WOA Presidential Address Given at Convention 2011 - Dr. Jeff Sarazen, 2012 WOA President
I would like to begin by thanking my friends and colleagues for giving me the honor to serve as your WOA President in 2012. I have been a devoted member of the WOA and AOA for many years, and moving through the leadership ranks has been an amazing journey for me personally and professionally. Thank you.
For those of you who do not know me, my name is Dr. Jeff Sarazen. I practice in Wausau, Wisconsin with my partners Drs. Chris Marquardt and Raymond Goga. Those of you that do know me, you know that I am a runner, and NOW seems like a good time to take off! I would like to thank current WOA president Dr. Lisa Slaby for her hard work and guidance. Having worked closely with Lisa this year has been truly inspirational, and I am proud to call her a friend and colleague.
I would also like to thank our previous and current WOA leaders. As I look around the room, I see many of our previous leaders here today, and I know firsthand how you had to sacrifice with work and family to fulfill your duties. I am honored that our current leadership has the confidence in my abilities, and I know that our association will be in great hands for many years to come. This is truly a group of dedicated volunteers.
I want to give a special thanks to our WOA staff: Executive Vice President Mr. Peter Theo, Associate Director Dr. Chuck Brownlow, Director of Member Services Ms. Joleen Breunig, and Director of Communications Mr. David Bobka. This is truly an ALL-Star team! Thank you!
Many of our coworkers and staff are here today. I would like to thank them as well for being so understanding when I have to rearrange and reschedule patients and have to take interrupting telephone calls. Most of all, however, I’d like to thank them for not complaining when I constantly use up all of the paper in the printer!
Finally, but most importantly, I would like to recognize my family that is here with me today; my wife Cherri, my son Sean, and my daughter Marni. I would like to thank them for being here and being so supportive, as my WOA duties have caused me to miss my fair share of family events, including the College Soccer Showdown in Iowa, the WI state gymnastics, and National Gymnastics competition in Ohio this year. Your support means everything.
2012 will be a year of milestones for me. First of all, I will be half of a century old. When I started seeing patients in 1987, I often heard "Are you sure you are old enough to be a doctor?" I used to get a bit defensive, but now I long to hear those words again. 2012 also marks 25 years of marriage to my beautiful wife Cherri and 25 years as an optometrist. Sometimes I think I am married to both.
Looking ahead, I realize the challenges our profession and association faces. Issues such as membership recruitment and retention, managed care reform, implementation of the Federal health care reform law, and of course, the most important function of our WOA and AOA, ADVOCACY. The reason I joined the WOA was simple. I knew the only organized advocacy for our profession is the WOA and AOA. If not them, who? What other organization is created for the sole purpose of defending and advancing the profession of optometry? There is no other organization. We owe it to our profession, our individual practices, and our patients, to maintain a strong, vibrant and financially sound organization. I believe each and every one of us must step up at one point and volunteer to either be part of the leadership and/or volunteer within the WOA structure. This is why I stand before you today. It is my duty, my responsibility, and my time. I promise to do my best to prepare our profession and association for these challenges ahead.
