Minutes of KAMA Executive Meeting 2008

Attendees: Daniel Kim, M.D., In-Suk Seo, M.D., Bernard J. Park, M.D., Charles C. Kwak, M.D., S. Howard Lee, M.D., Mun Hong, M.D.

Approval of minutes of 5/31/08 meeting

President's report

Dr. Daniel Kim welcomed everyone to the meeting. He first reported the great success of the 26th annual Scientific Convention and thanked all the officers and attendees.

Dr. Kim then announced that he and Dr. John Kang were to attend the 59th WMA General Assembly in Seoul on October 1-18 in order to promote KAMA's mutual relationship with the KMA and other colleagues in Korea.

A report on the status of the 100-year book was given. The book is in its final stages with a target print date of end of December 2008. The last meeting was two weeks prior, and Dr. Kim reiterated KAMA's commitment to this important endeavor both in funding and information regarding Korean-American physicians in the U.S.

Plans for the KAMA Recognition Night are in full gear with the date set as January 10, 2009 with the location TBA in Manhattan. Attendees are to include the KAMA Scholarship recipients, KAMA members and officers and donors. The Chae-Chang Choi Award will be bestowed on Dr. In-Sook Song. Dr. Edmund Kim will attend for the official change of administration.

Dr. Kim announced that plans were ongoing to hire a new Executive Director for the Central Office. In addition, he negotiated a reduction in the current rent and detailed plans to revamp the physical layout of the office.

Dr. Kim discussed Han Eol, a program currently under the KASM (Korean American Sharing Movement), that selects 4 Korean medical students per year and awards a $2000 stipend to attend a 6-week rotation in the U.S. Han Eol consists of roughly 20 U.S. and 20 Korean members who contribute time and money to sponsor the students. The president, Dr. Jonathan Hwang, and board member, Dr. Isaac Kim approached KAMA to consider financial support and perhaps overseeing the program into the future. Support among the executive committee members present was mixed. Dr. Yong Kim mentioned that perhaps it is not the mission of KAMA to coordinate rotations for Korean medical students.

Vice-President's report

Dr. In-Suk Seo brought greetings from President-elect Dr. Edmund Kim, who was in Los Angeles at the Korean-American Mission. He announced that the 27th Annual Convention will be held December 5-8 in Houston, Texas with an emphasis in continuing the excellence of the scientific program.

Treasurer's report

Dr. Stanley Kim reviewed the financial Closing Statement provided by H. Timothy Woo, CPA for the time period 3/1/2008 to 10/4/2008. Total income was $125,494.84, the majority of which was from contributions ($89,320.84). total expenses were $79,877.10, the largest portion being the scientific convention ($40,598.08). After accounting for additional other expenses and income, the income was $44,033.74.

Convention report

Dr. Yong Kim gave a brief summary of the convention. The cruise to Bermuda was a great success with “beautiful weather and smooth sailing throughout the trip.” More than 60 physicians attended from diverse locations, such as California and Texas, as well as many honored colleagues from Korea. The scientific program was of high quality and well-attended.

Newsletter report

Dr. Kwok reiterated the intention for future versions of the newsletter to be delivered via email and posted on the website. Plans were laid out to attempt to get a final newsletter out before the end of the calendar year.

Journal report

Dr. Lee reported that his goal is for a November publishing date. He also asked the group for contributions and repeated his desire to become listed by Medline, but recognized this would require more frequent issues and higher level of peer review. It was not clear whether this would be feasible.

Scholarship report

Dr. Mun Hong announced that the KAMA Scholarship winners had all received their awards and thanked the members of the scholarship committee and those who donated to the KAMF. The committee discussed how the scholarship program may evolve in the future. Options included increasing the monetary amount and decreasing the number of awards given annually from the current number of 10.

Other Business

1. Dr. Daniel Kim discussed the fact that the KAMA website is in need of updating and maintenance. He announced plans to recruit someone at least part-time to work with the new Executive Director.
2. A Board of Directors meeting will be planned in the near future, although a date and time have not been set.
3. The next Executive Committee meeting will be determined by Dr. Edmund Kim.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted by

Bernard J. Park, M.D. Secretary General