An Apology
With apologies to the majority of our members that have always conducted themselves professionally, courteously and with utmost civility, we find ourselves in a position of needing to remind some of our members of a few important points about the organization. It is a volunteer organization, run by volunteers, all professionals for professionals. We all need to conduct ourselves with that in mind when contacting board members when things don’t go as we hope. As a board we offer direct apologies to our CE coordinators. Technical issues beyond their control (currently being addressed by the board) led to inconsistent notices to members regarding program events. Some of the phone calls and e-mails directed towards them were unacceptably unprofessional and should never be tolerated. We trust that that type of bad judgment will not revisit out hard-working volunteers.
A Message from the President
I am enthused as president of NEIPA with the outlook for the organization’s future and the direction we are headed. I see a vibrant, professional group that is active in the community and making a difference in our world. The board is hard at work improving communication structure and technology to better serve our members. We have the right people doing their respective jobs.
Programs and Continuing Education
Recent changes regarding CE reporting are forcing some modifications to how our programs may be presented. Some will be simply professional dinners for information and cannot be credited as CE. Some will be more CE oriented as you have expected in the past. We will through e-mails, website and newsletters keep you aware of the nature of each event. Some programs will have limited space due to sponsor funding or venue selection. We ask that you consider these aspects of events when you RSVP. We certainly do not wish to restrict anyone who truly desires to attend from being able to do so. We request that if you RSVP that you attend and that if you are unable to be present once we have reserved your space, that you contact us. This may allow someone else to attend – we have already experienced waiting lists for events. In the past the RSVP was primarily to help plan for seating and dining arrangements, but more is at stake with the new restrictions.
One way that we have chosen to address some of our challenges is to have a RSVP window. This allows a fair amount of time for all members to become aware of upcoming events as well as properly plan before they RSVP.
Science Fair Winner
Each year NEIPA has helped select a middle-school student’s science fair submission to be given a $50 award. This year’s Winner was Ember Pflughorft for an innovative project entitled “Mouse Beverage Bar.” Thanks to Cathy Carmien for participating this year.
Scholarship Donations
Purdue and Butler University Pharmacy Schools have been notified of our decision to provide annual scholarship donations for the 22nd year consecutively. In the Future we will be setting up an additional scholarship fund for Manchester College School of Pharmacy as they prepare for their first class in 2012. We are still collecting donations for the scholarship fund. A donation can be made at any time but if you have not yet paid your dues you can send in a scholarship donation at the same time.
Donations can be mailed to:
NEIPA
P.O. Box 13463
Fort Wayne, IN 46869-3463
UPCOMING CE MEETINGS:
Here is the information for the May NEIPA meeting. There will be no CE credit awarded for this meeting. Space is very limited for this meeting so please consider your interest in the topic very carefully. Typically, we take a break over the summer months, however, we will be having another program in early June since this presentation has limited space.
Please note: RSVP's begin on May 4.
Location:
Chappell's Restaurant
5820 Coldwater Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46825
Date and Time:
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Registration begins at 6:00pm
Program to begin at 6:30pm
Topic and Speaker:
Managing Diabetes One Step at a Time
David Schlatter, PharmD
RSVP starting May 4th via email to info@neipa.org.
An event is planned for Thursday, June 3rd , CE credit will NOT be provided, more details to follow as they are available.
No events are planned for July and August. Hope you all enjoy a great summer!
Events will be planned beginning in September