Former President Leaves Legacy at the AAO Foundation

The late Dr. Eugene Blair of Elgin, Illinois, (Jan. 25, 1924 to May 21, 2018) became involved with the AAO Foundation in 1988 when he joined the Board of Directors as the representative for the Midwestern Society of Orthodontists (MSO) and the Great Lakes Association of Orthodontists (GLAO). Through the years, his involvement made him aware of the importance of the AAOF's efforts on behalf of the specialty. Consequently, he and his wife, Polly, took the AAOF into account when they devised their estate plans.

"My cash contribution to the Endowment Fund at the beginning of the campaign has been followed by many other members who have chosen to give at the Regent level ($25,000 or more)," Dr. Blair, a past president of the AAO Foundation and the AAO, said at the time. "The demonstration that an endowment fund can significantly fund specialty-related research and encourage the development of orthodontic faculty has strengthened my conviction that every AAO member can and should support the Foundation in a meaningful way. Therefore, my wife, Polly, and I have agreed to have an IRA fund paid, upon my death, in three equal portions, as follows: one portion to the AAO Foundation; one portion to my graduate orthodontic department (the University of Illinois); and one portion to a package of local charities. It is our intention to maintain each of the portions in the six-figure range."

The Blairs' planned gift, received Fall of 2019, is supporting the future efforts of the AAO Foundation. Contributions like Dr. Blair's are not spent, rather they are carefully invested and the earnings from the investments are used to fund research awards that will benefit the specialty of orthodontics, its practitioners and the patients they serve.

In 2019, the AAO Foundation provided $774,738, funding 33 studies through its Awards Program. By the end of 2020, the AAO Foundation will have contributed over $13.5 million to research and fellowship awards since 1994. For more information on the Awards Program, please visit our website.

"Knowing the income that a modest orthodontic practice can produce in a lifetime, I am convinced that almost every AAO member is able to contribute to the Foundation," Dr. Blair said. "The critical factor is, are we willing? I sincerely hope that the willingness factor will dominate as the Foundation comes to prove the vital role it can play in the future of our specialty."

Members who are interested in learning more about estate plan and planned gifts to the AAO Foundation should contact AAO Foundation at 800.424.2841 or aaof@aaortho.org.

Information included in this article is provided courtesy of the AAO—(original article published in The Bulletin November/December 2001, Vol. 19, No. 7).