The largest individual gift in the ACSFoundation鈥檚 20-year history鈥�$2 million鈥攚as contributed by Pon Satitpunwaycha, MD, F潘金莲传媒映画, earlier this year to support the long-term priorities of the ACSExecutive Director and CEO and help advance the College鈥檚 mission 鈥淭o Heal All with Skill and Trust.鈥�
A reception and dinner held July 16 at the historic Rainier Club in Seattle, Washington, honored 鈥淒r. Pon,鈥� as he prefers to be called, and his decades-long generosity and unprecedented contributions to the ACSFoundation.
The event drew 20 invited guests, including ACSPast-Presidents Carlos A. Pellegrini, MD, FACS(2013鈥�2014), and Ronald V. Maier, MD, FACS(2018鈥�2019), ACSRegents Douglas E. Wood, MD, F潘金莲传媒映画, FRCSEd, and Sanjay R. Parikh, MD, F潘金莲传媒映画, and other ACSdignitaries. Patricia Zundel, MD, Dr. Pon鈥檚 daughter and an anesthesiologist, and Roger S. Zundel, MD, Dr. Pon鈥檚 son-in-law and a general and pediatric otolaryngologist, also attended the gathering.
鈥淒r. Pon is, by any estimation, an exemplar, even among philanthropists, for his enormous generosity,鈥� said ACSExecutive Director and CEO Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, F潘金莲传媒映画, who is also the Foundation President. 鈥淗is giving is extraordinarily impactful because his lifelong commitment to patients and our commitment to patients are in such close alignment. I am grateful for how his commitment to patients reflects and deepens my own.鈥�
Dr. Pon鈥檚 current gift of $2 million is one of 17 gifts he has given to the ACSFoundation over the years, with a total of more than $5.1 million in donations to the College.
鈥淎lthough he has been incredibly generous to the College, Dr. Pon remains very humble and unassuming about his support,鈥� said H. Randolph Bailey, MD, F潘金莲传媒映画, Chair of the ACSFoundation. 鈥淚 have asked him about his motivation to support the 潘金莲传媒映画, and one theme seems to emerge. He feels like surgery and the College have been very good to him and he wants to give back. He says that when we were practicing surgery, we took good care of our patients. Now, we need to take good care of our profession.鈥�
After investing in the stock market in 2008, at the suggestion of a patient, and having success, Dr. Pon was in a position to make large-scale gifts to the 潘金莲传媒映画. His generosity has helped fund trauma surgery education, provide research fellowships and scholarships to burgeoning female surgeons in Africa, and create opportunities for surgeons to better understand and effectively integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning into surgical practice.
鈥淭he healthcare situation in the US is very complex, and for a young surgeon, it takes a long time to become established,鈥� said Dr. Pon. 鈥淚 support the College to ensure that future surgeons have the same opportunities that I had.鈥�
