A Petition from ISTM Members

The following is a petition signed by 215 ISTM members. The petition contains ten recommendations for "clarifications and changes necessary for the continued health of our Society." Following the petition is a response from the ISTM President.

We, members of the International Society of Travel Medicine, recognize that our society has a bright future and enthusiastically look forward to our continued growth and maturation under the leadership of Dr. Bradley Connor as ISTM President. We also want to express appreciation for the efforts of all the past Presidents and Councilors who have worked over the years to bring us forward to this point.

The Society has grown in size and maturity and has reached a new and important level in its existence. To continue to develop, we recognize the need for clarifications and changes necessary for the continued health of our Society. These issues are as follows:

1. An open and democratic society where the membership not only plays an active role in the Society’s activities, but transparent operations, so that the activities of the Executive Committee are clear and open to all.

2. The need for a professional management company and/or executive director to run the daily administrative and financial operations of the Society, coordinate conferences, conduct elections, develop marketing and development projects, supervise the website and arrange financial audits of Society accounts on a regular basis. Operational transparency for the membership is essential.

   Brenda Bagwell must continue her well-respected role as Executive Assistant to the Society’s Executive Council. She should serve as liaison between the company and the Society.

3. Formal minutes should be kept of all Executive Committee meetings and telephone conferences and be available to the membership upon request or through a secure portion of the Society’s website.

4. Maintain and publicize the policies and procedures to assure open, timely and democratic voting for Council members and President. All positions should be open to any member in good standing and presented to the membership for voting, the counting of votes being done by the new professional management company. We recognize that an open and democratic process gives legitimacy, trust and hope in the future for our society. As in Article 6.1 of our By-laws all members have the right to vote yet article 8.2 states that nominees are chosen by the nominating committee: this should be a consistently open and democratic forum where all interested and qualified may run for this office. As part of this democratic process, there should be an alternative means of nominating officers.

5. Require term limits on Executive Committee positions. If no members are willing to fill vacant roles then the current members and the committee directors may continue until someone volunteers or another alternative solution is reached. As part of this revision/addition to the Society’s By-Laws, specify the procedures to remove Committee member(s) who the ISTM Membership feels is/are not performing adequately or in the Society’s best interests.

6. An ad-hoc committee should be established to review and recommend changes to the By-Laws.

7. Publish the By-Laws and the financial statement in the Journal of Travel Medicine as part of a regular issue or as a supplement the way other professional societies do. There must be transparency and easy access to our membership to this information. It may also be placed on the ISTM.org website. In the By-Laws article 6.1 there is no time frame; one needs to be established and it should be a realistic and appropriate one.

8. Publish the Business Meeting/Member Assembly minutes within 30 days of the biannual conference, rather than wait two years. This could be done via the web site. Minutes of Executive Committee meetings should be published within 30 days of those meetings concluding. They should also be available by print upon member request.

9. Create a Lifetime Membership option whereby a member in good standing can obtain lifetime membership by paying for the equivalent 10 years membership at a single time, as is common with other societies. This provides for additional revenue now, rather than later.

10. Make a concerted and dedicated effort to increase the membership of the Society and to keep members engaged and active in the activities of the Society. The Society exists for its members, and cannot thrive in by being passive. An active and open leadership will keep the Society moving forward towards our bright future.

Alan Spira
MD, DTM&H, FRSTM

[The petition was written and circulated by Alan Spira. The names of the 215 members who signed the petition is too long to reproduce here, but is available from the Secretariat.]

The ISTM President’s response to the petition:

October 15, 2003

Dear Alan,

First of all, I would like to commend you on the dedication and perseverance it must have required to circulate this document to the membership. I think anytime concerned Society members state their views, it is a good thing. As ISTM President it is gratifying for me to know that so many ISTM members care deeply about the future of the Society. As I read your document, I am struck by the message that members seem to be interested in the workings of the Society, want more opportunity for involvement, and are committed to the growth and prosperity of ISTM. I am in complete alignment with these views and during my tenure as President will do everything I can to further them. Many of the suggestions have already been implemented since our Executive Board Meeting in Montauk, New York immediately following CISTM8.

One of the problems with a Society which is self-governed and self-managed is that many of the day-to-day administrative functions are assumed by society members and officers. There are many members of our society who have been selflessly devoted to the ISTM, several since the inception of the Society in 1991. These members should be commended and thanked for their efforts. The society has reached a point of growth and maturity where professional administrative support is required. At the Executive Board Meeting, a decision was made to solicit requests for proposal (RFP) for an Executive Director. This will ensure checks and balances, transparency of operations, and allow ISTM officers, committee chairs, and members the ability to focus on policy issues rather than day-to-day functioning of the society. As an interim measure, I have empanelled a Finance Committee comprised of the President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, one Board member, and one non-Board member to oversee all financial matters of the ISTM including investments and contracts.

I agree with your suggestion that any ISTM member should have access to minutes of Executive Board meetings, business meetings, and bylaws, for example, and I welcome any constructive suggestions or comments based on the deliberations and outcome of these meetings. Members also need to have more clarity on the process for choosing committee chairs and nominations for office.

One of the major goals of my tenure as President involves membership issues. Specifically, I would like to increase our standing as an expert body and provide as much in the way of value as we possibly can for membership dues. The ISTM already provides incredible value for membership dues. For your dues you receive a subscription to the Journal of Travel Medicine, access to the new “Members Only” section of the ISTM website, participation in a very active ListServe, potential for involvement in the GeoSentinel emerging infectious disease network, a listing in the widely accessed and publicized ISTM Clinic Directory, discounted registration fees for ISTM conferences, availability of application for research grants, and involvement in the world’s only international organization devoted exclusively to travel medicine. Compared to the dues structure of other societies, members receive incredible value for their dues.

I would like all members to know that I welcome input and suggestions and my door (or at least E-mail box) is always open (bconnor@pol.net). Please feel free to contact me directly or through the ISTM Secretariat (istm@istm.org). Members should also be aware that NewsShare, which is published 6 times a year, is our main mode of communication within the Society. Suggestions and comments may also be sent to NewsShare in the form of a letter to the editor so all Society members have a chance to weigh in on issues of concern to members.

Thank you Alan for taking the lead in organizing these thoughts and thank you also to the members who have spoken here and elsewhere on behalf of a dynamic and vibrant ISTM. It will be of great help to me in my term as President knowing that I have the support of the membership in implementing these proposals.

With best regards,
Brad Connor, New York