It has been another busy, interesting and rewarding year for the DMSS. The DMSS engages in a broad scope of activities—from representation and advocacy to charitable work and running social events. While I cannot report on all of our activities worthy of noting here, I will touch on some of our highlights from the past year.

The DMSS started the year with a bang by hosting here in Halifax the Annual General Meeting for the Canadian Federation of Medical Students. We hosted over 100 delegates from our 15 member schools across Canada, garnering accolades from both executives and attendees for running a well-organized and well-supported national meeting. We even found time to take our guests out for lobster and dancing at the Shore Club.

With the support of Dean Cook and Tupper Building Services, we successfully advocated for continued 24-hour access to the Tupper Link for Undergraduate Medical Students in the face of restricted hours of access to many of Dalhousie's buildings for other programs.

Funding from the DMAA supports a long list of medical-student projects each year. One example is a new project called MERci, which collects unused but expired medical supplies that are destined for the garbage, sending them to developing countries instead.

Somehow, our tireless VP Internal kept a smile on for the entire year while organizing eight Lifestyles in Medicine evenings on top of a food drive, the 101st Med Ball, Euphoria and the Charity Auction. Fundraising efforts for Euphoria were stepped-up and the event raised $8,700 for Phoenix Youth Programs. This year was our biggest Charity Auction to date, raising $15,000 for Camp Triumph, a free summer camp for kids affected by chronic and terminal illnesses.

Our Nova Scotia Representative, with the support of our Deans and Doctors Nova Scotia, was successful in re-establishing a Nova Scotia Summer Elective Program for pre-clerkship medical students. This program will see students spending time in clinical medicine settings outside of Halifax.

Much work has been done to adapt our governance structure and constitution to prepare for the reality that our Student Society will have 25 percent of its membership in Saint John in 2010. The Global Health Initiative continues to expand its scope and ran many well-received events, including a weekend Global Health Conference with attendance from many health-profession programs. The Everest Co-Chairs oversaw the creation of a new website to support and expand the Everest Challenge.

There are many more projects and accomplishments from the past year deserving of recognition but I hope these will give a sense of the busy and successful year the DMSS enjoyed. The DMSS would like to thank our alumni and the DMAA for contributing so generously year after year to support medical-student initiatives here at Dalhousie.