66th General Assembly – August 2, 2013 – New Orleans, LA  

 

Report by:Derek Anderson, MD, Speaker, LAFP General Assembly

Daniel Jens, MD, Vice-Speaker, LAFP General Assembly  

 

The 66th annual General Assembly convened on August 2nd in New Orleans, LA. Speaker Derek Anderson, MD, presided as around forty members and guests discussed issues and elected officers for the upcoming year. The meeting provided members with addresses from Mike Reitz, President and Chief Executive Officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of LA; Thomas Grimstad, MD, President/CEO of LAMMICO; and Rick Madden, MD, AAFP Board of Directors Representative. During the meeting, after the annual reading of the necrology report honoring our members who have left us in the past year, the Bylaws Committee Report was presented to the membership for approval of the 2013 revised Bylaws.  In the summer of 2009 the speakers of the AAFP initiated a conversation with the Board of Directors regarding the need to update the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Bylaws. It was noted that in the 64-year history of the AAFP, the organization had never undertaken a thorough review of its original bylaws.  A task force was formed and began working on the revisions in February 2010. Initial work included a review of the recommendations for good and effective bylaws of The American Institute of Parliamentarians Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (AIPSC), the parliamentary authority of the AAFP and Congress of Delegates. The final draft of the bylaws was presented in 2012 where they were approved by the AAFP Congress of Delegates. Because of the changes that were reflected in the approved AAFP bylaws, the LAFP was required to amend its bylaws to incorporate these changes.  Like the AAFP, the LAFP has not conducted an extensive review of its bylaws since the original document was developed.  In the review that has been conducted, proposed changes that are reflected in the LAFP Bylaws include:  Removal of obsolete language, terms, and references;Addresses areas in the Bylaws where they were inconsistent, confusing, or silent;Reorganizes the Bylaws to make them more readable and user friendly; and Removes language, such as certain operational procedures, that did not rise to the level of core foundational principles of the LAFP/AAFP or that otherwise did not properly belong in the Bylaws of an organization. These final proposed revised bylaws were submitted to the 2013 General Assembly in New Orleans for consideration and were adopted. 

 

The 2013-2014 LAFP Board of Directors were elected and are as follows:

President:	Michael Harper, MD, Shreveport, LA
President-Elect:	Melvin Bourgeois, MD, Morgan City, LA
Vice President:	James Taylor, MD, Zachary, LA
Secretary:	Brian Elkins, MD, Alexandria, LA
Treasurer:	Bryan Picou, MD, Natchitoches, LA
Immediate Past-President:	Mark Dawson, MD, Rayne, LA
Speaker:	Derek Anderson, MD, Baton Rouge, LA
Vice-Speaker/GA:	Daniel Jens, MD, Mandeville, LA
AAFP Delegate:	Russell Roberts, MD, Shreveport, LA
AAFP Delegate:	Marguerite Picou, MD, Natchitoches, LA
AAFP Alternate Delegate:	James Campbell, MD, Kenner, LA
AAFP Alternate Delegate:	Bryan Picou, MD, Natchitoches, LA
Resident Representative:	Megan Hartman, MD, Luling, LA
Resident Alternate:	Richard Bridges, MD, Amite, LA
Student Representative:	Ronald Slipman, New Orleans, LA
Student Alternate:	Hannah Ray, New Orleans, LA
District1 Director	Mary Coleman, MD, New Orleans, LA
District 1 Alternate	Position Vacant
District 2 Director	Daniel Jens, MD, Mandeville, LA
District 2 Alternate	Luis Arencibia, MD, Mandeville, LA
District 3A Director	Jack Heidenreich, MD, Raceland, LA
District 3A Alternate	Position Vacant
District 3B Director	Indira Gautam, MD, Lafayette, LA
District 3B Alternate	Zeb Stearns, MD
District 4 Director	Ricky Jones, MD, Shreveport, LA
District 4 Alternate	Gregory Bell, MD, Coushatta, LA
District 5 Director	Tahir Quayyum, MD, Bastrop, LA
District 5 Alternate	Tobe Momah, MD, West Monroe, LA
District 6A Director	Phillip Ehlers, MD, Baton Rouge, LA
District 6A Alternate	Carol Smothers-Swift, MD, New Roads, LA
District 6B Director	Chris Foret, MD, Franklinton, LA
District 6B Alternate	Kevin Plaisance, MD, Covington, LA
District 7 Director	Jason Fuqua, MD, Sulphur, LA
District 7 Alternate	Jody George, MD, Lake Charles, LA
District 8 Director	Jonathan Hunter, MD, Alexandria, LA
District 8 Alternate	Matthew Erickson, MD
Director at Large	Admir Seferovic, MD, Innis, LA
Alt. Director at Large	Esther Holloway, MD, Coushatta, LA

                                                                            

Reports were given by each of the committee chairs on the work that had been done over the past year.  After completing our business by early afternoon, Dr. Anderson called for an adjournment. We hope everyone enjoyed their time in New Orleans. We look forward to seeing you all next year in Destin!

 

Click here to view the 2013 General Assembly Minutes.