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Donor Stories

Securing the Future of Orthodontics
When I think about what the future will bring now that I am retired, I worry that orthodontic treatment could diminish in importance as a health science if we do not give enough support for good clinical research and teaching for our universities. More

Why I Became a Keystone Society Member
I am Rosemary Bray and I am NOT an orthodontist; however, I’ve been a part of the orthodontic specialty for more than 50 years. A few years ago, I decided to become a member of the Keystone Society by adding the AAOF to my estate plan. More

Former President Leaves Legacy at the AAO Foundation
Dr. Eugene Blair's estate gift to the AAO Foundation will continue to impact the orthodontic specialty well after his lifetime. More

Dr. Stan Key Reaches Regent Level Using Professional Courtesy Pledges
Over the last 15 years I have been doing this, the grateful patient contributions have accumulated to over the $25,000 level. More

Dr. Christine Hong Receives Orthodontic Faculty Development Award
Dr. Christine Hong has devoted her life to the specialty, and for her dedication and achievements has received an Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Award. The award will support her development in teaching and research. More

AAO Foundation Funding Supports Open Access of Vital Orthodontic Journal
A newly funded center award project aims to support open access of The Angle Orthodontist, a valuable online publication accessed by thousands each month. Support for the project will protect and enhance the publication, while contributing to the education of orthodontic residents involved in a new review process. More

Dr. Joseph McCormick: Reflecting on the Rewards of Our Profession
Dr. Joseph McCormick has been an orthodontist for nearly 40 years. In this letter, he shares with us what the profession has allowed him to do for others: change peoples' lives. He also reflects on what his work has meant to his family and how that impacted his decision to join the Keystone Society. More

Looking Beyond the Storm
The recent destruction of Super Storm Sandy has provided many with an opportunity to reflect on life and what really matters. I greatly value what orthodontics has added to my life and I invite you to reflect and give back to the AAOF in this holiday season. More

Why I Give to the AAOF
The American Association of Orthodontists Foundation Executive Vice President Robert W. Hazel recently celebrated 20 years with the AAOF. He shares the successes of the Foundation and his reasons for supporting the future of the AAOF. More

The Educational Innovation Awards
Greg King (PCSO/WA) is the principle investigator for the Educational Innovation Awards (EIA) funded by the AAOF in 2012 at the University of Washington. In addition to his many contributions to the specialty of orthodontics, he has served as a member of the Foundation's Planning and Awards Review Committee (PARC), chairing this important committee in 2003, where he played an important role in determining early on which proposals were approved for funding. More

Michigan Professor Receives Educational Innovation Award
R. Scott Conley (Great Lakes Association of Orthodontists, Michigan), clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, was the recipient of the 2012 Educational Innovation Award from AAOF for his work titled "Novel Multicenter Faculty Career Enrichments in Orthodontics (FACEs in Orthodontics) Consortium." More

UF Prof Honored for Clinical, Translational Studies
Dr. Wellington Rody of the University of Florida, whose work is "dedicated to clinical orthodontics and translational projects," received the 2012 AAOF Willie and Earl Shepard Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Award, which is given annually to the proposal judged most meritorious. Wellington is one of the "junior" faculty the AAOF has helped early in their academic careers. More

Dr. Jose A. Bosio Receives 2012 AAOF Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Award
Jose A. Bosio, B.D.S, M.S. is Assistant Professor and Postgraduate Clinic Director, Marquette University School of Dentistry (MUSoD) Orthodontics Program and, once again, an AAOF award recipient for 2012. The award supports Dr. Bosio's ongoing work with facial soft tissue. More

Hatch Wins Faculty Development Fellowship Award
Dr. Nan Hatch is committed to becoming a successful academic orthodontist and independently funded biomedical researcher whose major emphasis will be in exploring questions of importance to our field. Because competition for funding from NIH is extremely high, financial support from the AAOF continues to be essential. More

For Every Dollar the AAOF Has Invested, It Has Generated Unimaginable, Exponential Returns
Sarandeep Huja, who received AAOF funding while junior faculty at Ohio State University, is now division chief and professor at the University of Kentucky Department of Orthodontics and was recently elected as a member of the foundation's Planning and Awards Review Committee. More

Reenergized by AAOF
Rick Fuchs, MSO/SD, AAOF director, is chair of the Foundation's Vanguard Society, an AAOF Regent, and a member of a Regent Family with his father, Mike. After his first exposure to AAOF, Rick immediately made a financial gift to support the Foundation. More

AAOF Legacy 300 Campaign Reaches Goal
With an ambitious goal of $1.5 million, the AAOF Legacy 300 Campaign reached that amount more than a month ahead of deadline. Funds from the campaign will be used to create an online database of craniofacial growth records. More

Support That Makes a Difference
Dr. Jeryl D. English, who received an Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Award, is the Chair and Program Director of the Department of Orthodontics at the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston. More

Why I Became a Vanguard Member of the AAOF
By making an obligation to the AAOF as a resident you will forever be recognized as a Vanguard member. Find out why I became a member and why you should too. More

Jeff Cavanaugh Tells His Story of a Growing Commitment to AAO Foundation
Jeffrey Cavanaugh (MSO/MO), who completes his service on the AAO BOD and as PARC Board Liaison in May, is a staunch advocate for the AAO Foundation Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collections Project ( www.aaoflegacycollection.org). As a seasoned supporter of AAOF, he is helping to ease the way for future orthodontic students. More

How We Return the Favor to Our Privileged Profession
You've spent a lot of your life on the job, and it's a life that many would envy. Maybe it's time to support your profession the way it has supported you for all these years. More

Finding the "Right Time" to Give Back
For Chris Roberts, there was never any question about whether he would support the specialty of orthodontics; it was just a matter of when—then the right time just sort of snuck up on him. More

A Note from Joseph W. Gray (PCSO/CA), AAOF Founder and Keystone Society Member
I have a special interest in the AAO Foundation and am looking into ways to support the Foundation above the Fellow ($50,000) level that I have already pledged, and here's why. More

"Painless Giving"
Since many of us are so busy that we only scan articles, I want to begin by stating the importance of giving as part of your estate plans (via your will) to the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation (AAOF) if our profession is to remain viable. The AAOF is one of our only means to fund research and support our faculties. More

Thomas R. White
I have made provisions in my will to include the amount of $5,000 to the AAOF Foundation. I chose to include the AAOF in my will for the simplicity of the administrative tasks associated with this donation. More

Walter C. Buchsieb
You asked why the Buchsieb's would place a rider in their will to support the foundation. We did so based on my experience with part and full time teaching at Ohio State University. It became clear to me that for our specialty to remain strong we needed the best teachers available. More

Dante A. DeAngelo, DDS., MS
A few years ago, my attorney created an Irrevocable Charitable Remainder Trust in which I could place funds for charitable purposes. The AAO Foundation is currently listed as a twenty-five percent beneficiary of the trust. More

Antonio Cucalon, Jr.
In response to your inquiry to ascertain why I selected to create in 1996 a Charitable Remaining Trust as a component vehicle of my estate planning to benefit the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation, let me say that aside from the obvious legal and otherwise personal benefits, this irrevocable instrument provided me with various practical ways throughout the years to reach my objectives. More

Rosemary Bray, Consultant
As a thirty year team member in this great profession of ours, I became a full time orthodontic speaker and consultant 8 years ago. More

Roy King, D.D.S.
I became a member of the Keystone Society as a way of saying thank you to the American Association of Orthodontists. I chose the way of a trust as a vehicle for giving to the Keystone Society. More

George E. Ewan
Why am I a member of Keystone Society? To me this is a moot question. Keystone supports orthodontics, supports the future of orthodontics, and orthodontics has been good to me. More

A Note From James Gjerset, Past National Planned Giving Chair
After practicing orthodontics for more than 38 years, James Gjerset knows the benefits this specialty has to offer its patients. That is why he has been an active supporter of AAOF during his lifetime and has chosen to continue that support after he is gone, making him a Keystone Society member. More