AO North America, as a concept, was initiated in the mid-1980's in an effort to decentralize some activities of the parent AO ASIF Foundation and give more autonomy to local groups of AO faculty, alumni and supporters. The original organization had Dr. Ted Hansen as President, with Drs. Jim Hughes and Joe Schatzker heading up the North American Education and Documentation Committees, respectively.
In 1992, a series of meetings between interested North American AO surgeons resulted in a formal proposal to the AO Foundation to support AO North America and enable the new organization to decide itself how best to use the annual funding to improve trauma care in North America. The Foundation Board of Directors approved this proposal, and the official inauguration of AO North America took place in Davos, Switzerland, in June of 1992. Shortly thereafter, North American Trustees of the Foundation elected an Executive Committee to propose a mission statement and guidelines and to administerthe activities of the new organization. Dr. Peter G. Trafton was elected to be the first Chairman of the Executive Committee and served in this capacity until 1997. The active Foundation Trustees became the Steering Committee (Board) of AO North America, and approved the organization Guidelines and Mission Statement later in the year.
In 1995, the maxillofacial members began meeting as a group and eventually formed an AONA Maxillofacial Steering Committee and established an annual budget for funding specific maxillofacial projects. Also in 1995, AO North America was granted accreditation status by the ACCME, thus enabling the organization to provide CME credits for AO courses sponsored by AO North America.
Since its inception, AO North America has funded numerous research projects, preceptorships, ad hoc committees and other activities requested by its membership. A newsletter, "AO North America News", has been published periodically to keep membership abreast of current projects and activities of the organization.
This User's Manual has been prepared to enable AO North America members to fully utilize the opportunities and activities available through the organization. It includes information on the organization itself (guidelines, membership list, etc.) and also contains sections on such matters as fellowship applications, how to apply for research grants, ad hoc committee funding, sponsoring courses and workshops, applying for preceptorships, and other pertinent subjects. We hope you will find it a valuable reference and that it will lead to an increasingly active AO North America organization.