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2008 Conference Highlights
Thank You from Perry Smith

The 2008 CSTE Annual Conference in Denver was very successful with over 950 participants from across the country attending. The theme for this year’s conference was “Public Health Epidemiology: Adapting to a Changing World”. Change is occurring everywhere with increasing speed and magnitude, and is profoundly affecting the practice of epidemiology. This year’s conference agenda reflected the impact of those changes and provided a forum for public health officials to discuss how best to respond to these changes.

I want to thank the Conference Planning Committee, CSTE Executive Board, the staff of the CSTE National Office, and all of our speakers, moderators, poster presenters, and exhibitors who made this conference possible.

We must also acknowledge and applaud the work of the award winners:
2008 Pumphandle Award – Dr. Richard Vogt
2008 RWJF Award in Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities – Dr. Julie Morita

Also, congratulations to newly elected Executive Board members:
President-Elect – Dr. Melvin Kohn
Vice-President – Dr. Patricia Quinlisk
Secretary-Treasurer – Dr. Stephen Ostroff
Chronic / MCH / Oral Health Chair – Dr. Sara Huston
Infectious Disease Chair – Dr. Jeff Engel
Member-at-Large – Dr. Duc Vugia

Everyone who attended the President's banquet on Tuesday evening heard an inspiring and stimulating talk on "Public Health and the Media," by this year's Jonathan M. Mann Memorial Lecturer, Dr. William Schaffner, Professor and Chair, Department of Preventive Medicine, at Vanderbilt University. We also enjoyed a delicious dinner with lots of opportunity for informal camaraderie.

CSTE plays a crucial national role in supporting and shaping public health practice. CSTE is a vibrant organization, with strong membership and active committees working in all facets of public health epidemiology. If you are not currently involved with CSTE, I invite you to join as you will find your involvement with CSTE personally rewarding and satisfying.

Please mark your calendars for the 2009 Annual Conference, which will be hosted in Buffalo, New York, June 7 – 11. The Program Planning Committee Chair is Dr. Melvin Kohn, Oregon State Epidemiologist and CSTE President-Elect. We look forward to meeting and exceeding your expectation in Buffalo next year.

Sincerely,
Perry Smith, MD
CSTE President

Going Green CSTE is taking steps to “Go Green” with some aspects of our conference by incorporating the following into our 2008 meeting:

· NEW Water Stations and Complimentary CSTE Water Bottle – Bottled water will not be offered this year, instead water stations will be located in the Exhibit Hall and in central areas near the meeting rooms. Complimentary CSTE water bottles will be available, one per attendee please. Glasses are also available as an option for water service.

· NEW Recycling Collection Containers – Containers for paper and beverage containers will be available in the Exhibit Hall and in central areas near the meeting rooms.

· NEW Name Badge Recycling – A collection box will be available at the CSTE Registration Desk to recycle the plastic name badge holders.

· NEW Tote Bags – Tote bags made of 51% post consumer recycled material will be available at the CSTE Registration Desk separate from the program agenda. We encourage members to bring previous CSTE tote bags this year for your conference materials or even one of your own recycled bags!

· NEW Paper-Free Position Statements – CSTE uses a lot of paper printing and reprinting position statements during the discussion phases at the conference. So, a position statement resource center will be located in the Exhibit Hall for attendees to view and print when needed the 2008 proposed position statements.

Thank you for your support with these initiatives at the 2008 Annual Conference!