A second organizational meeting was planned for August 30th, 1953 at the Palmer House in Chicago, Illinois. Letters concerning that meeting are below:

16 May 1953

Dr. James G. Golseth
Pasadena Clinic of Physical Medicine
Pasadena 1, California

Dear Jim:

Just a note to confirm my interest and willingness to cooperate in any way on the projected meeting of electromyographers here in Chicago. I have not been able to think of anyone else to add to the list which you sent. Of course Alex Arieff might be included but I would prefer to wait until after the organization stage is over before he is included.

In regard to the name I also think that both "Electromyography" and "Electrodiagnosis" should be included and offhand think that the "American Association" would be the best bet. Why not just "Association of E&E"? It is just possible that we would want to include international affliations in the future.

There is to be a meeting of a group of 30 August, in Body Mechanics mainly spark-plugged by Loyola's Dr. Schmitt and S.C. Huddleston. I am more or less committed to attend this session. The latest I have heard on it is that it will be scheduled from around 10am through about 6pm on Sunday.

We are moving slowly but surely in the direction of making substantial progress in our EMG work here in Chicago. The association of Oester, Rodriquez, and Koczur should be a fruitful one.

Let me know what I can or should do. After the end of June I will have a little more time for extra activites when our teaching program declines for the summer.

Seems to me that our primary purpose should be to exchange information and reports in the field. Certainly no other aims should have precedence in the early phases of the group activity.

Dr. Buchthal of Scandinavia is scheduled to be here around that time and we may be able to get him to talk with the group if he is here at that time.

Yours in haste,
YT Oester

30 June 1953

Dr. James G. Golseth
Pasadena Clinic of Physical Medicine
Pasadena 1, California

Dear Jim:

The time of 7:30pm and the date and place, August 30, Sunday at the Palmer House sound OK for me. I have a paper to give at the Body Mechanics Group meeting on the North Side around the middle of the afternoon. I could then try to leave there sometime around 5:30 or so and meet you in the Loop, perhaps in time for dinner that nite before the EMG meeting. Or if you get into Chicago early enough you are certainly invited to come out to the Chicago clinic of Physical Medicine, 69 North Clark and take in some of the last part of the Body Mechanics meeting. Then we could go back to the Palmer House together in time for the meeting.

When I hear from you that the meeting is scheduled to go ahead, I will make all arrangements for the meeting room in the Palmer House. In fact I should probaby do so right now so that I can send you a room number which can be included in your letter or announcements. I will try to make this arrangement this week and forward the room number to you. I would say that we would not have any more than twenty-five people there.

The first week of September is also the week of the International Congress meeting in Montreal. I am also scheduled to give a paper there and at present do not see how I will be able to do justice to both of these meetings.

Looking forward to seeing you again soon in Chicago. Jim, let me know if there is anything which I can do in the way of making the meeting go along. I firmly believe that you and I and probably a couple of others should have some clear cut plans and an agenda worked out in advance so that the meeting will go along smoothly and also accomplish something. To this end, we should probably exchange some mutual information in regard to what should be done in a few weeks before the actual meeting. In any event, just say what is needed and we will try to get it done. All I see that we will need at the room will be simple meeting facilities -- no paraphernalia.

Always,
YT Oester

July 16, 1953

Dr. James G. Golseth
Pasadena Clinic of Physical Medicine
Pasadena 1, California

Dear Jim:

I received your letter of the fifteenth and I am happy to know that we are finally going to get an organization to promote the use and prevent the misuse of electromyography. I do not feel that I can attend the meeting in Chicago on the thirtieth of August but your feelings and mine are very much in accord and I will be happy to delegate you to speak in my behalf. I would be happy to serve the organization on any committee or other way that I could.

I feel strongly that electromyography strictly by itself has little clinical use. This is only a tool in neurodiagnosis and must always be correlated with a history and a careful neurological examination done by someone more than moderately competent in these studies. I feel, eventually, that electromyography will gravitate to the neurologist's office just as electroencephalography gravitated from the psychiatrist to the neurologist and justly settled. I feel that many men will be doing electromyography, reporting various units a commonly way and causing much clinical confusion.

Also, you and I know that we can find complex units in neurologically normal people and they are probably nonsignificant if in a minor degree. To prevent this valuable tool from becoming exploited by the attorneys and courts, I feel it must be under supervision of competetent clinicians who will make a clinical diagnosis and then employ various tests to further understand their case and, when possible, to actually localize various diverse phenomenon of the lower motor neurons.

I also wish to suggest the idea that as far as possible a mutually agreeable list of innervation by various nerve segments be compiled and agreed upon by this body so that we can try to localize our findings and they will come under the same nerve segment no matter where the tests are performed. I am certainly willing to go along with whatever reasonable anatomical charts that support the nerve localizations that I believe to be accurate.

Best wishes to the success of this meeting and I will be anxious to know the outcome.

Sincerely,
J. Sloan Berryman, MD

16 July 1953

Pasadena Clinic of Physical Medicine
Pasadena, California

Attn: James G. Golseth, MD

Dear Jim,

In reference to your letter of July 13, I am very much in favor of the association of which you speak. I will also be willing to help as an officer or on a committee in organizing it. However, I am unable to attend the meeting in Chicago.

Sincerely yours,
A.A. Marinacci, MD

July 21, 1953

William J. LaJoie, MD
St. Joseph Hospital
Phoenix, Arizona

Dear Bill:

A number of physicians presently doing clinical electromyography and electrodiagnosis are planning to meet in Chicago on August 30, 1953 for the purpose of organizing an American Association of Electromyography and Electrodiagnosis. This organizational meeting is to be held in room PDR #6 at the Palmer House at 7:30 on the above date.

I hope you can attend this organizational meeting, Bill, however if you can't, please drop me a note indicating that you are in favor of such an assocation and would be willing to serve either as an officer or on one of the committees.

Because this is to be an organizational meeting, it is desired to keep the number attending small. For this reason, please keep this letter confidential, Bill.

Very sincerely yours,
James G. Golseth, MD

July 23, 1953

Dr. James G. Golseth
Pasadena Clinic of Physical Medicine
Pasadena 1, California

Dear Jim:

I have your letter of July 13th at hand.

I cannot say at the present time whether it will be possible for me to attend the meeting which you mentioned on August 30th. However, if it is at all possible, I should like to go and I would thoroughly enjoy visiting with you and Shea at that time as I understand he is planning to go to the meeting.

I am in favor of the organization of this group and would be very happy to be associated with it in an active manner which might be useful.

I regret that I did not get to come out and be with you on Saturday last but after going through a rush of activities, we finally had to cut everything short and leave a little earlier than we had planned to, consequently, I did not get the opportunity to contact you again.

Hoping to see you soon,
Sincerely yours,
Ernest W. Mack, MD

July 24, 1953

Dr. James G. Golseth
Pasadena Clinic of Physical Medicine
Pasadena 1, California

Dear Jim:

It is very gratifying to hear that you are planning an American Association of Electromyography and Electrodiagnosis. I have found the electromyogram to be an invaluable diagnostic aid in many neurological conditions, but feel I could learn much more about this diagnostic procedure if such an organization as you suggest existed for the interchange of ideas.

As the electromyogram is a relatively new diagnostic prodcedure in this area, there are still many physicians who have doubts about its value, and this even includes some of our neuropsychiatrists. However, little by little physicans are accepting the electromyogram and are calling on its assistance more frequently.

I am certainly planning to attend the Congress meeting in Chicago, and if it is at all possible I hope to attend your first organizational meeting. Needless to say, I am in favor of such an association and would be happy to assist in any manner required.

Yours truly,
William J. LaJoie, MD
Chief, Physical Medicine

July 27, 1953

Dr. James G. Golseth
Pasadena Clinic of Physical Medicine
Pasadena 1, California

Dear Jim:

I certainly consider it an honor to attend the meeting in Chicago on August 30th. I am planning to attend, but if anything unforseen should occur, I will be glad to serve as an officer on the committee.

Best regards,
Sincerely,
Francis J. Bonner, MD

August 24, 1953

Dr. James G. Golseth
Pasadena Clinic of Physical Medicine
Pasadena 1, California

Dear Jim:

Thanks for your letter of July 21, 1953. As far as I can remember, we had one informal meeting of a group of people interested in electromyography and electrodiagnosis in Denver in 1951, but did not follow it up. Since I was unable to attend the last Congress meeting at New York because of my moving to the West Coast, I have lost contact with the group. I would appreciate it if you would inform me whether anything has developed in the past two years.

I am going to attend the meeting of the Congress in Chicago, and I am very much interested in the American Association of Electromyography and Electrodiagnosis. I will make it a point to come to the organizational meeting held at the Palmer House on August 30 at 7:30pm.

Would you please keep me informed in case any changes in time or place are made?

Very sincerely yours,
Gerald G. Hirschberg, MD, Chief
Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Service

Sixteen physicians attended the 1953 meeting in Chicago; five others submitted proxies indicating they would be in favor of a new society.

The proposed Constitution was read. A motion of approval was made by Dr. Psaki and seconded by Dr. Rodriquez, and the Consitution was unanimously adapted. A reading of the propsed Bylaws was then presented. Dr. Psaki made and Dr. Bonner seconded a motion of approval, and the Bylaws were approved as read.

Officers and committees were elected, and membership proposals were approved for several physicians who were not in attendance.

List of Founding Members