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ACC.23/WCC Convocation Address: Edward T. A. Fry, MD, MACC
Dr. Itchhaporia, Dr. Wilson, Ms. Biga, Ms. Gates, distinguished guests, Fellows of the College, colleagues, families and friends, it is a humbling privilege to address you tonight as part of my final duties as president of the ACC. These duties include closing one chapter in the story of the ACC and starting another; thanking all of you for making this year a great success for the College; and passing the baton of leadership on to our next president (Hadley, you got this).
The president is a caretaker charged with building on the successes that have come before, a curator of the ongoing work to fulfil our Mission, and a facilitator of future successes sure to come. In these roles, the president serves as a link from one generation of the College to the next, from the notable accomplishments of the past to the exciting prospects ahead. Convocation serves as the bridge for that transition from the past to the future.
Convocation is derived from the Latin word "convocare," meaning to call and to come together. Tonight, we call on all members of the College to come together to affirm our commitment to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health for all with inclusiveness, equity, integrity, and collaboration.
Convocation also celebrates and recognizes the achievements of the innovators and visionaries in cardiovascular medicine and welcomes the new members of the College who will shape the future of cardiovascular care and science.
A year ago, at Convocation, I read a letter from the future; from the 2032 President of the ACC who was reporting on the amazing things that the ACC class of 2022 had accomplished in their first decade. So tonight, in follow up, I would like to read a letter I wrote to the 2032 ACC President as an update on that journey.
Dear Madame President,
It was so exciting to see the pictures of your meeting with ACC past presidents, US Senator Dipti Itchhaporia, MD, MACC, and UN Ambassador Hadley Wilson, MD, MACC. You all look great. I just wanted to give you a brief progress report on the ACC Class of 2022 and their newest colleagues, the Class of 2023.
Although our profession has weathered a pandemic, climate instability, economic volatility, and global unrest, I can assure you that the classes of 2022 and 2023 have set the College on the right direction to overcome these and other challenges. Their intelligence, dedication, creativity, and compassion are already on full display.
Their use of innovation to overcome the workforce crisis, their focus on prevention, their success in promoting health equity, their advocacy to support public health, their dedication to science and truth, their inclusiveness and value of diversity, their attention to wellness, their commitment to putting patients first, and their engagement in their profession are responsible for the success you are seeing in 2032. The College is indeed in good hands.
Best regards,
Ed
In closing, Jerry Garcia may have said, "What a long, strange trip it's been," but this past year has been anything but. It has been fulfilling and all too short. One final duty as president also is to thank the many of you who have encouraged, mentored, and supported me along the way. But specifically, I wish to thank my fellow trustees, the amazing ACC staff, the counsel of past presidents, my partners and staff at St. Vincent and Ascension, my mother Dr. Shirley Fry, my three wonderful sons, Colin, Ian, and Sean, and my loving and incredibly patient wife Kathy. Thank you all and thank you to the ACC for this opportunity of a lifetime.
Clinical Topics: Acute Coronary Syndromes, Anticoagulation Management, Arrhythmias and Clinical EP, Cardiac Surgery, Congenital Heart Disease and Pediatric Cardiology, Diabetes and Cardiometabolic Disease, Dyslipidemia, Geriatric Cardiology, Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathies, Invasive Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention, Noninvasive Imaging, Pericardial Disease, Prevention, Pulmonary Hypertension and Venous Thromboembolism, Sports and Exercise Cardiology, Stable Ischemic Heart Disease, Valvular Heart Disease, Vascular Medicine, Anticoagulation Management and ACS, Implantable Devices, SCD/Ventricular Arrhythmias, Atrial Fibrillation/Supraventricular Arrhythmias, Cardiac Surgery and Arrhythmias, Cardiac Surgery and CHD and Pediatrics, Cardiac Surgery and Heart Failure, Cardiac Surgery and SIHD, Cardiac Surgery and VHD, Congenital Heart Disease, CHD and Pediatrics and Arrhythmias, CHD and Pediatrics and Imaging, CHD and Pediatrics and Interventions, CHD and Pediatrics and Prevention, Acute Heart Failure, Pulmonary Hypertension, Interventions and ACS, Interventions and Imaging, Interventions and Structural Heart Disease, Interventions and Vascular Medicine, Angiography, Nuclear Imaging, Hypertension, Sleep Apnea, Sports and Exercise and Congenital Heart Disease and Pediatric Cardiology, Sports and Exercise and ECG and Stress Testing, Sports and Exercise and Imaging, Chronic Angina
Keywords: ACC23, ACC Annual Scientific Session, ACC Scientific Session Newspaper, ACC.23/WCC Meeting Newspaper, Acute Coronary Syndrome, Anticoagulants, Arrhythmias, Cardiac, Cardiac Surgical Procedures, Metabolic Syndrome, Angina, Stable, Heart Defects, Congenital, Dyslipidemias, Geriatrics, Heart Failure, Angiography, Diagnostic Imaging, Pericarditis, Secondary Prevention, Hypertension, Pulmonary, Sleep Apnea Syndromes, Sports, Exercise Test, Heart Valve Diseases, Aneurysm
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