AAO-HNS Bulletin | Special Edition | January 2021

ENTNET.ORG/BULLETIN AAO-HNS BULLETIN SPECIAL EDITION: 125TH ANNIVERSARY 13 You Are the Academy and the Academy Is You T he AAO-HNS/F is far more than its brick-and-mortar headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Its reach extends internationally to your location of practice and patient care, creating global connections within this unique specialty. Each of you breathe life into our Academy, and it thrives because of the members it serves. In its most essential way, you are the Academy and the Academy is you. Foundation of Service Giving of yourself, your time, and your expertise is woven into the fabric of the practice of medicine and creates the solid ground for which otolaryngology and the AAO-HNS/F stand. It is no surprise, then, that the Academy’s roots started from the efforts of those who recognized the value of exchange of ideas and research in furthering patient care. When Hal Foster, MD, sent more than 500 invitations in 1896 to southern and western U.S. physicians engaged in ophthalmology and otolaryngology, it marked the start of the rich history of what has now become the AAO-HNS/F. In his opening remarks to the approximately 50 attendees of this first meeting, April 9 and 10, 1896, Dr. Foster noted, “I have called you here to organize an ophthalmological, otological, laryngological association. The little acorn I plant here today will never satisfy me until like an oak it grows and spreads all over the United States, and our greater sister, the Canadian nation on the north.” This declaration along with the ensuing 125-year history of service and dedication to improve patient care around the world, epitomizes the Academy then and the Academy today and those who have comprised it along the way. Being an Academy member is not just about membership in your specialty’s society. It is a commitment to optimizing care and continually striving to improve patient outcomes. It is partaking in specialty unity to address regulatory challenges, to collaborate for patient care, to advance research in the field, to enhance the reach of our voice, to network and connect, and to share ideas and experiences. Throughout the Academy’s 125 years, members have nurtured Dr. Foster’s vision with unwavering contributions via expertise, time, knowledge, and skillset. When we look closely at the heart of the Academy’s continued flourishment, we can see that it is the varied and steadfast engagement of you, our members. Otolaryngology touches the lives and improves the health for people of all walks of life, and it is you, our members, who have created our rich tradition and significant history. The success and sustainability of the AAO-HNS/F is directly related to the involvement and investment of members so that the otolaryngology-head and neck surgery voice is robust with authority and purpose for patient care. Our reach is far and wide in advocacy, research, quality, education, practice management, and so much more. The knowledge and skills that members share with each other and across the specialty cannot be understated. From mentoring residents and young physicians to supporting clinical practice to advancing medical research, you give your time to share information that helps both physicians and patients. You Are the Academy You make otolaryngology remarkable, and in turn you make the Academy remarkable. Over the past 125 years, members have proved time and again that your commitment to patients, to medicine, and to the specialty is resolute. A great strength of our organization is the diversity of thought, experience, and culture that you provide for an even better product that all our patients deserve. There is a healthy recognition that we all need each other to succeed. You have made the Academy an inviting, accepting, and inclusive home for all professionals specializing in ear, nose, and throat care, fostering diversity within the specialty and the organization. Representing all practice types, you have contributed to creating synergistic partnerships with international colleagues, specialty societies, allied health providers, and other strategic partners. The Academy has experienced a healthy engagement of members for 125 years and in return that has enabled it to build a strong foundation, with members and your patients at the core and heart of it all. Imagine the thrill that Dr. Foster would have today to see a global connected community of otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons. There is no doubt that you, the members, are the reason the “acorn” planted 125 years ago has grown and thrived into the Academy-wide forest of giant oaks we see today—sprawling beyond the borders of the United States and Canada and around the world.