In April the AAFP held its Annual Leadership Forum (ALF) and National Conference of Special Constituencies (NCSC). All chapters had excellent attendance. Seven of our board members represented us. This is a great chance to mingle and exchanges ideas with colleagues across the nation and to participate in and learn through the offered seminars.

Coming August 3-5 is our South Dakota Academy’s annual Summer Seminar. Topics will include stress testing, soft tissue injury care and a suturing workshop, a conscious sedation seminar, and an issue we all deal with—end of life care—and a special presentation on medicine in the deaf community, presented by the National Family Doctor of the Year.

Family activities planned include a session called "Venus and Mars in South Dakota" designed for physicians and their spouses, and the All-Member Party at the Circle B Ranch.

This meeting is when SDAFP holds its annual business meeting. On the agenda is the proposed bylaws change for resident representation on the SDAFP Board of Directors. This issue will be debated and voted upon at this meeting. Election of a new board member will occur. This is when I relinquish this position to President-Elect Paul Amundson, who will lead us through the 50^th Anniversary of the South Dakota Chapter. An AAFP Board Member, Ross Black, will be present.

Keep in mind; we have changed the location of the meeting from the Holiday Inn to the newly remodeled and refurbished Ramkota (formerly the Howard Johnson’s).