Midwestern Association of Plastic Surgeons

One other positive change was the increase in the number of women training in plastic surgery and eventually applying for membership in the professional societies, including MAPS. At the end of the first decade (1972), there were only two women plastic surgeons officially listed as active MAPS members – Mary McKenzie and Meredith Payne – as compared to 86 men.

At the end of the next decade (1982), the number had tripled. There were now six women members, with the addition of Drs. Constance Arnold, Sharon Elias, Lilla Feinberg, and Karin Plym Forshell. This was still a modest increase, considering that the total number of active male members had risen to 143. Still, it signaled a transition for the decade that would follow: the ratio of female to male surgeons had been one in 43 in the first decade.

It was now one to 24 at the end of the 1970s. This ratio would continue to change, as the number of women plastic surgeons listed as active members of MAPS would double again to a total of 12 by 1992. Mary McKenzie wrote us from Clearwater, Florida, where she is now retired: I always looked forward to the MAPS meetings because of the friendships I made, the personalities I med, the professionalism of the participants, the quality of the papers presented, and the Confession Sessions from which I gained insights that benefited my practice. It is also my hope that I contributed to improving gender relations among my colleagues.

Two important items of business in 1982 that were carried over to the next decade were:

1) The Board of Trustees appointed a committee to update the Bylaws, the second such revision since MAPS was founded
2) Serious discussion took place, for the first time, about actively recruiting new qualified members. It was noted that, unlike other regional societies which required Board certification, eligibility for MAPS membership consisted only of formal training in plastic surgery and good references. This policy was to be carried into the next decade.

The general perception was that MAPS should continue to be a venue for the inclusion of all trained plastic surgeons in the Midwest who wished to belong. Excluding those who had not attained Board certification was viewed by the majority of members as being unnecessary at that time. The tradition of diversity of inviting distinguished national and international guest speakers to share their special expertise at the annual meetings regardless of medical background, would also continue.

The financial status of the Association was excellent, with a positive cash balance of almost $20,000. the annual meetings were entirely funded by registration fees and the very modest membership dues of $15 a year. There was also more than enough money to continue funding the awards for excellence in scientific papers. This second decade ended in March 1982, with a meeting at the Clock Tower Resort in Rockford, Illinois, under Hugh Johnson’s presidency. (It had been noted earlier, in 1978, that Dr. Frank Bernard had, by group consensus, served as unofficial president during the first planning meeting in Madison, in 1961. Dr. Hugh Johnson was then officially acknowledged as the founder of MAPS, but did not serve as president until that year, 1982.)
This was a symbolic closing of a circle, as Hugh had brought the idea of MAPS to life two decades earlier and was now presiding over the transition to a respected and fully recognized society, which was growing larger and more productive each year.

At the end of the third decade in 1992, and just before he died, Hugh participated in yet another symbolic closing of a circle, when he expressed his wishes and dreams for the future of MAPS in a recorded interview with George Pap. When he presided over the meeting at Rockford Clock Tower Resort, in 1982, Hugh had already been a stroke victim for almost two years. Yet, despite this fact, he went on to experience his finest hour, as president of an organization whose seed he had planted more than twenty years earlier.

The third decade opened with the May 12-14, 1983 meeting at the Abbey in Fontana, Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Geneva. Two foreign speakers, guests of President George S. Pap, brought an international flavor this meeting. Dr. Harold Labanter, of Raanana, Israel, and Professor Frantisek Maris, of Comenius University, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Dr. Labandter’s talk was titled “Breast Reconstruction Following Mastectomy.” Professor Maris spoke about “Reconstruction in the Middle Third of the Face by Bipdicle Arterial Flap from the Forehead and Parietal Region.” Some historical facts were recorded in the minutes of the 1983 annual meeting:

• A moment of silence was observed in memory of the three members who died that year: Drs. Paul Natvig, Connie Karleen, and Jim Dowd.
• Dr. Peter McKinney was recommended as the MAPS candidate for appointment to the American Board of Plastic Surgery
• The treasurer reported a healthy balance of $21,596.15 and an increase in dues from $15 to $20 (which was later decreased back to $15, as the financial situation remained very good in subsequent years and the modest $15 membership dues were deemed to be enough).

The registration fees listed that year were:
Member: $75.00
Spouse/Guest: $55.00
Friday session and lunch only (Residents: $25.00
Banquet and evening program only: $25 The entire registration process took place on-site on Thursday evening and Friday morning.
This flexibility allowed for a very full house on Friday, as many members and guests came in from nearby Chicago and Milwaukee for one day only. As a result of this, it was subsequently voted that MAPS change to amore structured preregistration process, which would allow for better planning and a less hectic start for future meetings.

At the 1984 meeting in Chicago under the presidency of Dr. Stuart Landa, it was decided that future meetings would take place, as much as possible, within the continental United States and, more specifically, within the Midwest. The main reason for this decision was the fact that plastic surgery residents, all potential MAPS members, were attending with increasing frequency and presenting excellent papers which often won awards in the Clinical or Research categories. The Board of Trustees agreed that it would be an imposition on residents’ time and financial resources to expect them to travel outside the USA for a period longer than the usual three days, in order to present a paper.

The first discussion on how best to utilize the new James Down Memorial Fund took place at this 1984 meeting. A decision was made to use this fund for prize monies in the future, so the awards program for the best papers in different categories could continue permanently, without worry that funding might become unavailable in future years. It was decided that income from the fund, then worth some $17,000, would be used by MAPS annually for distribution in the form of awards for excellence. Other memorial donations would be added later, but the James Dowd Fund was the first, and to date, the largest and most active.

The most successful membership drive was stared at the 1987 meeting, under the guidance of president Dr. Elvin Zook and committee chairmanship of Dr. Reid Hansen. Possible reasons for the success of this drive in the next few year – which would greatly increase the growth of MAPS – were the facts that:
1) Plastic surgery residents were attending the annual meetings and presenting papers in increasing numbers, often strongly encouraged by their department heads and training program directors, as was the case with Dr. Ian Jackson at the Mayo Clinic.
2) Membership application forms were mailed to all eligible plastic surgeons in the Midwest who hadn’t joined yet.
3) The following year, in 1988, Mrs. Annette Hubble, Dr. Bryan Hubble’s wife, assumed the role of Membership Coordinator, which greatly enhanced the efficiency and continuity of the membership recruitment process.

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