It is a great honor to be the 35th President of the Texas Society for Vascular And Endovascular Surgery. I would like to thank the members and council for their confidence in me to lead the greatest statewide Vascular society in the greatest state in the country.

Last year ‘s meeting in November at the Houston Marriott was a tremendous success. We again had over 100 attendees consisting of vascular surgeons, trainees, nurses and allied health as well as our valuable industry partners. The scientific session was robust and the discussions lively. Dr. Charles Sternberg was the Rutherford lecturer during our President’s Dinner. Later that evening he gave an even more entertaining presentation on the history of Mardi Gras at the president’s banquet.

We are looking forward to this year ‘s Rutherford lecturer, Dr. Fred Weaver. His presentations and contributions are sure to be enlightening and engaging.

This year the meeting will be at the Omni Barton Creek in Austin on November 8 and 9. Realizing that the care of vascular patients is a team sport we will continue to expand the society’s membership to all of those taken care of vascular patients. This includes not only vascular surgeons but all of the members of the team such as trainees, students, nurses and other allied health professionals. Non-members and other medical professionals are encouraged to attend as well.

My goals for this society this year are to increase membership and to increase the recognition of the society throughout the state wide vascular community, to strengthen and expand our relationships and support with industry and to have our meeting abstracts published in an internationally recognized journal. I am looking forward to a terrific year for the Society.