Rocky Mountain Neurosurgical Society

Winter Executive Meeting Agenda

January 20, 2024

The meeting was called to order by RMNS president Dr. Mark Mahan at 1:14 pm. Present in person were Dr. Mark Mahan, Dr. Justin Davis, Dr. Erik Parker, Dr. Joel MacDonald, Dr. Shervin Rahimpour and Allie Whipple. Present via zoom were Dr. John Clough, Dr. Brad Lega, Dr. Salah Aoun and Jessie Tarnow. 

Report of the President: Dr. Mahan expressed excitement over the 2024 meeting and appreciation for all executive members. Dr. Mahan announced the honored guest speakers for this year’s meeting; Dr. Jacques Morcos from UT Houston and Dr. Allan Belzberg from Johns Hopkins. Dr. Mahan notified the group that Dr. Morcos has a scheduling conflict at the beginning of the meeting and will arrive on Sunday. The scientific program will need to be scheduled accordingly. 

Report of the Vice President: Dr. Aoun has already secured four verbal commitments from vendors, including Nuvasive and Medtronic. The current vendor sponsorship levels were discussed multiple times throughout the meeting. A decision was made to increase the rates for each sponsorship level to adjust to the rising costs associated with the annual meeting. The Bronze level will increase from $2500 to $3000. The Silver level will increase from $4750 to $5500. The Gold level will increase from $7000 to $8000. No changes will be made to the package inclusions of each sponsorship level. There have been multiple requests over the past few years from companies to bring an additional rep to attend the meeting. Resistance has been met when asking the companies to increase their sponsorship to the next level. It was agreed to allow an additional rep to attend the meeting for a fee of $1500 (per each additional rep). All additional sponsorship opportunity fees will remain unchanged. The prices for these additional options were increased last year and only the welcome reception was purchased by a vendor. A proposal was made to sell vendor banners on the RMNS website and Dr. MacDonald will look into this option further. Dr. Mahan also suggested adding an additional sponsorship option for a vendor branded “welcome bag” containing corporate sponsored items that would be provided to attendees at check in. A beach style bag was proposed for this year’s meeting due to the warm climate location. A welcome bag will also be considered as an option for this year’s meeting. Dr. Parker sent save the date notes to vendors early last year, as well as thank you notes to vendors that supported last year’s meeting. It was recommended to continue seeking support early from vendors to ensure the 2024 meeting will be included in their fiscal year planning. It is predicted that attendance will be high for this year’s meeting due to the location and ease of travel. A goal of 20 vendors was proposed with the hopes of a higher number if possible. It was recommended that all executive members continue to work with their local reps to promote sponsorship of the meeting. 

Report of the Treasurer: Dr. Davis expressed concern about the current account balances. The Wells Fargo checking account currently has $10,978 available compared to $81,335 last year. There is a PayPal account also that has an estimated $2000 balance, but Dr. Davis has been unable to access this account. The account is funded through a link on the website and it was recommended to remove that link so the account can be terminated. Dr. MacDonald will work on removing this link and change the link to QuickBooks, which is already linked to the Wells Fargo account. There is approximately $12,000 of cumulative unpaid dues. It was recommended to increase the reminder email frequency to try and capture some of these fees. The AANS NREF funding is currently paid through 2022. $40,000 has already been paid to the La Cantera venue for the 2024 meeting. Taxes are currently being prepared for 2023. The need to increase the attendance of medical professionals was discussed as attendee numbers have dwindled over the years. Dr. MacDonald has the registration link prepared, but it has not gone live yet. Once all the available information for the 2024 meeting is finalized, the link can be completed and become active. 

  1. Current Account Balances
    1. Wells Fargo $10,978.72 ($81,335.47)
    2. PayPal $2,172.69?
    3. Total Assets  $13,151.41?
  2. Membership Dues
    1. 67 Active and 1 Associate Member(s) (70)
    2. Retired – Converted to Senior Status
      1. Robert Beatty
    3. 16 Members 3+ years behind in dues
    4. 29  (49) Members Paid Dues
      1. 2023 dues collected $4,375 (including new member fees)
      2. 28 paid by QuickBooks Invoice
    5. Unpaid Dues $12,075 (Includes past years unpaid dues)
  3. 2023 Annual Meeting
    1. Attendees
      1. 20 Members (17)
      2. 8 Non-members (3)
      3. 7 Residents (4)
      4. 4 Allied Health Professionals (5)
      5. 16 Exhibitors (25)
    2. Revenue: $112,148.00
    3. Expenses: $132,514.45
    4. Net: -$20,366.45   
  4. Overall Financials
    1. January 2023 $83,508.16
    2. January 2024  $13,151.41
    3. Net -$70,356.75
      1. $33,518.75 paid towards 2024 meeting 
      2. $5000 paid towards 2025 meeting
  5. Miscellaneous
    1. AANS NREF Funding
      1. $2500 annually x10 years (Paid 2017-2022 )
    2. Non-profit Corporation Status:
      1. Filed in Texas in 1974
      2. Reinstated in 2021
      3. 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.”
    3. Liability Insurance
      1. USLI (United States Liability Insurance Company)
        1. Annual Premium $1,726 paid for 2024
    4. Taxes
      1. Taxes filed for 2022 fiscal year
      2. 2023 taxes  in preparation

Report of the Secretary: The Fall newsletter was sent out in October. A preliminary Save the Date card was reviewed by the committee. Dr. Lega will work on obtaining the group code, which will be included on the card. Dr. Mahan provided the names of the Honored Guest Speakers, which will be updated on the card. It was recommended to add information about the social events, which were presented at today’s meeting. It was recommended in the Spring Newsletter to reinforce the meeting as a family friendly event to promote attendance. The Save the Date will be sent to the AANS for approval and then sent to the printers as soon as all information is finalized. The Spring Newsletter will go out in March, as usual. It was again discussed to push for early abstract submission to finalize the Scientific Program and meet the program submission deadline for the AANS. 

 

Report of the Website Administrator/Historian: Dr. MacDonald has finished updating the 2023 meeting on the website. Photos from the meeting and social events are available for viewing. He has ended the relationship with the website administrator and has been managing the website on his own. He does not anticipate any major website expenditures for this year. Paul Elliott had previously expressed interest in serving as the historian, but has been unable to fulfill this commitment. Dr. MacDonald has obtained the historical book from Dr. Elliott and will continue to serve as the Historian. A concern was raised that the Academic Cup has gone missing. Dr. MacDonald believes it was last awarded to Dr. Howard Morgan at the 2017 meeting. He will investigate the location of the cup and try to secure its presence for the 2024 meeting. 

Report of the Membership Committee: Dr. Shervin Rahimpour has applied for membership.  Dr. Evan Joyce has expressed interest in becoming a member once he is board certified. He has also expressed interest in serving on the executive committee. It was recommended that he be considered for the Scientific Program or Member at Large position for next year’s meeting. 

 

2023 Meeting

Local Arrangements Report:

Dr. Lega has been busy preparing arrangements for this year’s meeting. The meeting will be held at the La Cantera Resort and Spa in San Antonio, Texas. The room block has been solidified and 5 villa rooms were added per day. A block code is needed and Dr. Lega will work on obtaining that information. The opening reception will take place Saturday night per usual and will be hosted on the Sky View Terrace. Sunday night will be a BBQ dinner and family party at the Primero Terrace Cantina with lawn games and family friendly activities. Misters will also be arranged to keep guests cool. A photographer was also secured to take family photos at the event. The President’s dinner will be at the Jewel Box on Monday night. This year will be the first pickleball tournament and is being held at Chicken N Pickle. 4 courts are secured along with food and drinks for purchase. The golf tournament will be held at the resort and greens fees will be purchased by participants individually. It was recommended to forego box lunches for the golf tournament to save costs. The closing reception will take place in the Pallo Duro Room which offers a great view of the resort and has an outdoor patio. A local band has been secured for the closing reception. The resort offers shuttles to nearby attractions, including Fiesta Texas. Sea World is also a short drive away. It was proposed to check on potential group rates that could be offered to attendees for these local attractions. A tour of the Mission or the Alamo was also proposed. It was decided by the group to eliminate this activity to cut additional costs for transportation. A local guest speaker has also been arranged. The speaker is a music educator at UTSA and has won several teaching awards. It was recommended that the attrition rate for the hotel be determined and Dr. Lega will contact the resort to determine the rate. The room rate is $289/night and rooms are blocked for 2 days prior to and after the meeting. 282 room nights are blocked in total. The release date for the room block is 5/9/2024, which is slightly earlier than usual. It was recommended to push for early registration and this date will be noted on the Save the Date flier and Spring Newsletter.  The cost of social events was also discussed. It was recommended to keep the closing banquet costs the same ($150/adult). It was recommended to decrease the cost of the BBQ dinner from last year’s fee of $150/adult. Dr. Lega will check with the resort on an estimated cost for this event and a final price will be determined accordingly. 

Scientific Program/CME Report: Dr. Rahimpour will start working with the academic centers in the Rocky Mountain region to promote abstract submission and resident attendance. No resident talks should be scheduled on Wednesday to allow for the announcement of the Resident award winner at Tuesday night’s banquet. Offering 30 minute breaks daily was recommended to allow time with the vendors. The “star” raffle drawing will continue to be offered to promote foot traffic with the vendors. All abstracts should be submitted through the abstract center on the website. The deadline for abstract submission was set for April 15, 2024. 

 

Future Sites: 

    1. 2025: Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa. The Winter Meeting is taking place at this hotel for scouting purposes. Dr. MacDonald is hopeful that the cost of this Winter meeting will be less than the last few meetings that took place in Las Vegas. The hotel and facilities are adequate, but concern was raised if the rooms were adequate for guests. There was also concern raised if the resort had enough amenities for attendee entertainment. Dr. MacDonald was going to explore the nearby town before his departure to investigate other local entertainment options. The resort offers an “all-inclusive” package and a “European style” package. The all-inclusive would cost $222/person per night for adults, $50/night for kids aged 4-11 and $80/night for kids aged 12-17. This would include breakfast, lunch, pool side snacks and drinks. The opening reception, awards banquet and coffee breaks would be an additional cost. The European style package will be necessary as some vendors cannot attend a meeting at an all-inclusive resort due to company restrictions on alcohol.  It was felt that travel costs would be inexpensive to the resort as June is not considered high season. International travel was also discussed as a concern for vendor support, however, Mexico has less restrictions than other countries. A decision will need to be made by March 1st, 2024. 
    2. Dr. Parker has inquired with Snowbird and Big Sky for the 2026 meeting. Big Sky was quite expensive and would likely be out of budget. Snowbird requires a $35,000 food and beverage minimum. They would also require a rental fee for the meeting space, which has historically been waived by other resorts at prior meetings. It was recommended that if the meeting is in Utah, to decrease the room block quantity as most local residents would likely not stay at the resort and commute for the meeting. Inquiries were placed to other resorts as well, however, many resorts will not start any planning discussions until 1 year out from the event date.

 

Old/New Business: The meeting fees were discussed by the committee members. It was agreed to increase the price of the attendee fees for the annual meeting to accommodate the rising cost of the meetings. The early registration member fee will be raised from $650 to $750. The late registration member fee will raise from $750 to $850. Senior member registration fees will raise from $100 to $200. Allied Health Professional registration fees will raise from $450 to $500. The resident fee will remain unchanged. A motion was passed to change the bylaw of the Senior Member age from 65 years old to 70 years old and this was agreed upon unanimously. 

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 3:56 pm.