Western Section AUA is proud to announce that Frank J. DeSantis is the 2021 Distinguished Member Awardee and will be honored at the Members Business Meeting in Indian Wells for his outstanding dedication and contributions to the WSAUA.

Frank J. DeSantis was Executive Director of the Western Section AUA starting in 1965. That year, he was selected for the management of the meetings and administration under the suggestion of the late John W. Dorsey, MD. Frank was also the President and CEO of Harbor UCLA Research and Education Institute (REI) for 45 years, (now known as LA Biomed/ Lundquist Institute) in Torrance, California. There he established a reputation for his exemplary leadership and skills in organizational management. Frank worked with many physicians but felt that urologists were the greatest and most affable and he enjoyed their company.

In his years with the Western Section, Frank was instrumental in developing much of the infrastructure and polices that exists today enabling its continued growth. He was asked to set up the initial AUA Office of Education in Colorado, then in Houston. In grateful recognition of his development as a consultant for the AUA National Office, the Office of Education and the AUA Annual Meetings in the 70s, Frank was bestowed the prestigious Presidential Citation in 2011 at the AUA’s Annual Banquet in Washington DC . Frank was also honored at the Western Section on several occasions and was always grateful for the privilege to serve the members.

A comment from 1994 past-president Dr. Robert Gibbons sums up well Frank's management style:

Frank had an excellent  grasp of our Section’s organizational needs and personalities, and the communication skills to keep us focused to do the right thing for our members.  The zenith of his foresight and negotiating skills was his management of the WSAUA Hawaii meeting after the hurricane destroyed the scheduled Kauai Hotel and he got us moved at no cost to the Grand Wailea in Maui-all within a few days.  Frank’s ready smile reflected a warm heart that he shared with everyone.  I’m sure that some of our questions and requests seemed outrageous to him, but he never showed this as he calmed us down and re-introduced us to reality.

Ironically, the last annual meeting he attended was at Indian Wells in 2015.

If you knew Frank personally, you would remember him for his gregarious personality, work ethic, attention to details, and love of Italian culture and food. Frank’s legacy is the spirit of camaraderie and collegiality in the Western Section that members often say is what they love about it and what makes the Western Section meetings more personal and supportive.