Ann Faris
2005-2006
President
| Meet the 2005-2006 NCMSA President, Ann Faris. “The NCMS Alliance of 2005 is not your mothers’ Auxiliary!” As I prepared for becoming the 2005 President of the North Carolina Medical Society Alliance I often wondered: What would our mothers’ Auxiliary have looked like in 1955? Would we find familiar bits and pieces in our mothers’ Auxiliary of 1955? Would they feel at home in our Alliance of 2005? To emphasize the dramatic change the NCMS Alliance has experienced, I chose to wear a poodle skirt and a Pink Ladies jacket to begin my installation remarks. I removed my 50’s attire to reveal our “Get Fit NC” t-shirt and compression shorts, and I replaced saddle oxfords with red running shoes to demonstrate that the NCMS Alliance, while being an organization on the move, is indebted to past leaders and members for leading the way to change.
As I look around this room, I see friends and mentors,
Friends and mentors who’ve guided me in the past and guide me in the present,
Friends and mentors who will guide me in the future.
You are all my friends and mentors. We will walk this path of Alliance together As I turn 55 this year of 2005, years with fives in them have provided me with “snapshots” that linger long after they’ve been taken. In 1955, I started kindergarten. In 2005, my granddaughter starts kindergarten.
As I prepared for becoming the 2005 President of the North Carolina Medical Society Alliance I often wondered: What would our mothers’ Auxiliary have looked like in 1955? Would we find familiar bits and pieces in our mothers’ Auxiliary of 1955? Would they feel at home in our Alliance of 2005? After all…this is not your mothers’ Auxiliary! In 1955, girls wore circle skirts and cashmere sweaters with scarves tied around their necks. In 2005, schools are choosing uniforms to keep preteens from wearing underwear as outerwear. In 1955, Play-Doh premiered as well as plastic frisbees. In 2005, a wireless play station is released so children can play video games that kill and maim in virtual reality without wires. In 1955, the Women’s Auxiliary to the Medical Society of the State of North Carolina was all female. In 2005, men play a prominent role in the Alliance.
OBVIOUSLY - This is not your mothers’ Auxiliary! In 1955, Auxiliary members in slim fitting shirtwaist dresses hummed along with the McGuire Sisters as they sweetly sang “Sincerely.” In 2005, “Alliance sisters of all colors” in loose fitting t-shirts and compression shorts shake their booties while walking or running to raise money to cure breast cancer and rid their thighs of the sweets they ate last week. In 1955, every physician’s spouse would have known all the other spouses, and they would have been a member of the Auxiliary because it was expected. In 2005, we struggle just to find out the home addresses of physicians so we can contact their spouses (if they are married)…and our potential members can expect multiple organizations to plead for their membership.
This is not your mothers’ Auxiliary! In 1955, the greatest medical challenges were communicable diseases – tuberculosis, polio, and measles. There were only a couple of insurance companies. Many people had no health insurance. Medicare did not exist. In 2005, some of our greatest medical worries are still communicable diseases - AIDS, Bird Flu, and bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics. There are only a couple of mega insurance companies. Many people have no health insurance. People worry whether Medicare will continue to exist. In 1955, Auxiliary members communicated by phone and hand-written letters delivered to the front door by the postman. In 2005, Alliance members communicate by email and instant message and rarely use the postman. The hand-written note is fading into the sunset. In 1955, Auxiliary members cooked family dinners, because if they didn’t cook, they didn’t eat. And they left a plate in the oven for the physician spouse when HE came home. In 2005, Alliance members select family meals from a host of food purveyors and leave a plate in the microwave for the physician spouse when SHE comes home.
With love and respect to those Auxiliary members who’ve gone before us – The North Carolina Medical Society Alliance is not our mothers’ Auxiliary! We face different but similar challenges and hard decisions.
We work very hard but have lots of fun.
We long for the “simple life” that really wasn’t so simple. Our life is complicated by too much information…too much of the day…in too many ways.We treasure our families…while striving to help others in need.
We are different in structure…but the same in our vision to help our fellow man. We are not our mothers’ Auxiliary…however we would not be the Alliance but for our mother’s Auxiliary that set our feet on the right path. I challenge you to be proud of your mothers’ Auxiliary and be even prouder of your Alliance. Thank you for the privilege of serving as president of the North Carolina Medical Society Auxiliary and now…President of the North Carolina Medical Society Alliance. Ann Faris
April 29, 2005 |
