We’ve wrapped up this year’s AHRA annual meeting and I am humbled, honored, and excited to have stepped into the role of president for the upcoming term. Mario Pistilli, Becky Allen, and your AHRA Board of Directors have done an excellent job of strengthening our organization and I applaud them for their tireless efforts.

These are exciting times. I have been invigorated by the level of collaboration I have seen as AHRA and other organizations have come together like never before in a common goal to advance the medical imaging field. To be sure, there is more to be done, but the groundwork is in place to continue these collaborations and make us all stronger together. Our focus will be to continue this important work and strengthen the bonds we have created as we shine a broader light on all of medical imaging.

We also saw continued growth in attendance for the AHRA Annual Meeting, and once again had the most first-time and new member attendees in our history. Now more than ever AHRA needs leaders to step up and become involved. This year’s Annual Meeting attendance showed that you are eager to do just that. Through networking and collaboration, I encourage you to support the work ahead. In the coming year, we will continue to focus on building our membership and encouraging our strong community of leaders to become more actively involved.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the great success of The Living our Legacy campaign. The work by the committee and all involved was exciting to see. It will go down as one of the most successful campaigns of AHRA. I want to thank all our sponsors and individual contributors as well. This truly reflects the commitment and energy behind our continued efforts to work together and keep our industry strong.

At the Annual Meeting, I spoke about how important AHRA has been to my leadership journey. I have been blessed to encounter so many positive leaders who not only helped in my professional development, giving freely of their time and expertise, but also their friendship and support.

Our website says, “We are an organization that is seeking to continually become more diverse and more inclusive.” We want our organization to look more and more like home to everyone who joins AHRA. In the year ahead, we will encourage an environment where every member feels empowered to contribute and innovate. There will be many opportunities for everyone to get involved. Whether it is with our mentorship program, our Partners in Learning program, or on a taskforce or committee, we want your voice and expertise.

We will also continue to focus on our key initiatives of expanding our educational programs and content to ensure our members are getting the most value from AHRA. Through the Medical Imaging Matters podcast, Radiology Management articles, and LINK content, we will partner with industry leaders to bring the latest insights and developments to our members with topics like artificial intelligence, advanced imaging techniques, operational metrics, and leadership in healthcare.

I want to end by thanking everyone for what you do to make our organization what it is. As leaders, you are on the front lines of healthcare; ensuring patients are well cared for and ensuring your staff have what they need to take excellent care of their patients. Being part of AHRA is a chance to fill your toolbox and balance yourself so that you can continue to do that every day. Together, we can achieve remarkable things. Let’s go!

I look forward to serving as your president and working together with you in the year ahead.