ACOFP: OUR CONTINUING HISTORY 139 Leadership family physicians. Under his leadership, the college initiated an awareness campaign to identify areas where additional resources were needed. Funding for new and improved EMRs, as well as support for telemedicine and continuity of care, were crucial for the continued growth of family medicine, particularly in rural areas. As president, Dr. Williams was a passionate advocate for promoting osteopathic distinctiveness and how that benefits the specialty of family medicine. He felt strongly that utilizing OMT skills in the clinical setting was a great asset for patients. To foster the use of OMT for future generations, he promoted the ACOFP Initial Certification Grant. This enables graduating residents to obtain funding for registration and travel to the ACOFP board certification exam. He also worked to connect residency programs with ACOFP to answer questions about board certification and to provide programs with resources to aid in teaching. A major event of the 2022–2023 year was the sale of the building that ACOFP previously occupied. Dr. Williams was integral in negotiating the sale and transfer of the building. ACOFP was also able to transition to a new location in Chicago and retrieve the most value for the old building. This was a success that occupied much of Dr. Williams’s presidential term, and it is one which he looks back on with pride. 2023–2024 DAVID J. PARK, DO, FACOFP dist. Montana Dr. Park set the theme of “legacy” when he became ACOFP president. He thought about this theme for many years as he reflected on his personal and professional aspirations. Being an immigrant to the United States from South Korea, his most significant personal goal was to start the legacy for the Park family name in the new country his family has declared home — a country he swore allegiance to when obtaining his U.S. citizenship. Professionally, for ACOFP, he wanted to make a significant impact and leave a lasting legacy for the organization as an innovative leader. He also aimed to honor and carry forward the legacies of the many presidents who came before him, particularly those who had made a positive impact in his life. He became deeply involved with ACOFP, and this blend of personal and professional ambition, along with his respect for the organization’s history, inspired him to choose legacy as his presidential theme. Dr. Park is proud of several big organizational achievements during his presidential year, including exceeding membership goals with nearly 90% renewals and a high number of new members, being the recipient of AOA’s 2023 Organizational DEI Unification Award, launching the highly successful Corporate Council Roundtable program, and obtaining the largest grant for the REMS opioid education, which was offered free to ACOFP members. He also helped align the goals and processes of the ACOFP Foundation and the ACOFP Auxiliary with those of ACOFP. He is also proud to have pioneered the creation of studentfocused OMT workshops at our annual conventions called Best of Osteopathic Manipulation (BOOM!). ACOFP board room.
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