Dear Members and Colleagues,

I am honored to serve as the 46th President of the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society. Throughout my years of practice in the Midwest, I have found this organization to be welcoming, inclusive and innovative. I have always been impressed by the unwavering dedication of the Society’s leadership and membership to scientific investigation, education, mentorship and sponsorship. The Society truly serves as a regional family of vascular surgeons, trainees and colleagues all collaborating on a mission of enhancing vascular disease care. I can’t emphasize enough how much I treasure the strong network of colleagues and dear friends that I have developed over the years through my membership within the MVSS.

We recently held our 2023 annual meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I would like to thank all the participants who joined us in making this one of the most well attended Annual Meetings in history, with 262 registered attendees. We received a record number of submissions, including 113 abstracts from 45 different institutions. A huge thanks is in order to our Secretary and Program Chair Dr. Ross Milner, who orchestrated a fantastic scientific program including 28 plenary presentations, 12 case reports, 13 rapid fire presentations and 28 poster competition presentations as well as 23 electronic posters. Thanks to the steadfast work of Dr. John Rectenwald, the New Horizons sessions were also a hit and included some dynamic debates as well as updates on a diverse group of vascular topics. Rounding out the meeting were the robust simulation course, led by Dr. Christopher Goltz, the well-attended medical student education program, led by Dr. Michael Malinowski, and the Advanced Practice Provider session, developed by Dr. Todd Vogel. One of the meeting highlights each year is the awards session, recognizing the best basic science, venous, clinical and disparities-focused presentations of the meeting. Congratulations again to this year’s winners! And finally, I am thankful to have had the honor to host our annual Honorary Guest Lecturer this year, Dr. Julie Freischlag.

With the annual meeting behind us, planning is already underway for the continuation of our successful Webinar series, with six sessions scheduled throughout the upcoming year focusing on topics that you, the membership, have asked for. Thanks to Dr. Judith Lin and Dr. Carlos Bechara, who organized a diverse line-up of speakers on a variety of innovative topics over the past year, garnering much anticipation for the upcoming year’s program.

I am pleased to report that the society continues to thrive with expanding membership totaling 698, including 315 active members, 16 associate members, 164 candidate members, 66 medical student members and 137 senior members. We are fortunate to have Dr. Rachael Nicholson as our Treasurer, thoughtfully guiding the financial health of the organization. I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Peter Rossi and Dr. Jill Colglazier for their service as Councilors over the past year- both will continue in that role. Congratulations are in order for Dr. Patrick Muck who, after serving effectively as Councilor and Recorder of the Society, will transition to President-elect over the upcoming year. I would like to thank Dr. Jeffrey Jim for his strong leadership over the past year in his role as the President of our Society. Dr. Jim has strongly supported the progressive development of the evolving education program that the Society offers. I would also like to acknowledge the ongoing work of Past President Dr. Raghu Motaganahalli, who continued to support the enhancement of inclusive excellence in our Society. I look forward to working with the entire leadership team of the society including Dr. John Rectenwald, newly elected Councilor for the upcoming year. And finally, I would like to recognize and profusely thank Angela Wetherbee and her Administrare team for their outstanding support of the Society’s year-round work and accomplishments!

For this coming year, I assure you that I will continue to honor the efforts and developments of our past presidents, focusing on inclusivity, mentorship and educational support of the many students and trainees that will follow in our footsteps. For our surgical trainees, we plan to expand our simulation and virtual Mock Oral Examination programs to maximize participation. The Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society welcomes new members and encourages participation! Thank you to all of the members of our numerous committees, too many to mention individually here, who are the driving force behind all that we do. I encourage all members to appeal to their students, trainees, nurses, advanced practice providers, partners, colleagues and friends within the Midwest to apply for membership. I look forward to seeing you all at our 2024 Annual Meeting, scheduled for September 12-14 in the beautiful and vibrant Chicago, Illinois!

Thank you again for the opportunity to serve as your 46th President. I welcome your input as I strive to support the organization’s mission of serving its members as well as the patients we care for.
Sincerely and best regards,

Bernadette Aulivola, MD, MS, RVT, RPVI, FACS
46th President, Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society