President’s Message (continued)
It is the feeling of inclusion that I really love
and appreciate. Many of our guests will be
friends who have no other family in
Richmond. I know how important it is for
them to have a place where they feel they
belong on this day of thanks. They know that
they belong with us every year. Including
them at our family table makes ME give
thanks. We are a diverse bunch: college
students and grandmothers, Catholics and
Jews, third genera on Americans and
neighbors fresh from El Salvador. Our
conversa on is eclec c, and so is the food
(seriously, l can no longer eat turkey without
Salvadoran guacamole!).
The feeling of inclusion is important to all of
us–even to oral and maxillofacial surgeons.
That is why I was so delighted to have recently
been informed by the leadership of the
American Academy of Cosme c Surgery
(AACS) that they have changed their bylaws to
now include oral and maxillofacial surgeons,
and specifically single degree oral and
maxillofacial surgeons, as full vo ng
members. I think that this was the right, and
the smart, decision. Inclusion is always a good
choice. I have no doubt that this will increase
their membership (check out
www.cosme csurgery.org) and maybe more
importantly, bring fresh, new ideas to their
mee ngs. If their mission is to elevate
cosme c surgery through educa on and
research, including a larger and more diverse
membership can only support that mission.
ACOMS applauds the AACS. I hope that we
2
can work together to bring both our
memberships high quality educa onal
offerings.
It is my hope that the American College of
Surgeons will soon follow the lead of the AACS
and include all oral and maxillofacial surgeons
as candidates for Fellowship. Now that there
is a sec on in the ACS specifically for OMS, it
would be admirable if the leadership
recognized the need to be inclusive in that
organiza on as well.
So, when you sit at your Thanksgiving table
this year put down your fork for a moment
and