The Nectar of Your Endoscopic Spirit

Serving as president of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons has indeed been an honor and a privilege. I'd like to thank the members of the Society, all 5,950, who allowed me to represent them; and I would like to thank my wife, Becky Hunt, the mother of our two children and a busy radiologist, for her support, without which I would not have been able to accomplish what I have over the past decade. I'd like also to thank the Board, first for putting their trust in me, and, second, for finally having our annual meeting out west. It's taken seven long years, but we're finally here. I think it is particularly apropos that the Society has a western president during its first venture in this part of the country. As Dr. Kavic pointed out in his gracious introduction, I'm a true westerner. I also believe that we, the endoscopists of the nineties, are all "cowboys" in a metaphoric sense. We have truly been practicing in the frontier days of operative laparoscopy. So, in recognition of these unique circumstances, I thought I'd add a little western flair to my portion of the program.