Looking forward, looking back: a celebration.

I want to thank the Academy for the opportunity to serve as President. There are so many talented, hardworking, deserving members of this wonderful organization that to serve as its President is a true privilege and honor for which I am deeply appreciative. For the past 2 years as President-elect, I served on the Executive Committee and experienced a steep learning curve. The Academy is a complex and extraordinary organization. It supports research, produces outstanding educational programs, publishes an internationally acclaimed professional journal, and is a champion advocate for children and adolescents. It is an excellent example of a volunteer-based organization with an outstanding productive membership, supported by a tremendous permanent staff led by Ginger Anthony. Thank you for all you do! I also want to acknowledge and thank my family: Lois, my wife and best friend, my daughters Kristen and Karen, their husbands, Fernando and Michael, and our grandsons, Chase and Connor. Our meeting this year continues the tradition of outstanding educational programs, thanks to Larry Greenhill, Bennett Leventhal, and the very hardworking Program Committee. This year’s meeting initiates our yearlong celebration of the Academy’s 50th Anniversary. Intertwined among our scientific program are many special presentations and events highlighting our history, with tributes to our founders, leaders, and members. Special thanks go to Norb Enzer and the “50th” Committee who assembled all the marvelous posters you will see on display and created our “Web book” of history and all of the various special presentations and events. A celebration is by definition a special occasion to mark the date of a notable event. Celebrations frequently involve ceremonies, solemn or festive, and are often on holidays when people refrain from ordinary business. In many ways, our annual meeting is a recurring celebration of our work as child psychiatrists. We come together refraining from our everyday ordinary business to learn, share, and have fun. Most celebrations involve looking backward and forward. Our celebration this year will do just that. We will look back at our history, follow the growth of the Academy, note the evolution of our identity, and survey our plans and hopes for the future. Our plans for the future are ambitious and critical for the health and well-being of the children, adolescents, and families in our country. As we begin our next 50 years, we have committed ourselves to three major initiatives: (1) our Campaign for Kids, (2) manpower shortages, and (3) maintenance of certification. Each of these initiatives is well underway and each group has made considerable progress. There exist an energy, enthusiasm, and focus that will make these initiatives successful. The Assembly, Council, our Workgroups, Task Forces, and Committees are working diligently, but we need every member’s commitment for these initiatives to come to fruition. Look, listen, and learn at this meeting, in our newsletter, at your regional organizations. The Academy is ready to challenge the future. We need everyone’s help, support, and contributions. In keeping with the theme of celebration, let me reflect on our history. Our Academy began in 1953 as a small, exclusive group of academic child psychiatrists. Membership was later opened to all child psychiatrists so that by our 25th Anniversary in 1978, the Academy had grown to about 3,000 members. Today we have more than 7,000 members. Our annual meeting began as a 1or 2-day event that included six papers, six workshops, and one panel, Accepted May 27, 2004. Dr. Sarles is with the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore. Reprint requests to Dr. Sarles, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, 701 W. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21201; e-mail: rsarles@psych.umaryland.edu. 0890-8567/04/4311–1315©2004 by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1097/01.chi.0000136564.02126.df