I would like to take this opportunity to thank the WVSSAMT State Society for the privilege of serving as your delegate to the AMT National Convention held in Reno, NV, on June 26-July 1, 2006. The weather was great, the facilities were beautiful, and it was wonderful to see old friends and network with colleagues.
Educational sessions were very informative and presented by top-notch speakers. The keynote presentation, “Return to the Hot Zone”, by Colonels Jerry and Nancy Jaxx of USAMRIID, was a favorite of mine as they discussed the events from the book “The Hot Zone” and touched on Hollywood’s fictionalization of the event in the movie “Outbreak”. “Power Sleep and Peak Performance” by Dr. James Maas was a humorous presentation that opened our eyes to the sleep-deprived world and the importance of sleep in our lives. The EKG workshop on Monday was enlightening, but the Mock Trial on sexual harassment had to be the highlight of the week. We laughed as Jeff Lavender portrayed a male lab employee who was sexually harassed by his supervisor, portrayed by Kay Ferguson. Michael McCarty recruited two of his colleagues as plaintiff and defense council, and a local judge from Reno participated as the judge for the trial. The actors had all three lawyers breaking character and laughing as they presented their views, but the jury (made up of convention attendees – including our very own Kim Cheuvront) ultimately found the supervisor guilty.
The Welcome Party was a great time with a theme of “Jokers Wild”. John Sherer from Ohio won the West Virginia gift basket, and Kim won the basket from Minnesota. I participated on the Nominating Committee this year, and our nominees were presented at the Business Meeting. It was a very interesting experience to assist in the selection of candidates for National Board. At Resolutions, the Indiana State Society proposed a resolution to seat AHIs as delegates. This resolution was amended to also include CLCs. The resolution passed and will be considered by the Board as an amendment to the National ByLaws. Kim and I also attended the Editor’s Workshop, where it was announced a new Editor’s Manual was ready for distribution on July 1, 2006.
The Eastern District meetings for leadership and membership were very informative. Pam Kriegel, MT, Eastern District Councillor, announced that she will be stepping down from her position at the end of the year and encouraged members to consider applying for the council seat. Future sites for convention include:
2007 – Orlando, FL – Swan and Dolphin Resort
2008 – Providence, RI
2009 – Great Lakes District
At the National Business meeting it was announced that there were a total of 383 attendees at the Reno meeting. Board Members elected were Mary Burden, MT, and incumbent Charles Baker, MT. New National Officers for 2006-07 are:
President – Charles Baker
Vice President – Paul Brown
Secretary – Judy Smith
Treasurer – Nancy Barrow
The Dusty Rhodes LIFE Award was presented to Julia Hardcastle of Kentucky. Thanks again to all the members for allowing me to serve as your delegate and represent West Virginia.

Janet Crigler, MT(AMT)
Secretary, WVSSAMT