UOAA UPDATES are our way of communicating to our members what is happening throughout the organization.

It is our hope that this information will be passed on to your members by including it in your newsletters or by discussing it at your local support group meetings. We continue to look forward to working with you and to being an active resource to ensure your success.

MARCH 2012 UOAA UPDATE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

Well, it seems from our recent weather that spring is right around the corner. The UOAA has been busy and would like to tell all its members of some of the recent developments that have and are occurring. Our NEW Board of Trustees has met and it was quite a rewarding and eye opening meeting. Our expert group of corporate people gave us some tremendous insight into how to reach our members better and in what ways we can assist our ASGs and grow as an organization. The members of this new board are listed below in alphabetical order: ASCRS (American Society of Colon Rectal Surgeons) . Dr David Beck Coloplast Ed Veome ConvaTec Nimisha Savani Edgepark Medical.. Scott Effertz Hollister Incorporated.. Dan Yrigoyen Nu-Hope Laboratories.. Brad Galindo WOCN Society Margaret Goldberg This board is headed up by our own Past President, Ken Aukett, former board member, George Salamy and I, as President of UOAA, am also honored to serve on this board. We look forward to their expertise and guidance and hope that between us we can move our organization forward. Last week you all received several Press Releases and you may be wondering why we feel that these mailings are important. We believe that in order to serve our ASGs better, we must inform them as things come up on a current basis. As we all know information is always the key to success and we want to get that information to you all in a timely manner. One issue that we need to address since I have had a number of comments about these mailings is the paid advertisements. This information is NOT to push a product on you, but rather to inform you of a new or altered device that many benefit you. I understand that some of you consider this an intrusion from an advertiser, but what we are trying to do is share that information with you all so you can inform your members and see if it can benefit anyone in your group. From now on, whenever we send one of these ads we will put the note Advertisement in the subject line. You can then choose to open it or not. One further item that I would like to bring to your attention is that October 6, 2012 has been designated World Ostomy Day/Ostomy Awareness Day. In honor of this event we are designing commemorative bracelets for our members and well be sharing more about this within the next few weeks.

LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP
On May 18 & 19th the UOAA will be holding a Leadership Workshop at The Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center in Waterbury CT. For anyone in the CT area, that leads a group or is a member of a local group, this workshop is a wonderful way to learn how to enhance your local group with tips and tricks for meetings, membership retention, how to get your local docs and nurses involved in your group & how to keep your group alive and kicking! For more information see the attachment labeled Leadership Workshop.

UOAA SOCIAL BLOG

Did you know that we have our own social blog? We regularly post survey links, interesting stories, news articles, and so much more on the UOAA Social Blog! You can find our blog at blog.ostomy.org.

GREETINGS FROM YOUR AFFILIATED SUPPORT GROUP ADVISORY BOARD

There are 6 categories under the PURPOSE paragraph of the UOAA Constitution that sets out what the UOAA is about. One of those has to do with what I talked about in the February UPDATE. Here it is: UOAA is organized to encourage the highest possible standards of surgery, medical attention and patient aftercare, and to assist tis Affiliated Support Groups to help rehabilitate CD/Ostomates, thereby enabling the people they serve to achieve the highest quality of life attainable. I want to briefly highlight the last portion of the last sentence: Enabling the people they serve to achieve the highest quality of life attainable. That statement is and always will be my purpose and that of my group. You see, most of the time when a person has surgery and is released, who do they have to depend on to help them achieve the highest quality of life that they once possessed prior to surgery? The answer is simple the local Affiliated Support Group! The local support group has the ability through your support to help and that should be one of your purposes for your group, if not the most important one! We are here, UOAA Management Board of Directors and the Affiliated Support Group Advisory Board to support you, the local support group, in carrying out this purpose. Jim Moore, Chair ASG Advisory Board doubleedge@centurytel.net 501-837-7225

FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

Follow the UOAA on Facebook and Twitter. Currently we have 1570 likes on Facebook and 251 people are following us on Twitter. Go to Facebook.com/uoaainc and Twitter.com/UOAA and join the crowd!

Join the team in Central Park (even if you are in the Central US
An Ostomy Support Groups Team has been established to participate in the 9th Annual NYC Colon Cancer Challenge event, which will take place in Central Park in New York City on April 1, 2012. This event draws participants and spectators from across the United States to raise funds for the Colon Cancer Challenge Foundation and highlight the importance of screening/early detection in saving lives. Every donation brings us one step closer to a future without cancer. In addition, as this mega-event attracts press coverage, we are provided with an invaluable opportunity to bring the word "ostomy" out of the closet and into the public sphere, and demonstrate that individuals with ostomies can live active, productive lives. Therefore, please share this information with your members, and encourage them to donate and/or participate. Tax-deductible donations can be made online by clicking on the "Donate" button above our fundraising thermometer. The direct link to our team page is: http://events.coloncancerchallenge.org/site/TR/ Events/General? team_id=1072&pg=team&fr_id=1040

WERE LOOKING FOR LEADERS

You have recently been sent information regarding the UOAA National Election. Please take the time to look at this material and share it with your members. This is your opportunity to impact the lives of ostomates on a national level. Thank you for all your hard work!

THE PHOENIX MAGAZINE NEWS

If you havent been on the Phoenix Magazine website lately, take a look. You can now look up your subscription expiration date, make address changes, renew your subscription and you can also comment on the latest issue. We appreciate your input! Go to: www.phoenixuoaa.org

Dave Rudzin
President