Louisville Medicine Volume 65, Issue 2 | Page 10

EVENTS

Presidents ’ Celebration and 125 th Anniversary of THE GREATER LOUISVILLE MEDICAL SOCIETY

Robert A . Zaring , MD , MMM
day .
8 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
The following are Dr . Zaring ' s remarks from the 2017 Presidents ' Celebration

It is so good to see everyone today . I think we are going to have a lot of fun with today ’ s celebration . Remember , after this we are heading to the baseball park for the game and concert afterward . I hope you and your family really have an enjoyable

It feels like we should be having a big birthday cake in the middle of the room because we are celebrating the 125 th birthday of the society .
When you think of a birthday , you really are celebrating two things . First , the past year or years you have experienced with all your successes and how you may have gotten through your troubles , and second , the excitement for your future and the hope you have for what is yet to come . The same can be said about our society and today ’ s celebration . We are celebrating our past and our future .
We have much to be proud of when we think of our past . First , we can simply think of all the changes medicine has made since our founding in 1892 , and the Society is still here serving all of us . We have an active membership shown by your presence today . I want to thank you for that and I think you should give yourself a hand .
Through those 125 years we have had 117 presidents , and I know we have some past presidents here as well . We have seen two initiatives take off on their own , The Healing Place and Supplies over Seas . The Healing Place just continues to grow and is a real model to help with the scourge of addiction .
Supplies Over Seas , founded in 1993 by Dr . Norton Waterman and members of GLMS , has saved over 1.5 million pounds of medical supplies and equipment from landfills and delivered hope to communities in 91 countries .
Our successes though don ’ t end there . I would like to take a moment and discuss the GLMS Foundation . The Foundation is active in providing medical student scholarships , medical missions , and helping projects of GLMS . As a matter of fact , the Foundation is helping to support this celebration today .
As many of you know the Foundation also was in the past in charge of the upkeep of the Old Medical School Building . Early this year , the building was sold to the Ronald McDonald House . Thanks to excellent negotiating on the part of Dr . Reichard and the board , we now know the building will be protected and continue to honor our medical past as well as serve patients and their families . This will also open funds for the Foundation to be able to be even more active with GLMS and the Louisville community .
GLMS has also had many triumphs this year with the leadership of our Board Chair Bob Couch and our President John Roberts . We continue to have the Wear the White Coat Experience which has allowed numerous business leaders and politicians to understand what it is like being a physician . This program has allowed GLMS to be more influential in the community . We have