Volume 108 Number21
46 AJHM Summer 2015
A Look Forward and a Nod to the Past
President’s Message
I
t is my pleasure to be writing my first Present’s letter
to the AIH membership. First, I would like to express
deep gratitude to my immediate predecessor, Irene Sebas-
tian, for a job extremely well done. As the saying goes, I
have inherited from Irene, a pair of shoes that will be dif-
ficult to fill. Irene worked tirelessly as our President; she
was a continual presence on our list-serve, quick to respond
to member’s inquiries, an exceptional communicator and
a prolific writer. The AIH has gone through momentous
changes under her guidance and has seen vast improve-
ments in its website, Facebook page, refinements to bylaws
and organizational issues. Irene’s influence has been felt at
all levels of management and development.
To share a broader perspective on Irene’s work as presi-
dent I decided to share a few comments from board mem-
bers who have had the privilege of working with her over
the past few years. Many of these statements were long
and detailed (brimming with compliments), so these were
edited down to a few choice tidbits:
Dr. Sebastian and the board have wrestled with
some of the most difficult issues facing the AIH in a
long while. One of the most troubling has…[been]
to bring the AIH into the larger integrative healthcare
discussion in this country.
What I admire most about Dr. Sebastian is her “can
do” attitude. I applaud Irene for her vision, commit-
ment, and hard work. The AIH is a much stronger
organization today because of her efforts. Fantastic
Job Irene!
I thought that Irene was a diligent worker on behalf
of accomplishing board/AIH business and in respond-
ing to issues that even remotely affected us. I thought
her missives to members and to outside entities were
very articulate. I think she pushed us to bring forward
our skills and interests and input into decision-making,
more than a board has been pushed before, and to
good effect. She encouraged the democratic process
in decision-making, finalizing documents to be sent
out, etc. She was not tyrannical, and wasn’t afraid to
share her vulnerable self with us, making us/me want
to work hard to support her leadership.
The “Reluctant President” is how Irene would
characterize herself to me sometimes. Yet she toiled
long hours and with much commitment, meeting many
challenges, to accomplish all that she has achieved on
behalf of the homeopathic medical community, in gen-
eral, and of the American Institute of Homeopathy, in
particular. My assessment to her several years ago that
she would make a goodAIH President allows me some
pleasure in saying now, “I told you so.”
It is my pleasure to remind all our members that at our
membership meeting in Newark, New Jersey on May 9,
2015, Dr. Sebastian was awarded the AIH’s James Tyler
Kent Award for recognition of her distinguished service to
the organization. Irene joins a list of other notable recipi-
ents of this award, who have worked tirelessly in advanc-
ing the practice and science of homeopathy, including:
Sandra M Chase, MD, DHt, Dean Crothers, MD, George
Guess, MD, DHt, Todd Hoover, MD, Jennifer Jacobs, MD,
Bernardo Merizalde, MD, DHt, Nicholas Nossaman, MD,
DHt, and Ruth Martens, MD, DHt.).
As I took hold of the “gavel”, my transition into the pres-
idency was made more interesting with the simultaneous
announcement by the FDA hearing:
Homeopathic Product
Regulation: Evaluating the Food and Drug Administra-
tion’s Regulatory Framework After a Quarter-Century;
Public Hearing.
This hearing took place in Silver Spring
Maryland on April 20
th
and 21
st
, and over 40 different
speakers presented views on the eight questions raised by
the FDA. The overwhelming majority of presenters at this
event provided solid testimony on behalf of homeopathy
and urged the FDA to make little or no adjustment to their
current regulatory policies.
So many of these presentations were of such excellent
caliber and offered different perspectives that the editors
of this journal have agreed to reproduce a few of them in
this issue.
Finally, I would like to thank the AIH membership for
the opportunity to serve as president. My door is open, and
I welcome comments and suggestions and will endeavor to
perform to the best of my capacity. I am honored by the
trust and the opportunity that the AIH members have given
me to lead this organization into the next three years.
Respectfully submitted,
Ronald D Whitmont, MD
