ACOFP: OUR CONTINUING HISTORY 47 Infrastructure Ten ACOFP past presidents attended the ceremony. No one felt more pride than those physicians who had seen the total possessions of ACOFP set out on the street in front of 111 West Washington Street, in downtown Chicago eight years earlier. Twice in ACOFP’s history, dissolution appeared eminent, and twice ACOFP had risen like the mythical phoenix to build an even more resilient organization. Today, other renowned medical organizations have moved their national headquarters to Arlington Heights, validating the wisdom of Dr. Namey and Drs. John and Mary Burnett in selecting the site of ACOFP’s home. For their contributions, these three physicians are memorialized in the entrance to the Arlington Heights building for all to see. CALMER WATERS ALLOW SMOOTHER SAILING The last two decades of the 20th century brought slightly more settled times for ACOFP, which enjoyed a gradual steady membership growth. National leaders focused once again on the important role that osteopathic students played in ACOFP’s overall survival. The membership committee started new efforts to bolster student societies through financial support and frequent visits from ACOFP leaders. These contacts identified the need to also focus on residencies and postgraduate training. ACOFP initiated inspections and unified basic standards so that training programs would remain at the forefront of the national move to make certification a requirement for licensure. Education remained at the heart of ACOFP’s activities. Master educator Raymond Saloom, DO, FACOFP, was asked to lead an opening session at ACOFP’s annual spring scientific seminar. This lecture was not only well received but would be memorialized by inviting other important osteopathic dignitaries to deliver the Raymond Saloom Memorial Lecture at the beginning of each scientific seminar for the next several decades to honor his enormous contribution to ACOFP — especially after the eviction from The Arlington Heights groundbreaking ceremony in October 1988. From L to R: ACOFP Executive Director Bette Vaught; Marcelino Oliva, DO, FACOFP; Mary Burnett, DO, FACOFP; Ronald Goldberg, DO, FACOFP; Joseph Namey, DO, FACOFP; and Arlington Heights Mayor James T. Ryan. Home of the ACOFP headquarters in Arlington Heights, IL, from 1990–2022. Joseph Namey John Burnett Mary Burnett Dr. Namey and Drs. John and Mary Burnett were integral in selecting the Arlington Heights site outside of Chicago that would become ACOFP’s first official national headquarters.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2NjI=