As I take on the responsibilities of President of the American Academy of Health Physics (AAHP), I find myself grateful for the efforts of my predecessors who ensured a sound infrastructure with Bylaws, a Strategic Plan, Standard Operating Procedures, and best of all, 'Good Things To Know' documents for each of the Academy positions (thanks, Frasier!). These documents, in combination with the long-standing and exemplary support of the AAHP Program Director, Nancy Johnson, and an up-to-date, easily navigated website, have ensured smooth and consistent Academy functioning, in spite of regular rotation of people in key positions.

Because the infrastructure of the Academy is healthy, we can continue to focus on achieving the goals in the AAHP strategic plan:

• Maintaining a high-quality accreditation process as carried out by the American Board of Health Physics (ABHP).
• Providing educational opportunities for CHPs and other radiation safety professionals to maintain superior skills and knowledge.
• Maintaining high standards for the practice of health physics.
• Enhancing the value of certification, notably through title-protection efforts.

The ABHP exam process has been well supported over many years through the efforts of the Part I and Part II Panel Chairs, as well as the ABHP Chair and Vice Chair. Having served on both the Part I and II Exam panels, I can attest to the high level of effort put in by a broad spectrum of CHPs in support of the certification process. I can also say that being a member of these panels does wonders for keeping one's technical skills honed in areas that might not otherwise get exercised. If you haven't yet done so, consider volunteering for one of these panels-although they are a fair amount of work, satisfaction is guaranteed!

The Academy's title protection efforts have been collaboratively aligned with the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), and also address legislative situations as they arise (e.g., the State of Pennsylvania's Medical Physicist Licensure Bill which defines acceptable qualifications for the practice of Medical Health Physics). If you hear of issues in your state that could affect health physicists' ability to practice their profession, be sure to contact Tom Buhl, Chair of the Title Protection / Professional Recognition Committee, so the Academy can proactively engage in the discussion.

One area I would like to focus on this year is the AAHP Continuing Education courses. These courses are a key means for CHPs to keep current, and to learn about emerging technologies or topics they may not deal with in their day-to-day work situations. However, for these courses to be of maximum benefit, new courses are needed on a regular basis. If you know of a short course that might make a good continuing education course, I encourage you to contact Jim Willison, Chair of the Continuing Education Committee. Courses are 8-hours long, and are offered at both the mid-year and annual meetings.

In closing, I would like to extend a personal thanks to my immediate predecessors, Paul Stansbury and Dick Vetter, who have both been excellent stewards of the AAHP, as well as gracious coaches and mentors.

Please contact me or other members of the Academy's Executive Committee if you have ideas about how the Academy can serve our membership.