Major gift to the Foundation is capstone to AAOMS presidency for Dr. and Mrs. Indresano
Dr. A. Thomas Indresano has witnessed the evolution of the OMS Foundation firsthand from the vantage point of academia, making time during his career as a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery to serve as a Foundation Director in 1992-94 and again in 2010-12. As an AAOMS Trustee, newly retired from the OMS department chairmanship at the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry, he helped craft and implement the Foundation’s Strategic Alliance with AAOMS.
As his term as AAOMS President neared its conclusion in 2019, Dr. Indresano and his wife, Rita, decided to increase their R.V. Walker Society commitment to $100,000.
ADA President-Elect is among first major donors to OMSF in 2020
Even as they prepared for Dr. Klemmedson’s responsibilities as president of the American Dental Association in 2021, Dr. Daniel and Adaline Klemmedson took steps to affirm their dedication to the OMS specialty, pledging $50,000 over five years to the OMS Foundation’s OMSFIRE campaign.
On the advice of their financial advisor, the Klemmedsons made their 2020 donation through their Donor Advised Fund (DAF) in order to maximize the tax benefits of their charitable giving.
Week of “giving back” inspires resident to “pay it forward” as an OMSF donor.
Dr. Bruno Kuloba, a graduate of Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry serving as an OMS in the U.S. Navy, received a $2,500 Global Initiative for Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) stipend from the OMS Foundation to serve with Smile Bangladesh in March 2019. Already a seasoned volunteer with Jamaica Awareness Association of California, Dr. Kuloba understood the value of a skilled set of hands paired with a generous heart.
Dr. Kuloba credits GIVE with helping to crystallize his ambitions.
Recurring donor and R.V. Walker member emphasizes giving back at all career levels
“Whatever you do, always give back” was one of the earliest life lessons Dr. Brett Ferguson learned from his father. “My dad was a postal worker who always gave to the church. He expected a lot of me, and when I’d found my life’s path he made it clear that there was still more for me to do.”
Dr. Ferguson recalls the quandary he faced as a mid-career academic OMS, juggling requests for financial support from multiple deserving alma maters. “Naturally, I wanted to give to all of them—they’d helped shape and advance my career,” he said. “And I wanted to support AAOMS and the OMS Foundation, too. But I didn’t have that kind of money to give away. A financially savvy buddy of mine solved my problem by suggesting that I collectively list those organizations as beneficiaries on a life insurance policy. It was easy, inexpensive and tax deductible, and suddenly I was a philanthropist.”
Dr. Ferguson went on to serve as an officer of AAOMS and in 2018 became its President. He currently serves as a Director for the OMS Foundation and the Chair of the Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Hospital Dentistry at Truman Medical Center.