It has truly been a privilege and a wonderful honor to serve as president of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons this past year. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you here in attendance today, and to everyone who supported my presidency year. I am sincerely grateful to our three past presidents on the nominating committee: Dr. Rick Billingham, Dr. David Schoetz, and Dr. Bruce Wolff, as well as to all of you who endorsed my nomination. This is the pinnacle of my career.

I also appreciate the hard work and outstanding effort of the Executive Council in helping me through this year; and the Society’s administrative staff which, for many years, has efficiently organized and maintained our society at such a high level. And I am extremely grateful to my colleagues at Memorial Sloan-Kettering for their enduring support. They are an outstanding group of surgeons, and it is an honor for me to work with them. I would also like to thank my former colleagues from Minnesota who initially trained and mentored me, and set my career on the right path- as opposed to the ‘‘Wong path’’ to which I am accustomed!

Finally, there are two ladies I have relied on most during this past year. Stella Zedalis, Associate Executive Director of our Society, is a remarkable individual: extraordinarily efficient, well-organized, and personable; I know that all of our presidents have relied on her for support. And of course, my dear wife Sola; she has been my guiding light throughout our married life and throughout my entire career. She did a marvelous job of raising our three wonderful children while I worked long hours.