 RESNA Mourns Passing of Its
First Executive Director, Patricia I. Horner
Patricia I. Horner, who served as the first Executive Director of RESNA from 1981 to 1990, passed away on Friday, October 30, 2009. Under Ms. Horner's leadership, RESNA began a slow but definite transition towards maturity as a professional society. In 1985, contractual arrangements were made for professional management services with Smith Bucklin and Associates, a professional association management firm; the conference format was standardized to provide continuity and several new concepts were introduced including Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Professional Specialty Groups (PSGs) were initiated in 1988. The profitability of the Annual Conference and other RESNA activities increased continuously since 1985. The first regional RESNA conference was held in 1985 and this concept developed into a series of regional conferences held annually in the US. While serving as Executive Director of RESNA, Ms. Horner also served as the Executive Director of the Alliance for Engineering in Medicine and Biology, the Society for Advanced Medical Systems (now AMIA), and the Society of Prospective Medicine. She also provided management for the IEEE-EMBS conferences held in conjunction with the ACEMB and assisted in the founding of AIMBE and was the Executive Director of the Biomedical Engineering Society. Up until the time of her death, Ms. Horner was proudly serving as the Executive Director of the Alpha Eta Mu Beta, the National Biomedical Engineering Honor Society. Up until December 2008, Ms. Horner was a silent participant on the RESNA PSG-07 (Educators) listserv. She was awarded a RESNA Honorary Fellow distinction for her leadership and service to the organization in 1990. Her leadership to RESNA as a fledgling organization was invaluable. Relatives and friends may call at the Robert E. Evans Funeral Home (Route 450 and Racetrack Rd), Bowie, MD on Thursday, November 5, 2009 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm where funeral services will be held on Friday, November 6 at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Shriners Children Hospital. RESNA extends its heartfelt condolences to Ms. Horner's husband, Ken and family. |