This is my last Chair Message as Scott Ballew will be your new Chairman starting January 1, 2004.   Being involved with the Houston Section has been a wonderful experience and I would like to thank everyone who made this an exciting and successful year.  

We have had many achievements this year to be proud of starting with our Continuing Education program.  This renowned program continues to set the standard for the whole IEEE organization-worldwide!  I would like to personally thank Paul Barrett and Roy Cosse, who continue to drive and grow this program.  It continues to run like a well-oiled machine.  Without their commitment and dedication, this program would not be where it is today. 

We had four outstanding Section meetings this year.   Each meeting was well-attended with the anticipation of enjoying a wonderful presentation.  And they certainly did!  If you were not able to attend a Section meeting, you certainly missed some wonderful and informative presentations.  But don’t fret; we expect to have some great presentations next year.  Many thanks go to our Programs Chair, Justo Benitez, for finding these presenters and making this all happen.

A major highlight of the year was the bon voyage party for Peri Ktonas thanking him for his many contributions to IEEE.  Peri has been a very active and dedicated IEEE member for more than twenty years and has done an outstanding job leading the EMBS.  While Region 5, and notably, the Houston Section, lost a very dedicated member, we have gained a new member, George Zouridakis who, I am sure, will continue to lead the EMBS to bigger and better things.     

And, of course, we have seen the continued success of our Scholarship Golf Tournament.  This year we built on the accomplishments of the last two years and I would like to thank Scott Ballew, for his dedication and efforts in making this year’s tournament another rousing success.  With the success of this year’s tournament, we will be able to award another five scholarships next year.  Earlier this year, the Section awarded five scholarships to some very deserving and, might I say, very appreciative students who were either IEEE members or related to an IEEE member.  The Executive Committee is always looking for ways to give back to the membership.  With Scott taking the reins as the Section Chair, I will assume this responsibility and will work with the Section to continue and grow this event.    

Finally, I would like to thank the entire Houston Section Executive Committee.  They have been tireless in their efforts and it was through their efforts that we have been able to achieve so much. 

It has been very rewarding serving you this year as your Chair.  It has been an excellent personal and professional growth experience for me and I greatly appreciate the opportunity.   I expect next year to be another great year with Scott Ballew at the helm. He will undoubtedly do an outstanding job leading us through the year ahead.