June 17, 2009

To SDMS Members, Sonography Educators, and the Sonography Community:

As you know, the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) has been a leader and innovator in the sonography profession for almost 40 years. Today, SDMS serves more than 21,000 members in more than 35 countries.  You may have heard last month that the Board of Directors of the SDMS Educational Foundation announced its formal separation from its long-time affiliation with SDMS and changed its name to the International Foundation for Sonography Research and Education (IFSER).  To avoid further confusion, the SDMS Board of Directors has authorized the formation of the SDMS Foundation, a new charitable entity that will be permanently associated with the SDMS to support educational and research programs in the sonography community.

The SDMS Board of Directors is committed to ensuring that the new SDMS Foundation operates with full transparency and remains focused on its mission.  The SDMS Foundation will operate in a manner similar to the SDMS, where sound financial policies and financially conservative investment strategies carefully protect the monies entrusted to the SDMS Foundation by our members and the sonography community.  We are confident that the new SDMS Foundation will receive widespread support from SDMS members and the entire sonography community to sustain its mission of providing programs that benefit the sonography community and the patients we serve.

A charitable foundation is an important resource for students and sonographers who need financial assistance for tuition and books, whether for initial education or to continue and advance their professional development.  Educational grants to attend the SDMS Annual Conference can also engage students from the very beginning of their careers to become dedicated and loyal professionals.  With employers far less likely to provide financial support to sonographers for continuing education, grants can help defray the cost of attending the SDMS Annual Conference while providing an important opportunity to refresh and expand their knowledge, to network with sonographers from across the world, and to learn about the latest technological advancements.

Over the next few months, the SDMS Foundation will also be working hard to establish new scholarships, grants and other educational and research initiatives in support of the new SDMS Foundation’s mission.  Today, we are seeking input from you on the needs of the profession and how the SDMS Foundation might help meet those needs.  If you have any ideas or suggestions, please send them to us at: foundation@sdms.org.  We will keep you informed as new programs and initiatives become available from the SDMS Foundation. In addition, be sure to stop by the SDMS Pavilion in the exhibit hall at the 2009 SDMS Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, October 15-17, 2009, to learn more about the new SDMS Foundation.

Sincerely,

Shannon Boswell, BS, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, FSDMS President, Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography	Charlotte Henningsen, MS, RT, RDMS, RVT, FSDMS President-Elect, Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography