Rocky Mountain Neurosurgical Society
2024 Summer Executive Board Meeting
June 15th, 2024
La Cantera Resort
San Antonio, Texas

The meeting was called to order by RMNS president, Dr. Mark Mahan at 1403.

Dr. Brad Lega, Dr. Mark Mahan, Dr. Justin Davis, Dr. Eric Parker, Dr. John Clough, Dr. Shervin Rahimpour, Dr. Joel MacDonald, Dr. Salah Aoun, Dr. Wissam Asfahani, Allie Whipple and Jessie Tarnow.

Dr. Mahan proposed an approval of the Winter meeting minutes, which was agreed upon unanimously.

Report of the President: Dr. Mahan expressed excitement about the 2024 meeting and beautiful venue space at La Cantera. The guest speakers, Dr. Allan J. Belzberg and Dr. Jacques J. Morcos, will be presenting a variety of topics that should be interesting to all attendees. The AANS announced earlier this year that they have been placed on an 8 month probation period. As of yesterday, it was announced that they will not be offering any joint sponsorship for 2025. For the 2025 meeting, we will investigate options for sponsorship with the CNS or through a university based program to determine the most affordable alternative CME option. The Winter meeting is traditionally held in January, but it was proposed to hold the meeting in October or November this year to get the ball rolling on the 2025 meeting planning earlier. This was agreed by all board members present and Allie will send out a poll to check dates and location preferences among the executive board members. Suggestions were made to host the Winter meeting in Denver, Puerta Vallarta, Phoenix or Salt Lake City. It was also proposed to have the meeting virtually, for cost savings, however the majority of the board felt the meeting was more productive when held together in person. The meeting date and location will be set after the poll results are received.

Report of the Vice President: Dr. Aoun reported a total of 20 vendors for the 2024 meeting have been secured. 3 gold packages, 3 silver packages and 14 bronze packages. He felt there was a good response from vendors, despite the increase in vendor package prices for the meeting. No additional sponsorship opportunities were selected by vendors this year. A suggestion was made to offer a “Platinum” level, which would include all of the gold package features, plus sponsorship of the opening reception. Another suggestion was made to offer vendor sponsorship of the golf tournament next year. Final decisions on the 2025 vendor sponsorship packages will be decided upon at the Winter executive board meeting. It was suggested to start working with vendors on securing sponsorships as early as possible for next year’s meeting. Continued support from all executive board members is needed to obtain vendor support.

Report of the Treasurer: Dr. Justin Davis
1. Current Account Balances
a. Wells Fargo $68,492.95 ($10,978.72)
2. Membership Dues
a. 67 Active and 1 Associate Member(s) (68)
b. 17 Members 3+ years behind in dues
c. 38 (33) Members Paid Dues
i. 2024 dues collected $6,800 ($4,375)
ii. 35 paid by QuickBooks Invoice
d. Unpaid Dues $14,275 ($12,075)
i. $2,200 new unpaid dues from this year
3. 2023 Annual Meeting
a. Attendees
i. 20 Members (17)
ii. 8 Non-members (3)
iii. 7 Residents (4)
iv. 4 Allied Health Professionals (5)
v. 16 Exhibitors (25)
b. Revenue: $112,148.00
c. Expenses: $139,738.45
d. Net: -$27,590.45
4. Overall Financials
a. January 2024 $14,017.03
b. June 2024 $68,492.95
c. Net $54,475.92
i. $54,144.64 paid towards 2024 meeting
ii. $5000 paid towards 2025 meeting
5. Miscellaneous
a. AANS NREF Funding
i. $2500 annually x10 years (Paid 2017-2022 )
b. Non-profit Corporation Status:
i. Filed in Texas in 1974
ii. Reinstated in 2021
iii. Periodic Report Filing “A nonprofit corporation is required by law to file an informational report not more than once every four years upon request by the secretary of state.”
c. Liability Insurance
i. USLI (United States Liability Insurance Company)
1. Annual Premium $1,726 paid for 2024
d. Taxes
i. Taxes filed for 2022 fiscal year
ii. 2023 taxes in preparation

Dr. Davis expressed concerns about the overall financials and needing to be budget conscious going forward. He plans to send out membership dues/notices in October or November. He felt capturing yearly membership costs improved from prior years. The Alaska meeting was a loss of approximately $30,000, which may take several meetings to stabilize funds. The paypal account is no longer being used and all accounts are now linked to Wells Fargo.

Report of the Secretary: Dr. Clough reported the newsletters and the save the date were sent out per usual routine. He inquired among the group if sending out these items was still supported. It was decided to change the Fall and Spring Newsletters as an email distribution. We will continue to send the STD fliers through the mail. It was recommended to send a save the date flier to all program administrators in addition to a flier for distribution among residents. The topic of starting a social media account was also discussed and this will continue to be considered. It was proposed and agreed to send a letter of congratulations out to all graduating residents with an invitation to the 2025 meeting, as well as an RMNS application.

Report of the Website Administrator: Dr. MacDonald reports that he has recaptured all ownership of the website now and feels he is able to maintain the current content. All ties have been severed with the prior website contractor and Joel has established contact with all companies connected to the website. He has spent some time reorganizing the site and feels there is good/accurate content. He has wired the dues payment to the website and feels this process is working seamlessly. Dr. MacDonald has asked that any photos from the meeting be sent to him to update the website. He does not feel there are any new expected expenses for the year. Dr. MacDonald did discuss the topic of membership fees and what the $150 membership fee provides members. Discussion was made regarding starting a member group email chain that could include case reviews, patient care coordination across states, etc. It was agreed upon by all members that better and more frequent communication was needed and how to achieve this will continue to be brain stormed. Dr. MacDonald will add to the website a highlight for the new members, welcoming them to the society.

Report of the Historian: Dr. Macdonald had no new business to report.

Report of the Membership Committee: Three new members have applied for membership to the society. All three were approved for membership unanimously and will be presented at the business meeting this week.
Dr. Joseph Driver
Dr. Thomas Tyler Patterson (PGY-5, associate member)
Dr. Ramesh Grandhi

2024 Annual Meeting: Dr. Lega reported excitement about the 2024 meeting. The room attrition was unfortunately a high cost for this year’s meeting, but he is hopeful that by the end of the meeting the final attrition cost will not be as high as anticipated. To cover the unanticipated costs of this year’s meeting, it was decided to cancel the open bar for the BBQ event and the awards banquet and host a cash bar instead. The misters for the events were also cancelled to save cost. Dr. Lega felt the total cost for the meeting would be $74,000.

Scientific Program Report: Dr. Rahimpour felt there were good abstract submissions for this year’s meeting. He did advertise the conference on twitter and the Utah University account also retweeted the meeting information as well. Some interest came from the social media presence, but he did not feel any abstract submissions came from the social media advertising. Graduation continues to conflict with the meeting date, but there is good attendance from Utah and UT residents this year.

CME Accreditation Report: Allie Whipple, AGACNP-BC – The 2024 meeting is approved for 11.75 CME through the AANS. Again, options for CME accreditation for the 2025 meeting will be explored through CNS or a university based program.

Future Sites: The 2025 meeting will take place in Puerta Vallarta and Dr. Joel MacDonald is preparing the local arrangements for the meeting. The Winter Exec meeting took place at the resort and consensus was that the resort was a reasonable location for the meeting. There is a spectacular pool located in close proximity to the beach. 275 room nights are anticipated. An all-inclusive option was explored, but is not a viable option as some attendees and vendors are not able to attend meetings at all-inclusive resorts. There will be three different room choices ranging from $94-$189. Dr. MacDonald felt the resort has plenty of space for the meeting and vendors. Food cost should be reasonable. He reports there is a 5-10 minute walking distance to town in the Marina District. He feels this is a safe area for exploring. The budget is anticipated around $80,000. A goal of 18 vendors and 35 attendees was set for 2025 meeting. Dr. MacDonald reports there are several restaurants available for hosting guests. He anticipates hosting the opening reception by the pool. There is a nice outdoor area where the closing banquet could be held. He will look in to the possibility of a tent, if this is a reasonable cost. He reports the spa is quite nice, pickleball courts are available on site and there is a golf course as well. It was suggested to offer additional excursions for attendees – deep sea fishing, surfing and a catamaran cruise were all discussed as potential options to explore. There may be a few vendors who are unable to travel internationally, but it was felt that this shouldn’t have a large impact.

The 2026 meeting will be hosted by Dr. Parker as the local arrangements chairperson. He has been in talks with Snowbird as a potential meeting location. No official talks can take place until 1 year from the event date. Other locations were also suggested as potential sites; Grand Summit in Park City, Park City Hotel, Mayflower and Solitude. Lowering the room number allotment for a Utah based meeting was suggested as many attendees may drive to the meeting instead of staying at the hotel.

2024-2025 Executive Board appointments were discussed. Current appointments and continuing in term are:
President: Dr. Erik Parker
Secretary: Dr. John Clough (1 more year in term)
Treasurer: Dr. Justin Davis (1 more year in term)
Historian: Dr. Joel MacDonald
Local Arrangements: Dr. Joel MacDonald
Nominating Committee: Dr. Mark Mahan, Dr. Brad Duhon, Dr. Joseph Sramek
Website Administrator: Dr. Joel MacDonald
Dr. Evan Joyce was suggested for consideration on the executive board. It was recommended that he submit an application for membership first, then could be considered for the executive board at that time. Another suggestion was made to keep the Scientific Program chair in position for 2 years, then transition to the Vice President position. Dr. Ramesh Gramdhi was suggested for consideration as the SPC. Dr. Shervin Rahimpour was suggested for consideration of the VP position. Dr. MacDonald volunteered to continue all current positions. Dr. John Clough was nominated for the President Elect position for 2025 and President in 2026. Dr. Brad Lega was nominated for CME committee. Final voting will take place at the business meeting on Tuesday.

Dr. Mahan made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 1553 and this was agreed upon unanimously