Oh, the places we’ve been

With my retirement on the near horizon and 25 years of experience under my belt as executive director of TAFP, I’ve had some time to reflect on the true meaning of leadership in myself and others. It has been my honor to serve the specialty of family medicine and the Academy, through which I’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of talented, dedicated visionaries.

It all started for me when Dr. Harold High approached me at a Texas Medical Association function and said, “We are going to hire you, boy.” At first I thought I would never leave TMA, but I had confidence that Harold had identified a leadership quality in me, so I decided to pursue it for the family docs. Now looking back, I hope I played a hand in helping the TAFP leadership over the years, encouraging members who might not have stepped up on their own, but who have done great things for the organization. The Academy’s success at reaching our goals is truly reflected in the leadership that TAFP has been so fortunate to have, and through them I can identify four phases that helped the Academy grow and develop.

I call the first phase the Visionary Phase, which started in 1982 and continued until 1992. At this time we formulated, carried out and revised the ideas that still play a large role in the Academy’s core values. The Academy glided along under the selfless leadership of Past Presidents Drs. Warren Longmire, Pete Journeay, Rafael Garza, Jim Winn, Glen Johnson, Barker Stigler, A. Earl Mgebroff, Jim Martin, Tim Lambert and Lewis Foxhall. As great leaders, these visionaries put their own personal agendas behind the ultimate goal of improving the specialty and making strides for the Academy. They were looking ahead to define the vision of the future TAFP and using the strength of our leadership to reach that vision.

During the Visionary Phase, four solid goals were established:

• Establish a solid fiscal infrastructure,
• Increase TAFP’s involvement in the American Academy of Family Physicians,
• Increase TAFP’s political influence in Texas, and
• Maintain an excellent CME program.

These goals were accomplished by establishing policies and processes that guided TAFP, and many continue to be our focus today.

The next phase I call the Implementation Phase. Leaders like Drs. Ken Davis, Jimmy Randles, Roland Goertz and Tom Mueller took the game plan, updated it and executed it magnificently. They never let up. Each president injected new vitality into TAFP and kept the momentum going toward putting the specialty in leadership positions at both the AAFP and state levels.

Next is the Innovation Phase of TAFP’s growth, characterized by two factors—an entrepreneurial spirit and expanded vision. Leaders like Drs. Sheri Talley, Leah Raye Mabry, Marcus Purvis, Stephen Benold, Lloyd Van Winkle, Justin Bartos, Robert Hogue, David Schneider and Erica Swegler had the vision to see that even when you made it to the table, accomplishing change takes resources. Traditionally TAFP had two primary sources of income, dues and CME registration fees. Their support and encouragement motivated staff to develop innovations such as PrimeCME that met TAFP’s mission and brought in additional non-dues income. During this time, TAFP became an accredited organization with ACCME.

These leaders knew CME was important but they also recognized that the top member priorities were advocacy and representation. Programs were developed to accomplish this and were furthered by TAFP staff. Tom Banning played a significant role in developing the advocacy arm.

The last phase I call the Transition Phase. It began about two years ago when I informed the Executive Committee of my plan to retire. It has been led by your current officers: Past Presidents Tim Coleridge and Doug Curran, President Linda Siy, President-elect Bobby Youens, Vice President Melissa Gerdes, Treasurer Ashok Kumar and Parliamentarian I.L. Balkcom, IV. Be assured that these TAFP leaders have taken this responsibility seriously.

While on the verge of launching a major search for a new executive director, we were struck by the “duh factor.” No amount of interviewing would enable the search committee to know a candidate as well as they know Tom Banning; the leaders know him to be an exceptionally bright and devoted advocate for family medicine. So history repeated itself and they decided “they were going to hire that boy” to be the new leader of TAFP.

I have been asked a number of times what am I most proud of. That’s a tough question to answer, but I’m probably most proud of knowing I helped realize the goals set by the TAFP leadership over the years. PrimeCME has to top this list. Working with Glen Johnson to establish the annual Multi-State Forum in 1987 helped many state leaders become national leaders. The Multi-State Forum helped groom 24 individuals to be elected to 45 AAFP offices in 20 years. This coalition has raised TAFP’s profile within AAFP as well as propelled individual leaders. Texas has sent eight great leaders to AAFP so far—including Drs. Glen Johnson, Jim Martin, Leah Raye Mabry and Roland Goertz—and I expect to see more in the coming years.

Though I have never pretended to be a skilled lobbyist, an opportunity to make great strides for third-year clerkships in family medicine in our medical schools arose in 1989 when Dr. Jim Bob Brame, who chaired a Blue Ribbon Task Force on health care reform, asked if TAFP had anything to add to the group’s report. I called in Roland Goertz and Sam Stone and we crafted two or three sentences that sailed into the language of House Bill 18, through House and Senate votes and into law.

These victories across TAFP’s history make me excited for what the future will bring the organization. Though I know that my time is almost over, I have full confidence in Tom and the new leaders stepping forward. This job has never really been about the CEO, it is about you, it’s about the specialty of family medicine and it’s about the patients you care for. While I am sad about leaving, I also fully understand that when you pass the baton, you stop running. This I intend to do. I have been truly blessed and extremely fortunate since the day Harold High came up to me in San Antonio. He changed my life and gave me a great opportunity to begin a wonderful career serving the leadership and the specialty of family medicine. For that, I thank you all.