URGENT: Searching for heroes
Thomas Gorski
Description
Collection
Title:
URGENT: Searching for heroes
Creator:
Thomas Gorski
Date:
11/15/2000
Text:
Can you help the Academy locate its Founding Fathers?
We wish to honor those dedicated individuals that helped establish the
Academy 30 years ago. A letter was sent to members asking for clues. Here
is the partial list of names we've identified thus far (alphabetical order):
William Bartels
Al Denison, CP
David Dupree, CP
John Eschen, CPO
Bob Fannin
Virgil Faulkner
Joseph Ferguson
Henry Gardner
Sam Hamontree, CP
Blair Hanger
Loren Jouett, CPO (Deceased)
Steve Kramer, CPO
George Lambert, Sr
William W. Layton
Don Olsen, CP
William Pachner, CP (Deceased)
Hugh Panton
John Seibt, CP
Joseph Smerko, CP (Deceased)
Ralph (Ronney) Snell, CPO
Harold Schoene, CP
Edward Valestin, CP
Unfortunately, our notes from that time are incomplete. Here's what we
know: In early 1969, several leaders in the O&P field began discussing the
need for an organization to represent the individuals in the profession.
Later that year, and Sam Hamontree sent invitations to 10 leaders to come to
a meeting in St Louis. The list included Ronney Snell, Roy Snelson, Robert
Fannin, ., , plus Herb Warburton and Audrey Calamino from the AOPA staff.
From that meeting the Academy was incorporated (Nov 1970) with the initial
Board being: Blair Hanger, Henry Gardner, Ronney Snell, John Eschen, and
Hugh Panton. The following Spring an organizational meeting of the Academy
was held in St Louis with about 150 practitioners attending - at their own
expense!. We want to identify these 150 practitioners.
If you know who was among the original 150, please share your information
with me. Send me a fax (703-836-0838) or a letter or an email
( <Email Address Redacted> ) with whatever you can recall.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Tom Gorski, CAE
Executive Director
American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists
We wish to honor those dedicated individuals that helped establish the
Academy 30 years ago. A letter was sent to members asking for clues. Here
is the partial list of names we've identified thus far (alphabetical order):
William Bartels
Al Denison, CP
David Dupree, CP
John Eschen, CPO
Bob Fannin
Virgil Faulkner
Joseph Ferguson
Henry Gardner
Sam Hamontree, CP
Blair Hanger
Loren Jouett, CPO (Deceased)
Steve Kramer, CPO
George Lambert, Sr
William W. Layton
Don Olsen, CP
William Pachner, CP (Deceased)
Hugh Panton
John Seibt, CP
Joseph Smerko, CP (Deceased)
Ralph (Ronney) Snell, CPO
Harold Schoene, CP
Edward Valestin, CP
Unfortunately, our notes from that time are incomplete. Here's what we
know: In early 1969, several leaders in the O&P field began discussing the
need for an organization to represent the individuals in the profession.
Later that year, and Sam Hamontree sent invitations to 10 leaders to come to
a meeting in St Louis. The list included Ronney Snell, Roy Snelson, Robert
Fannin, ., , plus Herb Warburton and Audrey Calamino from the AOPA staff.
From that meeting the Academy was incorporated (Nov 1970) with the initial
Board being: Blair Hanger, Henry Gardner, Ronney Snell, John Eschen, and
Hugh Panton. The following Spring an organizational meeting of the Academy
was held in St Louis with about 150 practitioners attending - at their own
expense!. We want to identify these 150 practitioners.
If you know who was among the original 150, please share your information
with me. Send me a fax (703-836-0838) or a letter or an email
( <Email Address Redacted> ) with whatever you can recall.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Tom Gorski, CAE
Executive Director
American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists
Citation
Thomas Gorski, “URGENT: Searching for heroes,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 1, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/215400.
