Dear Fellow Members:

It is a distinct honor to serve as the President of the Western Vascular Society. The close friendships, interesting science, open discussions and camaraderie shared by our group have long made it my favorite organization.

We remind you once again to mark your calendars and block your time off to attend our 28th Annual WVS Meeting, September 21-24, 2013 at the spectacular Jasper Park Lodge in Jasper, AB, Canada.   Living in the west is a true joy and the location of this year’s meeting promises to be a spectacular one.

The Jasper Park Lodge provides an enviable location in a majestic valley, amidst stunning glaciers, in the magnificent Canadian Rockies. “The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge was especially created to provide the finest mountain experience for groups large and small, as well as for families.”

The Lodge offers a wide variety of accommodations and the Society has negotiated excellent room rates for this meeting at the Fairmont.  Fairmont rooms are ideal for individuals, couples or small families, offering cozy cabins.  Other accommodation options include elegant cedar chalets and specialty cabins arranged in the style of a charming alpine village on the shores of a vivid, blue-green lake, offering marvelous panoramas. Throughout the year, visitors can enjoy the serenity, seclusion and sophistication that are the hallmarks of The Grand Canadian Lodge Experience.

Although transportation offers minor challenges, the rewards and natural beauty in getting there and upon arrival are unsurpassed. The Society will offer group transportation from Calgary airport; more information will soon be forthcoming.   The trip from Calgary promises to be as spectacular as the Jasper Park Lodge itself, offering glorious views of active glaciers.   There will also be a train option from Vancouver. Please visit our 2013 Annual Meeting page for a list of transportation options; updated information will be regularly posted on the site.  The reservation link will also be active and available, beginning on April 15, 2013.

You are reminded that the Society is now accepting abstracts for the 28th Annual Meeting.  Abstracts may only be submitted electronically.  To submit your abstract, visit the 2013 Annual Meeting page and point to Submit Abstract.  The deadline for receipt of abstracts is Monday, April 1, 2013 (11:59 p.m. Pacific Time).  Please read the Guidelines and Instructions for Submission carefully, as we are offering some new and exciting submission categories this year, including Case Reports and Short Presentations.

As with last year’s meeting, the 2013 Annual Meeting will begin on Sunday morning and run through Tuesday morning.  We are working with Dr. York Hsiang, Local Arrangements Chair, to plan the social program that includes a number of entertaining excursions.  Complete information about the meeting will be forthcoming in the next few months.

Major highlights of this year’s meeting include an opportunity for attendees to take two Self-Assessment courses that meet the ABS/VSB requirements for MOC.  The pre-tests will be available during your trip to Jasper Park Lodge as well as at the meeting.  These focused courses include a Vascular Laboratory Review Course and a Symposium on Lower Extremity Arterial Disease, the Diabetic Foot and Wound Management.  Additionally, I am very pleased to announce that my Presidential Guest Speaker will be Dr. Spence M. Taylor, from the Greenville Hospital System and University Medical Center in Greenville, South Carolina who will speak on two topics: “Lower Extremity Arterial Disease: Allocating Resources and Producing Optimal Outcomes” and “ A Personal Journey in Leadership: The Process of Creating a New Medical School.”

The Western Vascular Society will continue to provide travel grants for Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows.  More detailed information will soon be available.

Nominations for new members must be submitted by May 1,  2013.  Please consider sponsoring colleagues and fellow vascular surgeons from your group or region.