Drs. Sally Brooks and Joe Ouslander emceed the evening

An Evening with Friends was the hottest ticket at the 2003 AGS Annual Meeting If you were one of the many that joined fellow AGS members to ensure that we attract the next generation of health professionals to careers spent caring for older adults, you already know what a huge success it was. This sold-out event, which will henceforth be an annual feature of the meeting, raised over $40,000 in cash and in-kind donations for the AGS Foundation for Health in Aging's Student Researcher Fund.

This year, through proceeds from an Evening with Friends and individual, foundation, and corporate donations, we were able to assist over 60 students to attend our meeting and present their research during paper and poster sessions. They also participated in a special student poster session held on Saturday morning that was followed by a round-table luncheon that offered an opportunity to meet senior leaders in geriatrics.


Fellow geriatricians attended the student poster session

An Evening with Friends brought together AGS members for a night of entertainment and merrymaking for a good cause. Music, sing-alongs, skits, great door prizes, and delicious desserts helped to set the tone for the evening as did the Emcees--Drs. Joseph Ouslander and Sally Brooks. The evening's festivities would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of a large number of AGS leaders. Philip Sloane and his merry band of troubadours (Sandra Clark and David Cunningham) along with guest performers Ron Shorr, Amy Rosenthal and Charles Mouton-were the heart of the evening's entertainment, providing a musical trip through the decades.

All who attended the evening will not soon forget Joe and Lynn Ouslander and Sally Brooks' rendition of the Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four" nor the Junior Faculty skit which was so ably performed by Diane Chau as a pregnant older woman and aging cultural icons: Superman (David Sengstock), Madonna (Jodie Sengstock), Dr. Evil (Miguel Paniagua), and The Grim Reaper (Malaz Boustani). Audience members were also pleased to welcome AGS president Richard W. Besdine, MD, FACP, AGSF and his wife Fox Wetle, MD who contributed "True Tall Tales" from the history of Geriatrics.

Those attending the 2003 Annual Meeting and An Evening with Friends were pleased to see the return of Mama O (Joe Ouslander's mother, Helen K. Ouslander) with the second in her series of cookbooks-Mama O's Desserts. Thanks to a generous contribution or printing and design from Fry Communications, the full purchase price for each book was a donation to the Student Researcher Fund. As those who sampled the evening's featured dessert, "Chocolate Butter Brownies," can tell you, Mama O's desserts are mouthwatering and the perfect finishing touch to any meal.

Throughout the evening, lucky attendees won some great door prizes including: two-night hotel packages in Orlando and New Orleans, waived 2004 Annual Meeting registration and hotel costs; complimentary tickets and one night hotel for the FHA's 2003 Lifetime of Caring Gala, and jewelry designed by AGS staff member Ellen Baumritter.

Look for information on An Evening with Friends Las Vegas in the coming months. Also, if you would like to support our students now, please make a donation to the FHA Student Researcher Fund or purchase a copy of Mama O's Desserts.