by H. Bryan Neel III, MD PhD

One of the great privileges of the President of the American Laryngological Association is to present a Guest of Honor to the fellowship. Through this tradition, beginning in 1962, several of our distinguished leaders have been honored. From my viewpoint, a Guest of Honor is chosen for his or her contributions to the American Laryngological Association, scientific accomplishments, and personal attributes. It is a measure of respect and admiration.

This year, I am deeply honored to have Eugene N. Myers as Guest of Honor. Gene is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a surgeon, scientist, educator, and humanist. He is a close personal friend and personal advisor. Ingrid and I have had the privilege to visit Gene and Barbara in Pittsburgh, and we have been honored to have them as our guests and guests of the Mayo Clinic.

Gene served as Secretary of the American Laryngological Association for 6 years (1982-1988), beginning at the time of Dr William Trible's death. He gave me unfailing support as his successor. He served as our President in 1989, was the recipient of the Newcomb Award in 1993, and served on the Council from 1982 to 1991.

Gene attended undergraduate school at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his MD degree from Temple University School of Medicine. He did his otolaryngology residency at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary of Harvard and served for 2 years as a teaching fellow and as a National Institutes of Health special fellow in the Harvard program. Following 2 years of military service, he did a special fellowship with John Conley and the Pack Medical Group. Subsequently, he joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Pennsylvania, and then in 1972, was appointed Professor and Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh, a chair he now holds.

He is active in virtually all of the prominent national and international otolaryngology-head and neck surgery societies and boards of directors. To name a few, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Otolaryngology, our certifying board, and the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS). He has served on the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons and on the Otorhinolaryngology Advisory Council.

In addition to his service as President of the American Laryngological Association, he has also been the President of the American Society for Head and Neck Surgery and the Pan American Association of Otolaryogology-Head and Neck Surgery. Currently, he is the President of the AAO-HNS. He is the President-Elect of the American Board of Otolaryngology.

He is sought from all around the world as a lecturer and teacher and is the recipient of many prestigious awards.

Of special interest is the fact that he was the first chairman of the Upper Aerodigestive Tract Section of the Organs Systems Program of the National Cancer Institute. Also, his uncle established the Eugene N. Myers International Lecture in Head and Neck Surgery for the AAO-HNS. This has provided all of the members of our specialty with the opportunity to meet and hear world leaders in head and neck surgery in perpetuity.

He serves on many editorial boards and has published 248 original papers, book chapters, and textbooks. His long-standing interest in cancer in the head and neck region, especially laryngeal cancer, is well known. He is one of the prominent members of our specialty who has been instrumental in embracing head and neck surgery, building on our legacy of laryngobronchoesophagology. He has played an extremely important and effective role in this regard as a consummate diplomat and leader.

He and the members of his department continue to make substantive scientific contributions in many areas.

It is my great pleasure and honor to present to you Eugene N. Myers as the 1995 Guest of Honor of the American Laryngological Association.

Guest of Honor Address, by Eugene N. Myers