Hattage.

President Light, colleagues, and distinguished international guests: It is a great and humbling honor to address you and to serve as President of the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA). Jim Beaty, President of The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, used an aphorism in his recent address to the membership that I would like to share with you: ‘‘If you see a turtle on a fence post, it didn’t get there by itself.’’ I stand here because of the support and encouragement of my orthopaedic colleagues, partners, and family as well as the countless medical personnel and administrative staff who help me on a daily basis. This Association held its first meeting in 1887 in New York City with thirty-five charter members in attendance. The original constitution and bylaws, which can be found in the first volume of the Transactions of the American Orthopedic Association, stated: ‘‘The purpose of this Association shall be the advancement of Orthopedic science and art’’; this is still a part of the Association’s mission. This volume, now in my library, was originally owned by Albert H. Freiberg of Cincinnati, the Association’s president in 1911. His son, Joseph A., also of Cincinnati, was president in 1962, and his grandson Richard A. is a colleague of mine in Cincinnati and is chief of the Veterans Administration Hospital. Finally, his great-grandson Andrew, a recently elected member of the AOA, is an orthopaedic surgeon who practices at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. What a testimony to our specialty! Hattage is a nonword. I first heard it used by my chief, Dr. Henry Mankin, when I was an orthopaedic resident. Every morning, Dr. Mankin’s house officers gathered for breakfast at 6:30 AM, and a designated resident presented a case to him. One morning, I presented the case of a patient with a four-month history of radicular back pain and a positive myelogram. I recommended operative treatment. He suggested hattage. I looked at him quizzically and asked what he meant. He explained that *First President-Elect’s Address. Read at the Annual Meeting of the American Orthopaedic Association, Asheville, North Carolina, June 15, 2007.