Dear Indiana-ACC Colleague:

It is with great pleasure that I announce that the Indiana Chapter of the ACC recently received the ACC's Chapter Recognition Award for Advocacy. You are all to be congratulated for your efforts in this area, including attendance at the State and National Legislative Conferences, contributions to the ACC PAC, phone calls and letters to elected officials, and other individual efforts -- such as those carried out by Dick Kovacs, MD, FACC, in his efforts to halt the Anthem pre-certification requirements. The voice of the cardiology community is being heard.

While it is nice to be recognized for our advocacy work, we cannot rest on our laurels nor become complacent. For those of you who have contributed your time and/or money I ask you to continue to assist us this year. For those of you who have not, please consider becoming involved with the ACC.

• Participate in the state or national Legislative Conferences. At these meetings, we get together with legislators and their staff to promote issues important to cardiology practices. We have already held the Indiana Legislative Day this year (see the recap here), but the National Legislative Conference will be held in Washington, DC on September 11-13. 
• Contribute to the American College of Cardiology Political Action Committee. Consider committing to making regular contributions annually, semi-annually, or quarterly. You can join the PAC by visiting www.accpacweb.org . If you already contribute, please encourage others in your practice to contribute.
• Call or write your state and federal legislators. If you don't know them, get to know them: here is a good resource. You may not always speak directly with your senator or representative, but simply making that call allows our message to be heard.