David Songstad, SIVB President
Here is wishing everyone in the SIVB a happy, rewarding and prosperous 2014! I write this knowing I’m in the last leg of my office as President of the SIVB. At our upcoming meeting in Savannah, I will hand over the reins to Dr. Gene Elmore to lead our society for the next two years. I am also very pleased that Dr. Dwight Tomes has been selected by his SIVB peers as President Elect and will replace Gene when his term ends in 2016. One thing I’ve shared with Gene and Dwight is that they can continue to count on me for support as the SIVB moves forward.
I also sent a congratulatory email to my friend Allan Wenck for his willingness to serve as Vice President of the SIVB. This is the role I first held at the Board level from 2002 to 2006 when I served two concurrent terms as Vice President. This is a very critical and key position because the VP is also the CFR—a cute abbreviation for Chief Fund Raiser! When Allan asks for you to help with fund raising, please make the time to help him. No one person is solely the key to our society’s success in fund raising—we all need to work together to make this another successful year in raising funds to support our meetings in future years. Allan, you can count on me for help with fund raising.
I am also very pleased with the list of other Board level positions that were filled in this past election. We are a group where some have Board level experience and others do not—however, we all do know how to work together for the common good of the SIVB.
I am excited about our upcoming World Forum on Biology where the SIVB will have a joint meeting with the Society for Cryobiology (SfC) in the beautiful city of Savannah, Georgia. Please register early for the meeting and your hotel room because we are expecting a larger than usual attendance. Remember to make your travel arrangements early as well. The Keynote Speaker will be Dr. Pierre Comizzoli who is from the Center for Species Survival at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.
I am also excited about the Program that I have seen for the 2014 meeting. I am particularly pleased that there will be two sessions on Genome Editing which is very timely given the excitement in this area of research. Thanks again to the Program Chairs in working with the SIVB and SfC committees in forming this year’s program. I look forward to seeing each of you in Savannah as the Past President of SIVB!
David Songstad, Ph.D.
SIVB President
