I want to thank the members of the Pacific Coast Surgical Association for bestowing on me the honor and privilege of serving as your president. I have been a member of this esteemed association for more than 20 years. I recognized at my first meeting that it was the finest surgical organization that I could hope to join, and that its combination of collegiality, scientific inquiry, and social interaction was unparalleled. Serving as your president is a high point in my surgical career, and I hope that this meeting will live up to the long tradition of education and enjoyment that is the hallmark of the Pacific Coast Surgical Association.