It was a great night to be at Convocation during the APA Annual Meeting in San Fransisco! At the event this week, Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association was proud to have had 9 members recognized with the highest level of membership in the American Psychiatric Association.  Distinguished Fellows honored at Convocation were Drs. Margaret Baier, Charlotte Hutton, Arwen Podesta, Mehdi Qalbani, Lee Tynes and Mark Zielinski. Others having received the honor of Distinguished Fellow this year but not able to attend were Drs. Dean Hickman and Venugopas Vatsavayi. Receiving Distinguished Life Fellow status at the event was Dr. Mark Townsend reaching this prestigious milestone membership level.

This group adds the distinction of APADF and APADLF to their credentials which represents APA's highest possible member achievement. We are very proud of them and appreciate their contributions to the field of psychiatry!

The votes are in and the American Psychiatric Association announced the election of Dr. Mary Jo Fitz-Gerald as Recorder! Dr. Fitz-Gerald has been a leader of the Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association most recently as Assembly Representative. She has also served as past President, Presidential Advisor, Ethics Chair, Newsletter Chair, Public Relations Chair and continues to participate on the CME Planning Committee and the Nomination’s Committee. We cannot thank her enough for her hard work, effective leadership and dedication to the membership and the field of psychiatry. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Fitz-Gerald in her new position as Recorder for the APA!