-President Mirko Tos 4 2009
Treasurer Alec Fitzgerald O’Connor 1 2011
Secretary P. Ashley Wackym 1 2011
Program Advisor Per Möller 3 2011
Francisco Antoli-Candela 2 2009
Roberto Filipo 1 2009
Chong Sun Kim 2 2009
Hiroshi Moriyama 1 2009
Hans Peter Zenner 1 2011
Affiliation with Otology & Neurotology
Subscription to the journal is required for Politzer membership if the member does not already receive the journal. The approximate cost is US $120 per year and will be billed by the Treasurer with dues. The only exception might be a member of a third-world country; such decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis as they arise.
Members are encouraged to attend the 2nd International Symposium on Otosclerosis and Stapes Surgery chaired by Bernard Fraysse, in Biarritz, France May 8-10, 2008; and the 8th International Conference on Cholesteatoma and Ear Surgery chaired by O. Nuri Ozgirgin, in Antalya, Turkey from June 15-20, 2008.
Because the financial condition of the Politzer Society is so healthy, the Board will begin to consider financial support for meeting attendance by an individual(s) who cannot otherwise afford to attend, and special requests to support educational efforts related to the Mission of the Society. Requests should be submitted to the President.
Basic Science First Place 1000 euros: Pascal Senn, Robust post-mortem survival of murine vestibular and cochlear stem cells
Basic Science Second Place (tie) 500 euros: Felipe Santos, Chemical genetics approach yields a novel class of compounds that protect mammalian hair cells
Basic Science Second Place (tie) 500 euros: Sertac Yetiser, Analysis of time-dependent changes of neurotrophic factors (BDNF, CNTF) in traumatic facial nerve injury of a nerve-cut and nerve-crush model in rats
Clinical First Place 1000 euros: Tadashi Kitahara, Effects of intra-endolymphatic sac application of large doses of steroids for intractable Meniere’s disease: a randomized controlled trial
Treasurer’s Report
Cor Cremers has done an outstanding job as Treasurer and received special congratulations from the Board. Currently, two accounts used for dues collection total US$ 30,511 and euros 6,507. Three other investment accounts total 43,048 and 12,176 and 85 euros. Expenses and revenues related to the 2007 Cleveland meeting will be totaled and the current Treasury books will be closed and transferred to the new Treasurer, Alec Fitzgerald O’Connor. At the 2007 Cleveland meeting the Board decided to forgive all delinquent member accounts. These delinquent individuals will be billed current dues and journal subscription by the Treasurer at the normal time. Failure to pay in full for two consecutive payment periods will forfeit the individual’s membership. The Board also decided to award Politzer Prize money in euros, not US$.
Proposed new members were approved at the General Assembly meeting. Gordon Hughes will transfer all secretary materials to P. Ashley Wackym who will begin immediately following the Cleveland 2007 meeting.
Webmaster’s Report
Webmaster O. Nuri Ozgirgin reported the website www.politzersociety.org has been very successful with 106,715 hits during the last 2 years. Cost has been only $500 US during the past five years. More scientific information will be added to the website.
2009 London Meeting
Meeting President Alec Fitzgerald O’Connor presented plans for London, UK September 3-5, 2009. Everything is proceeding well.
After hearing excellent proposals for possible meetings in Athens, Greece and Wuerzburg, Germany, the Board approved the 2011 meeting in Athens. The venue will be the Astir Palace complex just south of the city, probably in the summertime.
Gordon B. Hughes, MD
Secretary