The American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) announced that it will honor Thomas Watson, CP, with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 AOPA National Assembly in Boston at the general session on September 10. This award is bestowed on individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the O&P profession.
“The Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor in the O&P profession, and Tom Watson was a natural choice,” said AOPA President James Campbell, PhD, CO, FAAOP. “He has run a successful business, while serving his community through his civic engagement. His many years of effective advocacy for the O&P community should be appreciated by all of us.”
Watson and his wife Barbara own Tom Watson’s Prosthetic & Orthotic Lab, with locations in Owensboro and Evansville, Kentucky. He is a past president of AOPA and has served on AOPA’s Government Relations Committee. He works personally with the AOPA Veteran’s Affairs committee, the O&P PAC, and is a grassroots lobbyist who participates in the annual AOPA Policy Forum and educates local lawmakers on O&P year round.
Watson is the former mayor of Owensboro from 2005-2008 and is seeking reelection this year. He served as past-chair of the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, and as a former member of the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board, among other former and current board positions He is a member of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists and is a facility accreditation surveyor for the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics. In 2016, he earned the Hall of Achievement award from the Owensboro Public School System.
Additionally, Watson, who has a transfemoral amputations due to an injury he sustained while a teenager, has long supported programs for people with physical disabilities. He currently volunteers at the Daniel Pitino Shelter in Owensboro.
