Your COA / Votre association
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At the end of the day we have the recording of Mr. Kennedy and he seems to have said it best. We need to adopt the same concept for the future of our Association – Avancer, Ensemble – Moving Forward, Together. Our Association needs each and every one of you to be engaged! Your future and the future of our Association depends on it. I have many individuals to thank. Thank you to Rick and Mary, my parents who grew up on family farms, their ashes now interred in Toronto close to my home much to their chagrin I am sure. Thank you to my friends and family for putting up with me. Thank you to the orthopaedic industry for supporting our Association and for the rich symbiotic constructive relationship we share with you. Thanks to my teachers and students for inspiring me. Thank you to my patients for their trust. Thanks to my colleagues for helping me with patient care over the years.
A special thanks to the COA staff made up of Meghan Corbeil, Trinity Wittman, Cynthia Vezina and Doug Thomson. In the fall of 2000, I was Secretary of the COA and Cecil Rorabeck was President. The preceding Executive had decided that we needed a new CEO so we did not have one. There were very dark days as we searched for a CEO. Cecil and I relied completely on Cynthia to keep the Association’s lights on and we lived in mortal fear that she would quietly leave and send us the office key in the mail. Fortunately for all of us, Cynthia stayed and Doug was appointed. Thank you for all your contributions and the stability that has allowed our Association to grow in so many ways. Thank you to our hard-working Committee Chairs and Committee Members. I thank each and every one or you for attending this meeting and for your contributions to our Association now and in the future. And finally, last but not least, I thank Barb McArthur.
Active Members – Your COA Membership Just Got a Whole Lot More Interesting! Cynthia Vezina Manager, Membership Services & Communications Canadian Orthopaedic Association
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n a direct response to your request for added value, Active membership within the COA will soon include additional advantages beginning with easier access to our premier educational event. Under the new membership dues structure being introduced in 2016; Active members will no longer be required to pay pre-registration fees when attending a COA Annual Meeting. How will this work? In order to be eligible for the waived registration fees, you must first pay your 2016 Active membership dues invoice as well as any other outstanding past invoices in your account. Upon receipt of your dues payment, your pre-registration fees for the 2016 Annual Meeting will be automatically waived when you register for the Québec City Annual Meeting. Remember that you will also need to register for the Annual Meeting prior to the pre-registration cut-off date. Fees for later registration or onsite registration for all membership categories still apply regardless if you have already paid your membership dues or not. The only additional charges you will incur during the preregistration period are through purchasing optional ICL tickets, workshops and social event tickets offered at an additional fee.
COA Bulletin ACO - Fall / Automne 2015
When will this take effect? In early January after the holiday break, we will send you an e-mail notification that includes a link to your 2016 invoice. You can go ahead and pay your membership dues upon receipt of this notice. Annual Meeting pre-registration will also open earlier than usual next year and will be available in early January at www.coaannualmeeting.ca. If you try to register for the Annual Meeting without first paying your membership dues, the system will alert you and redirect you to the COA’s Membership Portal where you can pay your dues invoice online. Once your payment has been processed, you can follow the links back to the registration system and complete your meeting registration. The next edition of the COA Bulletin will include a detailed ‘how to’ article outlining the various steps you should follow from log in, to payment of your dues, through to completion of your meeting registration. But wait! I don’t go to the COA Meeting every year! Even if you attend an Annual Meeting once every three years, you are still gaining value. Early bird registration fees for Active members were previously $550, while the regular registration rates were $700. Your $985 membership dues payment will now cover your pre-registration fee for the given year’s meeting. We hope that the inclusion of your pre-registration fees within your annual dues will encourage you to attend the COA Annual Meeting more often.