Bankruptcy, journals , hurricanes & lawsuits

I went to Presidents council Thursday with Tracie & Jennifer , we started with NEO meeting, for those not familiar this is group of Northeast states & Ohio, we discuss regional issues amongst states along with issues we see with AOA.

It appears that there will actually be a race for the open AOA trustee seat at Optometry's meeting.  Dr. Robert Layman from Ohio is running against Dr. Bill Reynolds of Tennessee , it has been years since we had a race so it could prove interesting.

Off to bourbon street for my first real Pat O'Briens hurricane , then dinner where I enjoyed an authentic New Orleans meal , complete with alligator sausage and crayfish.

Before I got on  the plane my inbox was hit with an email from AOS stating the AOA may be bankrupt & another stating the demise of The AOA journal so I anticipated a lively meeting. We began with a jazz band over breakfast and 10 hours later looking for dinner on bourbon street again.

We did get an update from  AOA President Dr. Dori Carlson as to why the journal was discontinued , basically the contract with  the publisher was up and negotiations where difficult,  the number of articles to publish was down and sponsorship was at an all time low, they did look into publishing an online version but that was even more expensive, at that time the board decided to stop publishing.

Saturday began with a 7 am breakfast update (brutal considering proximity of bourbon st) from AOA Secretary Treasurer Dr. David Cockrell, a scheduled one hour meeting that lasted two. Sparing  you the minute details AOA is not bankrupt but could use an uptick in full paying dues members.

Much discussion ensued with the AOA board about communication with the state  affliates the need to respond quickly in this age of electronic media. In the same vain I am trying to be more timely to our members with  information  from the MOA.

The keynote speaker on Saturday was Sarah Sladek author of " The end membership as we know it" , she  presented several ideas that both the AOA and MOA can use to grow membership, one of which is to eliminate the many different categories or membership levels. AOA did announce that they will be bringing several bylaw resolution changes to House of delegates in June. These need to be made public 100 days prior to house , so as soon as I can  I will make you aware of them.

We concluded the meeting with Dr. Carlson's first effort of rapid communication in letting us know the AOS filed suit against the ABO, this does include deposition of some members of the AOA board so on advice of counsel that is all she could say.

I would like to thank my in laws for watching my kids so my wife could join me for the weekend, we were able to enjoy lots of New Orleans traditions including beignets at Cafe du Mond, a carriage ride through the French Quarter and lunch at Mother's.

Talk soon

John

PS.. We have found a replacement for Megan, her name is Jennifer Levy and she will be meeting everyone shortly.