President's Message September 2019
Thank you to everyone who made time to attend the CCMG meeting in Niagara Falls at the end of June. It was a pleasure to see so many CCMG members, and to attend the CCMG committee meetings where many projects are underway. The academic sessions were excellent, and the joint meeting with the Canadian Association of Pathologists was (CAP-ACP) an ideal opportunity for interactions between our two societies. Thank you to the CCMG Scientific Program Chair, Dr. Marg Nowaczyk, and the scientific program committee members for a job well done. Thank you as well to Events & Management Plus Inc, particularly Heather Dow (College Manager) and Donna Dennison (Conference Manager) and for their excellent support of the logistics of the joint meeting.
A special congratulations to the CCMG Award recipients that were presented at the CCMG meeting: Dr. Rosanna Weksberg, 2019 recipient of the Founders’ Award for Career Achievement, Dr. David Chitayat, 2019 recipient of the F. Clarke Fraser Award for Excellence in Mentorship and Teaching, and Dr. Kathy Chun, 2019 recipient of the John L. Hamerton Service Award. In addition, Dr. Francis Choy was selected as an Honorary Affiliate of the CCMG. Thank you to the Awards and Nominations Committee for their efforts in selecting this year’s recipients.
At the Annual General Meeting on June 25, the membership approved a new strategic initiatives fund of up to $30,000 per year. The strategic initiative funds was established in response to results from the 2018 strategic survey of the membership and will be used to support CCMG initiatives such as best practice development, public policy initiatives and advocacy. Also at the AGM an update on the merger of the cytogenetics-molecular genetics laboratory training programs was presented by Dr. Rosemary Mueller, co-chair of the Genetic and Genomic Diagnostics (GGD) Training Program Working Group. Thank you to the GGD Working Group for their efforts on this important project.
Please join me in welcoming the new CCMG Board members Dr. Lindsay Brown and Dr. Graham Sinclair, and a huge thank you to the retiring Board members Dr. Tanya Nelson and Dr. Murray Potter.
As always, I thank the Board of Directors, Committee Chairs and Members who dedicate their time to carrying out the work our College. I hope you all had a relaxing summer.
With best wishes,
Tracy