On behalf of the Polish-American Medical Society I would like to welcome you to the 51st "Physicians' Ball". This year we witness the 55th anniversary of the Polish-American Medical Society and take part in its 51st Ball. The annual "Physicians' Ball" has become a tradition throughout the years - serving as a primary factor to unite Polish -American physicians by allowing them an opportunity to visit with their peers and friends as well as spend an evening with their families. Your continued patronage and generous support has made the Ball a coveted social event.

The Polish-American Medical Society fulfills many functions - the most important being to initiate, organize, and sponsor professional and charitable activities and events. Our membership, consisting of more than 400 physicians of all specialties, distinguishes us from other local medical organizations, as well as the Polish medical émigré organizations throughout the world. In addition to promoting the Society's professional and charitable activities, we work diligently with other local organizations that benefit metropolitan Polonia. For the first time in the history of the Polish-American Medical Society, the Society has organized a continuous medical education symposium with approved credit hours. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Chicago Medical Society.

In the four years as President of the Society, I witnessed a blooming of our organization - numerous educational and charitable meetings and health fairs as well as picnics, holiday gatherings, and sports competitions are attracting more and more physicians and are now an integral part of the Society.

The proceeds from the Ball support many worthy charities. The following organizations have benefited from our donations, for example: the Kosciuszko Foundation, the Polish-American Symphony Orchestra, the Charitable Foundation of the Polish American Congress, the Lira Singers, the Polish Museum of America, the Polish American Association, A Gift of the Heart Foundation, and the Warsaw Committee of the Sister Cities International Program of Chicago. Furthermore the proceeds from the Ball are used to fully fund the Education Fund of the Polish-American-Medical Society; tonight it is our privilege to host the Fund's fifth and sixth recipients: Dr. Piotr Marianowski from Warsaw and Dr. Marek Murawski from Wroclaw, Poland. Those grants will allow Dr. Marianowski and Dr. Murawski to enrich their medical skills at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center. Congratulations!

The tradition of raising funds for the causes continues tonight. This year's proceeds will benefit the Academic Fund of the Polish-American Medical Society and the "Wici" Polish Dance Ensemble. The Academic Fund of the Polish-American Medical Society is a newly established program intended to benefit medical students of Polish descent in one of the Chicago’s metropolitan area medical schools.

I would like to sincerely thank the following people for volunteering their valuable time to make this evening special: Dr. Agnieszka Chruszczyk, Ms Danuta Fischer, Mrs. Joanna Janowska-Mazurek, Mrs. Mira Kwiecinski, Ms Ewa Malinowsky, Mrs. Grazyna Szpindor, Mrs. Ewa Turowski. The one special person who deserves my thanks the most - the person who is responsible for orchestrating this evening's event and who has chaired the Ball for ten consecutive years - is my wife Magda Gawrysz. Were it not for the dedication of the Ball Organization Committee, this spectacular evening would not have been possible. Furthermore I would like to thank the Board of the Polish-American Medical Society for their support and enthusiasm; because of them, the impossible came true.

We all must acknowledge and thank all the Individuals, Corporations, and Foundations for their support. Their contributions, advertisements, and sponsorships are greatly appreciated. All of us must remember those who support us.

In closing, I would like to thank you for coming and wish each and every one a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2001. And tonight, may this again be a fun and memorable evening.

MarekGawrysz, MD
President