The north american society of homeopaths-a year in review

-  By miranda castro, gina inez, valerie ohanian, eric sommermann, steve waldstein

 Since NASH was formed in 1990 it has brought about recognition, respect and a niche for the professional homeopath in North America. In 1997 NASH turned seven years old and, as such, is still a relatively young organization-finding its feet and growing in leaps and bounds at the same time! We have much to be proud of this year as we have set about expanding our activities to achieve our goals-as well as meeting the needs of a growing membership.
Board of directors 
 Last year Lou Klein, one of the founders of NASH and its first President, stepped down and Eric Sommermann took his place. The offices of Vice President and Executive Director have been established, with revisions to the By-laws to reflect these new positions. An active Board of Directors meets regularly (via teleconference) to carry out NASH's expanding duties. Please contact us should you have any questions:
 President: Eric Sommermann RSHom (NA), CCH-612-525-9321 Vice President: Valerie Ohanian RSHom (NA), CCH-612-525-9321 Executive Director: Miranda Castro FSHom, RSHom (NA), CCH-206-329-3445
 Treasurer: Steve Waldstein RSHom (NA)-303-338-1776
 Registrar: Gina Inez RSHom (NA)-415-456-4282
 Elections for Board positions will take place by mail in the spring of 1998. Canadians are encouraged to become involved so that the Board of Directors includes representatives from both the USA and Canada.
Annual meeting 
 The 1997 annual meeting took place in Seattle in June to coincide with the IFH Case Conference. It was a packed event with members attending from all over USA and Canada. The 1998 meeting will take place in New York on Friday the 17th of April (the day before the NASH Conference) and the daytime meeting will be open to registered members only. All members (associate, student etc.) are welcome to join the registered membership from 4:30-6:30 PM.
Committees 
 Executive Director, Miranda Castro, has set up a network of teams, or committees as they are more formally known. These committees, working closely with the Board of Directors, have accomplished a lot this year. Some of this work has been immediately visible and other teams have been busy laying foundations for future projects.
 Registration: Gina Inez RSHom (NA)-California, USA;
 Iris Ratowsky RSHom (NA)-California, USA
 Membership: Jill Stevenson-Washington, USA
 Schools Affairs: Jane Ciccetti RSHom (NA)-New Jersey, USA
 Student Affairs: Diana Gubbay-Connecticut, USA; Victor Bonnici-Ontario, Canada
 Publications: Kathy Lukas-New York, USA;
 Tim Owens RSHom (NA)-New York, USA
 Ethics: Richard Pitt RSHom (NA)-California, USA;
 Julie Boynton RSHom (NA)-California USA;
 Sadhna Thakkar-California, USA
 Insurance: Louis Klein RSHom (NA)-BC, Canada
 Legal Affairs: Valerie Ohanian RSHom (NA)-Minnesota,
 USA; Louis Klein RSHom (NA)-BC, Canada; Carolyn
 Hallett, JD-Colorado, USA; MJ Hannifan-California, USA
 Events: Robert Stewart RSHom (NA)-New York, USA;
 Basil Ziv RSHom (NA)-Ontario, Canada
 Public Relations: Dolfy Freinquel RSHom (NA) -Oregon, USA; Kim Baker-Arizona, USA
 Design: Alisan Maslan RSHom (NA)-California, USA; Kim Boutilier-BC Canada
 Journal: Greg Bedayn RSHom (NA)-California, USA; Kim Baker, California, USA
 Newsletter: Barbara Etcovitch RSHom (NA)-Ontario, Canada; Karen Allen-Washington, USA
Registration 
 NASH welcomed a record number of eighteen new registered members in 1997, bringing the total number of registered members to sixty-one. Gina Inez, our new Registrar, worked with Eric Sommermann last year and the Council for Homeopathic Certification (CHC) to incorporate the CHC's certification procedure into our own registration process. As a result, NASH's new application procedure requires applicants to pass the CHC exam in order to become a registered member. This change reflects NASH's mission to set high standards of professional membership and is in line with the UK Society of Homeopath's registration procedures. Copies of the revised Application for Registration can be obtained from the NASH Hotline at (541) 561-6100.