Strong Chapters Equal Strong ACC   While the American College of Cardiology (ACC) works hard and effectively to provide education, quality initiatives and advocacy for all its members, to paraphrase a famous line from former Speaker of the House “Tip” O’Neill Jr. — “All health care is local.” The Mississippi Chapter, along with the ACC’s other 48 Chapters, is a critical link to other cardiovascular specialists in Mississippi. We provide critical local education, quality and advocacy opportunities and plays a key role when it comes to networking, leadership building and mentoring. Given the invaluable roles all Chapters play, the ACC Board of Trustees recently approved the implementation of mandatory Chapter dues for active physician members. The goal is to provide Chapters with the resources necessary to develop innovative education and advocacy programs and enhance the benefits of Chapter membership. One of the major challenges for the Mississippi Chapter today is to remain fiscally viable despite a political and economic climate that is making health care funding increasingly difficult to secure and/or narrowly limited in scope. Other similarly situated medical associations, such as the American College of Physicians, implemented mandatory dues and have seen an increase in Chapter membership and a greater sense of involvement from their members as a result. Enabling a baseline membership experience is extremely important to energizing grassroots Chapter work. It is our hope that mandatory dues will lead to greater involvement and ownership in the great work that the Mississippi Chapter is already doing. The practice of cardiovascular medicine is increasingly affected by legislators and regulators at the state and national levels. Member involvement at every level is crucial for success, and Chapters are key to involvement at the local level. Without mandatory Chapter dues, we run the risk of limiting the education, advocacy and quality improvement programs that are necessary to ensuring the highest quality care for patients. We also run the risk of disengagement by members. The ACC’s annual dues statements will be arriving in mailboxes this month and will reflect the mandatory Chapter dues decision. In the coming months, you’ll see a new look for the national Chapters Web site (www.acc.org/chapters). You’ll also see an increased effort to keep you informed about Chapter opportunities and more information about how every member of the cardiovascular care team can benefit from Chapter involvement. Strong Chapters mean an even stronger ACC, and we are excited about the opportunities to make the ACC as strong as it can be.   Jane Schauer, M.D., F.A.C.C.