The evolving role of a scientific society

In summary, EAST is a very different organization today than it was 12 years ago when it was conceived in the lounge of the Washington airport. It started as a traditional scientific organization, but an organization with a very different mission. Its mission was to identify and nurture the young traumatologist and to provide that individual with the opportunity for academic advancement. The EAST of the next millennium will be different still. The new EAST will reside on the Internet. It will provide a creative forum for scientific content, educational content, and practice content. It will adjudicate that content rapidly, equitably, and educationally. It will disseminate that content to the membership, to the trauma community, and to the community at large. It will encourage discourse, the exchange of ideas, the exchange of data, and the exchange of content. Finally, EAST will continue to meet the challenge of creating new and innovative products to foster the career of young trauma surgeons worldwide. Will the new world be complex? Yes. Will it be possible to drown in information? Yes. Will EAST meet those challenges head on? Yes. Will we succeed? Yes. We will succeed because we will remember the mission.