On behalf of the PTCOG Executive Committee I am pleased to let you know that we are planning for PTCOG 60 to be a physical in-person meeting!  PTCOG 60 will be held in beautiful Miami, Florida, from June 27 – July 2, 2022.  The conference, this year will include two days of education with parallel sessions and 3 days of multi-session scientific reports with plenty of time for subcommittee meetings in between.  Take care to plan your beach days before or after the meeting since there will be a lot of exciting content during the conference.  We are working with the Miami Baptist local organizing committee to plan an event to properly welcome all of you back together after such a long time physically apart.  The virtual meetings have been tour-de-forces, indeed, but it will be good to see you and have a beer with you, enjoy welcome receptions, a gala dinner and tours.

There is much new in particle therapy and the conference will bring together an international representation of what is evolving in the five continents of the world.  This results in PTCOG having an increased responsibility, as an organization to do its part to help ensure the highest standards of particle radiation therapy.  PTCOG has grown from a meeting of chatting in the corridors to helping identify consensus standards, education and development.  Indeed, it is our shared vision to provide the best care for patients worldwide.

On a more personal note, having served as your Chair for a few years now, as I mentioned during previous PTCOGs, it is time to begin another transition as we will vote for a new Chair in Miami to whom the Chairs responsibilities will transition in the following months.  This causes me to pause and consider what we’ve accomplished together in the last years.  We have grown the topical subcommittees to about 14 now with all the disease sites covered and with productive and valuable contributions from these subcommittees.  We have transitioned to a PTCOG managed annual meeting with the help of a professional conference organizer C-IN.  We have grown our budget to begin modest funding of some research projects, outreach educational sessions and began our contributions to the credentialing process.  We have grown the Educational subcommittee and the growth of the Publications subcommittee has begun which will help develop an on-line web community for coordinated sharing of PT development.  This growth reflects the broadening of PTCOG with over 4000 members and the expansion of Particle Therapy to over 100 facilities and increased need for professional discourse and dissemination of information.  The role of our sponsors continues to evolve, and we have tried to provide a consistent and useful experience for both vendor and all attendees.  I don’t have the space to provide a full account of the accomplishments of our various committees, subcommittees and dedicated membership, but it fills my heart with pride to have been part of this.

I look forward to your participation and spending time with you in Miami and hope you will grow from the meeting, and take time to enjoy the local flavor and hospitality.