President's message	March and April, 1997

As the new President of the AASP, I look forward to serving you and helping this organization move forward. Rome was not built in a day, and neither will we make massive changes in our organization. Hopefully with your help we can address issues that come up and be proactive in seeking solutions to ongoing problems that face our organization. As we set agendas for the coming year I want to remind you that this is your organization and I will seek to provide what the membership needs. Please call me (812-663-5731) with ideas you think the AASP needs to be looking at, not only in the coming year, but in the next 5 years.

Larry Rueff

Our organization is a truly dynamic one with challenges facing it. Swine practice is changing dramatically as the swine industry is restructured. This will have its impact on many practices throughout the United States. Help us seek solutions to maintaining that critical link between veterinarians and swine producers. The AASP faces the challenge of a potentially shrinking membership in the next 5-10 years. Your Executive Board and district representatives are seeking ways to continue to provide the quality benefits that come with being a member of the AASP while keeping our membership alive and dynamic.

One project I'm committed to for the next year is to improve the tools available to the practitioner to aid decision making. Obviously, swine practice is a mix of art and science -- we must not disregard the science in favor of art. We particularly need clarification on what to do with serology results. I shall appoint a committee to review this situation and hopefully bring some clarification to a pond that has often had some murky water.

I wish to thank Tom Neuzil for all his help and encouragement. Without the staff in Des Moines, whom many of you never get a chance to meet, we would not be able to have the smooth-running operation that we often take for granted.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not thank Dr. Tom Burkgren for all the hard work he put into organizing and getting the information together for the Program Committee. Thanks again, Tom, for a job well done!

I look forward to communicating with you over the next year and serving as your president. My phone number is 812-663-5731. Anytime you have a problem or a question, please feel free to call.