124 Leadership Academy of Addiction Medicine. He was active on DMUCOM’s board of trustees and executive committee. The training and experience he received prepared him to make an invaluable contribution to ACOFP. Dr. McNerney became president at the beginning of the 21st century and chose to implement revolutionary changes in the way ACOFP conducted business, negotiated contracts, and delivered member services. He convened a historic planning session in Dublin, Ireland, to chart the course for a worldwide presence for osteopathic family practice. In the land of his ancestors, the ACOFP board spent many hours learning from an Irish strategic planner how to place a relatively small organization in a position of prominence in the mainstream of medicine. The board also networked with the American ambassador to Ireland, the honorable Mike Sullivan, on how ACOFP could be recognized not only in Ireland but across the European continent as well. The conference revealed vital knowledge needed to develop a strategic plan for membership growth and financial stability in hard economic times. Like the Irish, ACOFP shares the problem of being a small player on a major playing field. The board would learn the business tactics that had made this little country successful. Returning to the United States, Dr. McNerney set into motion his newfound knowledge, and under his direction, ACOFP’s accounting services were revamped. Dr. McNerney supervised the hiring and training of a new executive director. A deNovo initiative was started to create new state societies, with 11 established during his tenure. He also formed a Delphi Committee to explore the Human Genome Project and recommend measures that ACOFP could use to tap into its potential. During his time, Dr. McNerney also increased member services and expanded staff to provide those services. Promotion of osteopathic family practice residencies and curriculum development were also prominent activities during his administration. Change was difficult and painful at times, but Dr. McNerney’s leadership kept ACOFP solid and solvent when the new millennium would bring hard times. 2000–2001 EUGENE D. POGORELEC, DO, FACOFP dist. Clinton, Ohio Born in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1953, Dr. Pogorelec attended high school in his hometown, but left to attend Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. In college, he was active in the leadership of student organizations, earning him many accolades. Dr. Pogorelec graduated in 1974 and attended the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he continued to be active in student leadership. He received his DO degree in 1978 and went on to intern at Doctors Hospital of Stark County in Massillon, Ohio. Dr. Pogorelec was certified in 1987 and recertified in 1995. He became an ACOFP Fellow in 1994 and was a member of the Board of Governors from 1992 to 2003. He served as president of both the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine Alumni Association and the Ohio Osteopathic Association. The decade of leadership made Dr. Pogorelec well qualified for the ACOFP presidency. As president-elect, he’d been a close advisor and confidant of president Dr. Joseph McNerney. Dr. Pogorelec carried on the vital reforming and positioning of ACOFP in the new millennium.
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