On February 13, the ACS Foundation held a reception in Atlanta, Georgia, for distinguished donors and supporters from the region.
The event, hosted by ACS Executive Director & CEO and Foundation President Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, featured remarks from ACS Foundation Chair H. Randolph Bailey, MD, FACS, ACS Foundation Distinguished Philanthropist and ACS Distinguished Service Awardee Richard B. Reiling, MD, FACS, Foundation Director Beth Carona, CFRE, and Dr. Turner. More than 30 prominent ACS leaders and Fellows, including Foundation Board of Directors Secretary John H. Stewart IV, MD, MBA, FACS, gathered to celebrate the Foundation.
In remarks to the Foundation’s guests, Dr. Turner spoke of the momentum the Foundation has established over the past year, as well as its need for continued funding.
“As a result of your support, we are succeeding like never before and bringing in record contributions that will enable current and future generations of surgeons to increase optimal outcomes for surgical patients,” Dr. Turner said. “Still, we need the sustained help of our donors to fully realize our mission. I’m grateful to all who have contributed to the Foundation, who continue to give, and who are committed to doing so in the future.”
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025, the Foundation has spent the past 2 decades providing funding for ACS initiatives that could not be delivered without philanthropic support, including scholarships, volunteerism, and public education that have greatly impacted the quality of surgical care on a national and global scale.
In the past year, the Foundation has been instrumental in securing major funding for the areas of rural surgery, patient education, and surgical AI and machine learning. The Foundation also provided significant support to longstanding ACS initiatives, including Quality Programs and the Excelsior Surgical Society, the military surgery chapter of the ACS.
“The Foundation’s success has opened new doors toward advancing the College’s educational resources and programs and improved our collective ability to better serve both surgeons and the surgical patient,” said Dr. Bailey. “I give to the Foundation because I have experienced the benefits of its work, and seen the transformative impact it has on surgeons and surgeons-in-training. I am proud of the work we have done and will continue to do.”
For information on hosting a Foundation reception, or to learn more about how you can support the Foundation and its initiatives, contact ACS Foundation Director Beth White Carona at 312-202-5506 or bcarona@facs.org.
