Frank Williamson, CFo, marks his 50th year in the O&P industry this year.
Now 68, he got his start when he was 18. A friend’s father-in-law worked at Alexander Orthopedic Company, a two-year-old practice that needed an O&P technician. Williamson signed on with them as a tech in 1961. Six years later, he took over the business when the owner retired and sold it to him. Throughout his practice he has focused on pediatrics, with most of his work serving the young patients at the Wilmington, Delaware, A. I. duPont Institute, now known as the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children.
After 24 years of operating the business jointly with his wife Mary, Williamson accepted Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Lawall Orthotics & Prosthetics’ offer to join them in 1991, where he continues providing orthotic services to children at the hospital. Williamson estimates he has seen 1,300 patients per year for the last 44 years since he took over the hospital calls from his former employer-that’s more than 57,000 children he has helped.
Williamson plans to retire in 2013.