President’s Message Volume IX, ISSUE IV, 2017
The American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Surgical Excellence Through Education
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It has been an honor to
represent you as ACOMS
President during the last
year. It is the highlight of
my professional career,
even through one of the
hardest mes in my
personal life. I hope that you will appreciate all
the efforts and hard work delivered by my
team and me.
When I was introduced to the College, I was
in midated by the names, backgrounds,
pres ge, pedigree, and leadership of the
members serving on the Board. In short me I
realized that ACOMS is an excep onal
organiza on, with friendly leadership and
members, that uses teaching and collegiality to
achieve Surgical Excellence through Educa on.
My early ACOMS mentors and friends include
Drs. Marianela Gonzalez, Joel Rosenlicht,
Bernie Dreiman, Len Spector, Steven
Gu enberg, Chuck Hasse, Rob Strauss and Jon
Perenack. These great leaders embraced and
taught me and built a solid founda on allowing
me to be successful during this year. I have
immense gra tude for each of you.
Twenty‐five years ago I would not have even
dreamed of being here with you. As a senior
resident in a small country south of the Rio
Grande, I wanted to be trained by the stars of
oral and maxillofacial surgery in the US. I have
been blessed to find great friends, teachers,
and colleagues that gave me the chance to be
here today and to be somebody prominent in
the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery.
These stars are Mark Steinberg, Louis Mercuri,
Larry Wolford and Gilbert Triple . I have deep
gra tude to each of these individuals for
touching my life, offering me trust, and giving
me the chance to be successful.
What is success? Or how could one measure
success? For me, success is the wealth that I
find in my family and my friends and being able
to give back to the community every day to
improve quality of life and the pursuit of
knowledge.
This le er is a preview of the State of the
College address that I will have the honor of
delivering next Friday in Vancouver. It is a
reflec on of the past year as ACOMS President
and the success of the College with every one
of OUR accomplishments. I would not be able
to report these accomplishments without
recognizing many of the individuals that put
forth a great deal of hard work to make a
change, thus con nuing the path of growth
forged by past presidents.
(Con nued on next page)
President’s Message (con nued)
Dr. Stephanie Drew, chairing our Con nuing Educa on Commi ee, made a record number of
educa onal advancements for the College including hands‐on courses on TMJ and facial
cosme c surgery, Virtual Surgical Planning, and the mul ‐module Virtual Master Class in
Orthognathic Surgery. Also our con nuing online educa onal offerings including the Ques on of
the Week and the monthly Clinical Review. Under Dr. Drew, the College developed new courses
on Complica ons in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Zygoma Implants while con nuing of the
Recer fica on Review Boot Camp, Residents Mee ng, ACOMS/FACES Winter mee ng and our
Annual Conference and Exhibi on. Thank you Stephanie for your outstanding work and
leadership.
Thank you to Dr. Jeff Benne , Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Commi ee for his “watchful
eye,” implemen ng new systems for budget management and enabling the College to grow on a
solid fiscal founda on. Our funds and reserves are strong and will allow us to deliver excellent
educa onal programs, collaborate with the OMS Founda on, and advance the Stuebner
Scholars Award.
Thank you to Drs. Allen Fielding and Brian Farrell for leading the Membership Commi ee;
increasing the number of members and establishing an ACOMS dental student award for those
interested in the field or Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. They are always thinking about the
future of our specialty and this organiza on.
Star ng a Global Educa onal Traveling Program with partner organiza ons like SECOM and
ALACIBU, exchanging informa on on educa onal packages and honoring member fees. Also,
crea ng an observa on‐visi ng program for those who like to travel and learn overseas by
visi ng a prac oner from our future visi ng database.
Thank you to Drs. Kevin Rieck and Billy Graves on the Communica ons and Public Rela ons
Commi ee for assis ng in crea ng a new web site that is smart phone friendly that will allow
our members to have immediate access to our virtual learning pla orm on their mobile devices.
This website is more visually appealing and user friendly and will increase traffic allowing us to
grow organically and be the leading organiza on in the world of OMFS educa on.
Thank you to Kris n Fludder, our Con nuing Educa on consultant, for her hard work on
implemen ng new strategies on all the educa onal programs and for bringing new support to
ACOMS in the form of industry grants.
(Con nued on next page)
President’s Message (con nued)
Thank you to Steven Kemp, ACOMS Execu ve Director and his team, including Greg Maciog,
Diana DiAntonio, and Spencer King at our headquarters office in Washington, DC. Your
assistance, guidance, and support are highly appreciated.
Thank you to Dr. Sean Edwards for reaching out to our Canadian Colleges and chairing this
wonderful mee ng with Drs. Nicholas Makhoul and Miller Smith. You took the baton le by the
loss of our wonderful friend, fellow member and mentor Dr. David Precious and with all your
hard work, you have honored him during this mee ng.
Thank you to Diana Sandoval, Drs. Howard Price and Drew Havard, and my office team for
keeping the prac ce running and allowing me to be away and dedicated to ACOMS this past
year.
Finally, thank you to my wife Krystyn and my children for your love and pa ence in le ng me
par cipate in mul ple mee ngs and phone calls. You are the driving force in my life.
I have full confidence that under the leadership of Dr. Bryan Bell as our new president, the
College will keep increasing membership and leading on innova ve educa onal programs. Dr.
Bell is a great friend and highly regarded in our specialty worldwide. My admira on and respect
always to you, Bryan.
I would like to express my deepest gra tude to all the Board members and officers for making
this year great and successful.
I look forward to seeing all of you in New Orleans, 2018 at our Annual Mee ng and from the
bo om of my heart, thank you for bestowing upon me this honor and privilege.
Warmest regards,
Pedro F. Franco, DDS
ACOMS President
Did you miss Part One of the ACOMS Virtual Master Class in
Orthognathic Surgery?
No problem. Visit the ACOMS Learning Center to complete the on‐demand
educa onal ac vity.
This five‐part webinar series is a benefit of membership and provides a comprehensive review of orthognathic surgery. Part one addresses anatomy and instrumenta on and is now available as an on‐demand ac vity.
Subsequent sessions will review 3D planning and virtual surgery, then in‐depth inves ga on of key osteotomies. Par cipants in the live webinar will benefit from par cipa on in Q&A a er each session.
Upcoming Modules in the Master Class Series: Part Two: Orthognathic Surgery ‐ the Next Genera on: 3D Planning and Virtual Surgery Monday, June 12 at 8:00 AM EDT Part Three: Maxillary Osteotomies and Lefort Osteotomy+ Lefort Segmental Osteotomy Monday, July 24 at 8:00 AM EDT Part Four: BSSO and Intraoral Ver cal Ramus Osteotomy Monday, September 18 at 8:00 AM EDT Part Five: Genioplasty Monday, October 30 at 8:00 AM EDT
Register today at
ACOMS.org/MC