I'd like to call up current AANS president, Alex Vlahka, to introduce the incoming president. Thanks, Jerry. So there's still plenty of meeting to follow this session today, and sometimes our most interesting sessions and papers happen on Wednesday afternoon, but since we are wrapping up the final plenary session, I thought I'd make a few concluding comments. First, I'd like to thank everyone who actually made this meeting happen. Now, at the beginning of this meeting, I thanked everyone who planned it, and thousands of hours went into that, but besides planning, you need execution. And many people, some of whom you're aware of, some you aren't, made this happen, including, for example, Tim over here to my left, audiovisual, his boss Keith, Les working the camera right there, and his buddy Mark, all the people backstage and people at the AANS booth all over. So let's try to give them all a hand for everything they've done for us. Second, I'm delighted to report that the AANS has survived my year as president. When I started, I figured if the organization is still standing in a year, I'm going to claim victory. So it is, and I am. And finally, third, and most importantly, I'm delighted to report that you all are getting an upgrade for your president. I don't know, once I first met Shelly, it seems like I've known her forever, and every time I get involved in a new project or task force or group and I go to the first meeting or start reading the emails, I find out she's already there, and she's usually leading the group. She has a huge breadth and depth of experience in neurosurgery. She has an excellent sense and experience of how neurosurgery fits in with other medical organizations. And she's always very calm and thoughtful, inclusive, yet very decisive. So I think we're going to have a great year in 2018-2019. So I'm delighted to introduce Shelly Timmons. Thank you, Alex. I won't keep everyone very long, but I do want to thank you for your enduring leadership and your mentorship and friendship to me through the years. And congratulations on a fantastic meeting and a fantastic year. I think you've been an excellent steward of our resources, of our society, and have shepherded us into a new era. For those of you who don't know, Alex initiated a new strategic plan for our organization in his year as president-elect and handed that off to me to implement some of those changes, which I think will be big improvements in our efficiency and our effectiveness in serving you, our members. So I look forward to a very busy year. I will work diligently on behalf of the society and the organization and work closely with our executive committee, our board, our committees, and our professional staff in the Rolling Meadows office, who has always supported us throughout the year to bring you fantastic meeting and member benefits throughout the year. Dr. Grant will be my scientific program committee chair for a meeting next year in San Diego in April. We hope you will join us. The theme will be the science of practice, and we look forward to hosting you there as well. Dr. Grant has a few announcements for us for this afternoon. Thank you very much. Congratulations, Shelly. Congratulations, Alex. And Fred Barker, thank you for all your hard work and passing the baton. Just a reminder of the rapid-fire abstracts. These are right outside to the left. You'll see two booths out there with cerebrovascular and tumor in one, and then neurotrauma, pediatrics, and stereotactic functional. So when you leave, just grab your lunch and just go to the left of the booth for the rapid-fire abstracts from the next hour. So thanks for your attention. Safe travels home.

AANS president

incoming president

meeting

neurosurgery

leadership