Canada Day is a Canadian National Holiday held each year on July 1. In 2010, members of IAAAM will celebrate Canada Day a little early and the celebrations will last a week. Never let it be said that the IAAAM members aren't the type that do things 110%. This year's conference will occur in the beautiful setting of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Getting the conference together is a huge endeavor. The efforts of many people need to be acknowledged. The IAAAM board worked tirelessly to assure that things went smoothly. John Jones was critical to keeping members updated via modifications to the web page. Pam Tuomi handled finances like a CPA with the patience of a saint. The awards committee, Bill Van Bonn, Tom Reidarson, and Don Stremme worked with our president, Craig Harms to make sure that proper recognition was made to a member that has dedicated their career to advancing aquatics. Lisa Mazarro and Cindy Driscoll handled lots of questions about prior board meetings, membership status and how to register. Lisa Murphy eased students into professional life with kindness and understanding. The student program owes her a large debt of gratitude. The IAAAM board does a lot to make this meeting one heck an event. I thank them for all that they did and all that they continue to do.

Up north, Marty demonstrated his commitment to the organization in extraordinary ways. From explaining that we are not scary partiers to the hotel staff to arranging for extra poster boards for the popular poster session, Marty was a champ. Marty was the visionary for the opening session this year featuring topics of local and international concern. His efforts will be seen in every step of this meeting. Inviting a few friends over for a beer is easy. Inviting a few hundred up to spend a week partaking of your hospitality is a completely different prospect. I am still intrigued by this event involving whales and little boats...

On the California end, two folks were major behind the scenes contributors. Erika Nilson did an awful lot of the meat and potatoes of organizing. She helped to assure that as many talks as possible were scheduled. She worked with Marty and me to change that schedule about 95 times. She worked with Pam and John to make sure registrants got assigned where they wanted to be and no one paid more than once. Erika made this conference happen. Pacifique Rugira kept track of the presentation submissions. His efforts were critical to getting the program started.

Many thanks go to the session chairs and workshop organizers. The session chairs make sure that abstracts and presenters are in top form. They helped with the difficult questions related to abstract selection. They make the sessions happen and give the proceedings the polish that we all appreciate. This year, we had so many submissions, that a team of 16 session chairs was needed to fill this role. That amounts to a lot of membership time and effort. When you see these members, please thank them for their service. Workshop organizers strive to give intense training and hands on opportunities. This year's workshops included topics in ophthalmology, cetacean necropsy, fish medicine as well as one-day workshops in ACZM aquatic training and the CL Davis Pathology workshop. Stephen Raverty in particular is a critical player in the workshops. He is involved in events both at the beginning and end of the conference.

All in all, working to organize this conference has been an honor and an adventure (the sort of adventure that Jim McBain warns us about). I am amazed at how many people are needed to get the job done for a good conference in the little town of Vancouver.

When all is said and done, I have one request for the membership. Each year, excellent presentations are delivered at this meeting. Now with the help of VIN, abstracts are available on line. This accessibility is a major step to getting aquatics information into the mainstream of veterinary medicine. I urge members to consider going one step further. It takes a lot of effort to produce a manuscript and a presentation. Please consider expanding that abstract and making a manuscript for peer review and publication. Journals like Aquatic Mammals, Journal of Wildlife Diseases, the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, Marine Mammal Science, and Diseases of Aquatic Organisms would be delighted to see this material. Some of these presentations are exactly the stuff that the comparative journals like Virology Veterinary Pathology are looking for. The membership of the IAAAM has a lot to teach to the world. It's time that we focused the world on what we can do.

I hope that Vancouver is both educational and fun. I expect it to produce memories that will last forever.

Judy St. Leger, DVM, DACVP
2010 Program Chair and IAAAM President-Elect