ACOFP: OUR CONTINUING HISTORY 45 Infrastructure In 2024, the congress approved the formation of the Society of Military Family Medicine Society of ACOFP (Military-ACOFP), which represents physicians who have served honorably in any branch of the military, including active, reserve, or guard components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, or Coast Guard. A HOME FOR ACOFP TO CALL ITS OWN ACOFP had endured many hardships and resided in many homes in the years leading up to the break with Allied Appraisals. The stature of the Washington Street headquarters showed ACOFP was in need a first-class operation. It was only natural that after the quick move from downtown Chicago to the rental office space near O’Hare International Airport that many members longed for a home to call their own. Where to put that home and how to finance the building were two of the biggest questions facing the early ACOFP leadership. The board then went to the Congress of Delegates to request money for a building fund and collected several thousand dollars. With a viable building fund, they could obtain credit necessary for a loan to begin shopping for ACOFP’s home. The harsh reality was that without a bank account of its own, “ACOFP had barely two nickels to rub together and no credit,” Larry Koplovitz, DO, complained at the annual meeting in Dearborn, Michigan. Joseph Guzik, DO, FACOFP, a member of the board, threw two nickels on the table and said, “There you go.” Without hesitation, the rest of the board chipped in and accumulated a few hundred dollars among them, supporting the effort. John P. Sevastos, DO, FACOFP, dreamed of a location in Washington, D.C., where the college could be close to lawmakers and help with the formulation of emerging legislation affecting general practice. Dr. Koplovitz shared Dr. Sevastos’s dream of finding a building for ACOFP, so the two went looking in Washington in search of an appropriate headquarters site. They found a building, which was about five blocks from where Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is now located, at a price of $450,000. The board was divided over this cost and offered $410,000. While the board was trying to negotiate this price, another group bought it for $650,000 and then sold it one year later for $1 million. The building fund continued to grow as the search for a permanent home continued over the next few years. While the debate on where to locate a permanent home raged, ACOFP made do with its rented office space. There were proposals to place the headquarters in the vacant floors of the newly purchased AOA building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The thought was that the college would be close to the parent organization and that ACOFP could coordinate business with the AOA The building fund continued to grow as the search for a permanent home continued over the next few years.
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