First, let me thank you sincerely for the oppontunity to have served as your president this past year. As one "who came in from the cold," that is, not a long-term member of the Executive Board, I want to especially thank the Board; your Executive Director, Dr Jennison; and the excellent staff of the Academy; but most of all, your next President, Martin Smith, for a crash course in the workings of the Academy. You will have to be the judge of how well they taught me, but I can tell you they all gave me the full measure of their wisdom and experience. You, the American Academy of Pediatrics, have a fine staff and leaders, and in my view, the Academy is in great shape today. Let me first give you a brief review of some, but by no means all, of the highlights of the year 1985 followed by a final few suggestions for an agenda for the future. First: The successful completion of the "Growth for the Future Campaign" is a major achievement. This was largely due to the high membership participation and especially to the Chapter leadership. In addition, of course, the co-directors, Drs Strain and Blim, the corporate and foundation solicitors, Drs Wheatley and Burke, the development staff, and all who participated deserve a profound thank you. You should know that we raised more money than the American College of Cardiology did for their headquarters building in Washington and we pediatricians are the lowest income group of medical practitioners.
ROBERT J. HAGGERTY (Sat,) studied this question.