Invitation Letter

Dear Colleagues:

In 2003, under the Presidency of Dr. David Schoetz, the American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons established a new committee of the Council of the Society to be known within the Society as the International Council of Coloproctology. This committee replaced the (previous) International Advisory Committee (of ASCRS) and will carry out the functions of that committee and the (previous) WCCP, with the addition of other expanded roles.

The activities of the committee are detailed in the letter from its Chairman.

A database has been developed, which by its very nature will be ongoing. It is our intention to communicate at intervals with every country having their own National Society and indeed with those who are in the process of developing their own. I apologize if there are any omissions which we will immediately rectify on notification (grahamnewstead@sydneycolorectal.com.au). Where known, this letter and accompanying documents will also be sent to the secretariat of your Society.

This letter is an invitation to you to consider yourself a Member of the committee, representing your (National) Society for the purposes of correspondence and communication and to be part of the activities which the ASCRS wishes to carry out within the wider international colorectal community, particularly in the process of educational opportunities.

The annual scientific meeting of ASCRS will be held May 15-19, 2010 at the Hilton Minneapolis Hotel & Convention Center, Minneapolis, MN. The program will be on line in March and can be accessed through the ASCRS website at www.fascrs.org. The International Council of Coloproctology will meet during the ASCRS Annual Meeting and details will be sent to you.

At this stage in the activities of the ICCP I want to highlight an important initiative of the ASCRS. We will offer a number of Travel Scholarships (in addition to the well established International Fellowship, previously "Scholarship"). These are offered on a 2:1 matching arrangement with the sponsoring National Society, ensuring "ownership" and involvement of your Society and, of course, an educational opportunity for colorectal surgeons in training. Documents available on this site further set out the details of this new program about which we are most enthusiastic and I hope you will feel the same.

I hope you find the accompanying information interesting and of value. I very much look forward to the possibility of meeting with you in Minneapolis and particularly to welcoming you and you organization into the activities of our committee.

Sincerely,

James Fleshman, MD
President
American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons