The REF’s task is to build the future of rheumatology, and it is the responsibility of every member of the ACR to support and participate in the work of the REF. Go to the REF Web site, www.rheumatology.org/REF, and find out what the REF is up to. You can also become acquainted with individual REF success stories highlighted in the pages of TR. Donate every year, and consider increasing your donor level—you’ll even get rewards, such as access to the donors’ lounge at the ACR meeting. Let your students and residents know about the REF and its multiple mechanisms that help trainees enter rheumatology. Finally, consider becoming involved in patient-targeted fundraising for the Within Our Reach campaign or for the other programs of the REF. We have no shortage of challenges to deal with in the present, some of them frustrating and stubborn, but in the process of creating our future we transcend the present and leave an enduring legacy.
Dr. Fox is president of the ACR. Contact him via e-mail at [email protected].