The Osler Abbott Award was first given in 1960 and has been awarded annually to that member of the Association who excels in the art of discussionmanship. It was named for Osler Abbott, M.D. of Atlanta, Georgia, who, in 1950, somehow managed to discuss 26 papers, no mean feat since only 25 were presented and one was his own!
In the early years, sheer volume of discussion was sufficient to earn at least an honorable mention, but volume alone never won the award. More important were factors such as pomposity, arrogance, irrelevancy, and the use of outdated slides which had been shown on two or more occasions. In recent years the tactics have ranged from extreme subtlety to blatant exhibitionism and from apparent indifference to obvious covetousness.
To place this traditional award on a somewhat higher plane of competition, the Council, in its wisdom, decided to base the decision on Oslerian principles, and selection would come from evaluation of the more memorable of discussions during the scientific sessions.
Thus, the reincarnated purposes of the Osler Abbott Award of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association are:
1. To focus on the importance of open, frank, and candid discussion in the spirit and substance of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association and, in this way, to encourage more objective and active participation by all members attending the annual meeting.
2. To stimulate a healthy give-and-take among the members and, thereby, enhance the camaraderie and esprit-de-corps which have traditionally characterized the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association.
THE OSLER ABBOTT AWARD WINNERS
1960 - Joseph W. Peabody Jr..................................... Washington, DC
1961 - Milton V. Davis................................................... Dallas, Texas
1962 - E. Converse Peirce, II.............................. New York, New York
1963 - Lewis H. Bosher Jr...................................... Richmond, Virginia
1964 - Sam E. Stephenson Jr................................ Jacksonville, Florida
1965 - Bertram A. Glass....................................New Orleans, Louisiana
1966 - Robert E. Carr............................................. Fort Worth, Texas
1967 - Osler A. Abbott............................................... Atlanta, Georgia
1968 - Watts R. Webb...................................... New Orleans, Louisiana
1969 - William A. Cook................................... Andover, Massachusetts
1970 - Edward F. Parker............................. Charleston, South Carolina
1971 - Minas Joannides Jr.................................. St. Petersburg, Florida
1972 - J. Alex Haller Jr......................................... Baltimore, Maryland
1973 - Harold C. Urschel Jr............................................. Dallas, Texas
1974 - Bertram A. Glass................................... New Orleans, Louisiana
1975 - Gilbert S. Campbell.................................. Little Rock, Arkansas
1976 - James W. Brooks........................................ Richmond, Virginia
1977 - J. Kent Trinkle........................................... San Antonio, Texas
1978 - Raymond C. Read.................................... Little Rock, Arkansas
1979 - Richard E. Clark........................................... St. Louis, Missouri
1980 - Joseph Peabody Jr........................................... Washington, DC
1981 - Robert M. Sade................................ Charleston, South Carolina
1982 - James S. Donahoo............................ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1983 - Francis Robicsek................................. Charlotte, North Carolina
1984 - Milton V. Davis................................................ Kaufman, Texas
1985 - George C. Kaiser.......................................... St. Louis, Missouri
1986 - Milton V. Davis................................................ Kaufman, Texas
1987 - J. Alex Haller Jr.......................................... Baltimore, Maryland
1988 - Ronald C. Elkins................................. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1989 - Bradley M. Rodgers............................... Charlottesville, Virginia
1990 - Harvey W. Bender Jr................................. Nashville, Tennessee
1991 - Kamal A. Mansour........................................... Atlanta, Georgia
1992 - Arthur E. Baue............................................. St. Louis, Missouri
1993 - Kit V. Arom.......................................... Minneapolis, Minnesota
1994 - Frederick L. Grover....................................... Denver, Colorado
1995 - Constantine Mavroudis.................................... Chicago, Illinois
1996 - George Daicoff........................................ St. Peterburg, Florida
1997 - Ross M. Ungerleider............................ Durham, North Carolina
1998 - Lynn Harrison...................................... New Orleans, Louisiana
1999 - William A. Baumgartner............................ Baltimore, Maryland
2000 - Robert J. Cerfolio................................... Birmingham, Alabama
2001 - Carolyn E. Reed................................ Charleston, South Carolina
2002 - John H. Calhoon.......................................... San Antonio, Texas
2003 - Constantine Mavroudis...................................... Chicago, Illinois
2004 - Keith Naunheim.......................................... Saint Louis, Missouri
2005 - Irving Kron........................................... Charlottesville, Virginia
2006 - Thoralf Sundt.............................................Rochester, Minnesota
2007 - W. Steves Ring......................................................Dallas, Texas