A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT hd~ry~~ L. V’Dor~tsell, R.N.

Now that most vacations are over aud local AORN chapter meetings are again in full swing I wish to bring you up to date with news from Headquarters office.

I am very happy to be able to anuounce the formation of the one hundredth chapter of our Association. Since official recognition took place last May 15, this announcement may seem a little belated but such an occa- sion must surely not be passed by without a public salute. We are proud of Number 100, the AORN of Northwest Arkansas, at historic Fort Smith, and congratulate its President Mrs. Dorothy Fenwiek and her officers for helping us to reach this milestone.

Since that time, eleven more chapters were received into the “family” in the following order: the AORNs of Southfield, Michigan; Southwest Louisiana, at Lake Charles; Phoenix and the Valley, Arizona; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Western Michigan, in Grand R a i p d s; Southeastern Massachusetts, in New Bedford; Utah, in Salt Lake City; Central New York in Syracuse; San Fer- nando Valley, California; Saginaw Valley, Michigan; and Northeast Florida at Jack- sonville.

To have attained this number of chsapters in such a relatively short period of time is a real tribute to you as members. It means a stepped-up desire to unite and work to- gether to maintain your Association and

promote its high professional standards of operating room nursing. We welcome all our new chapters, and the great numbers of members-at-large who are new in the Asso- ciation. We sincerely hope that by your membership in AORN you will be rewarded with the exchange of knowledge, ideas and

experiences which you are seeking iu the field of your choice.

While it pleases me greatly to greet you with the news of our continued growth and enthusiasms there are times when one must also bring to you a message of a sad nature. Miss Doris Pagano, our Executive Director for the past two years, submitted her resig- nation to the Board of Directors and left our midst in July. During the time spent with AORN, Miss Pagan0 worked tirelessly to build up the membership. Under her di- rection the increase in number of chapters has almost doubled. Those of you who were able to attend the past two Congresses real- ize that much of their success was due to the excellent pre-planning of the Executive Director. Her sincere devotion to the mem- bers of the AORN and to its purposes is clearly represented in its remarkable growth. It is with regret that your President and members of the Board of Directors make thi,s announcement. We all thank her for her splandid work in the past and wish her the utmost success in any future endeavor.

Srpt-Ott 1966