{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/nc5s758h1q/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Dona Flory "]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/246/original/CenterForHistoryFamilyMedicine_2c_RGB.png?1773344256","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eMs. Flory was a 40-year employee of the AAFP, having begun her career before family medicine was recognized as a medical specialty. Her career began as a secretary to the managing editor of the American Family Physician, the Academy's journal. That evolved into editing manuscripts, which she felt resonated well with her liberal arts education. After that she started the CME Records Program, which provided maintaining records of AAFP members' continuing medical education. She began working part time in the chapter relations department and that evolved into her position of Chapter Relations Director in 1985. In that role she worked with the Academy's 55 constituent chapters. She established increased communications with chapter leaders and developed leadership training for chapter staff members. She credits her community volunteer work with helping understand the academy's mission, and reflected on the wonderful career she had working for the AAFP during its evolution, the importance of its mission, and the AAFP's role in the US health care environment.\u003c/p\u003e (summary)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis item is protected by U.S. copyright and related rights. It is being made available by the Center for the History of Family Medicine as its rights-holder for noncommercial use, including sharing and adapting the work. No permission is required for noncommercial use so long as attribution is provided. All other uses require permission from the Center for the History of Family Medicine.  Disclaimer:  The views presented in this broadcast are the speaker’s own and do not represent those of CHFM or the AAFP Foundation. The information presented is for general, educational, or entertainment purposes and should not be considered legal, health, financial, or other advice. \u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2007-06-19 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Oral History"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Lindsay Young (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["audio file"]}},{"label":{"en":["Keyword"]},"value":{"en":["family medicine","family physician","American Academy of Family Physicians"]}},{"label":{"en":["Subject"]},"value":{"en":["Dona Flory (personal name)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["english (primary)"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eMs. Flory was a 40-year employee of the AAFP, having begun her career before family medicine was recognized as a medical specialty. Her career began as a secretary to the managing editor of the American Family Physician, the Academy's journal. That evolved into editing manuscripts, which she felt resonated well with her liberal arts education. After that she started the CME Records Program, which provided maintaining records of AAFP members' continuing medical education. She began working part time in the chapter relations department and that evolved into her position of Chapter Relations Director in 1985. In that role she worked with the Academy's 55 constituent chapters. She established increased communications with chapter leaders and developed leadership training for chapter staff members. She credits her community volunteer work with helping understand the academy's mission, and reflected on the wonderful career she had working for the AAFP during its evolution, the importance of its mission, and the AAFP's role in the US health care environment.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis item is protected by U.S. copyright and related rights. It is being made available by the Center for the History of Family Medicine as its rights-holder for noncommercial use, including sharing and adapting the work. No permission is required for noncommercial use so long as attribution is provided. All other uses require permission from the Center for the History of Family Medicine. \u0026nbsp;Disclaimer: \u0026nbsp;The views presented in this broadcast are the speaker\u0026rsquo;s own and do not represent those of CHFM or the AAFP Foundation. The information presented is for general, educational, or entertainment purposes and should not be considered legal, health, financial, or other advice.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Center for the History of Family Medicine"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Center for the History of Family Medicine"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/246/original/CenterForHistoryFamilyMedicine_2c_RGB.png?1773344256","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/public/images/audio-default.png","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2195/collection_resources/154891/file/284067","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - Flory_Dona_07.wav"]},"duration":3954.94278,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/public/images/audio-default.png","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2195/collection_resources/154891/file/284067/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2195/collection_resources/154891/file/284067/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/284/067/original/Flory_Dona_07.wav?1754507969","type":"Audio","format":"audio/wav","duration":3954.94278,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2195/collection_resources/154891/file/284067","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2195/collection_resources/154891/file/284067/transcript/82304","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Dona Flory interview transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2195/collection_resources/154891/file/284067/transcript/82304/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Shall we start with some basic biographical information? Would you please state your full name?\n\nMy name is Dona Lynn Flory. \n\nWhen and where were you born?\n\nI was born March 6, 1945 in Wichita, Kansas. \n\nWhat were your parents’ names?\n\nMy parents are Harold and Avis Flory. My mother’s maiden name was Elliott.   \n\nWhat does your family do for a living?\n\nMy mother worked until she had children and then became a full-time homemaker and community volunteer. My father was a structural engineer for Beech Aircraft Corporation.   \n\nHave you been married?\n\nNo, I have not.   \n\nDid you have any children?\n\nNo.\n\nLet’s move on to some education. Where did you grow up?\n\nI grew up in Wichita, Kansas. \n\nDo you have any stories you’d like to share from that time period?\n\nI think just that it was a really happy time. It was the 50s and early 60s and life in America was good during that time. It was peaceful and fun. I just remember lots of happy times with the family, doing things together, and family vacations in the summer. We would always take a trailer and go somewhere for a couple of weeks. And I saw most of the country that way actually as a child. So it was a good, happy time.\n\nDid you have any special role models when you were young?\n\nActually, I think my parents probably were role models and my aunts and uncles. I was very close to all the people in my family and I think they instilled values that meant a lot to me. I suppose if I’m to name kind of a well-known hero, it would be Jonas Salk because my youngest brother had polio when we were children and Jonas Salk, of course, discovered the polio vaccine. So he’s always been really special.\n\nWhen you were young, did you have any special dreams or goals you were kind of looking for?\n\nNot really. I think just to be a happy person and have friends and work in the community. Music was a really special interest and I loved to read. But I don’t think I was particularly goal-oriented.\n\nWhere did you go to high school and what were those years like?\n\nI went to Wichita Southeast and those were great years. A wonderful group of people. We had a class of a little over 500 and the people that I had classes with were really special. A lot of them are still friends of mine. Some of them went on to KU with me. It was just a really good time. A lot of us were involved in the arts. A number of us were in the Wichita Youth Symphony and others sang in the chorale or did dramatics and that kind of thing. So it was a good time. \n\nWhere did you complete your undergraduate work?\n\nAt Kansas University. \n\nWhat was your major?\n\nMy major was French which didn’t prove to be too useful in my career. But it was something that gave me an opportunity to study in France. I lived in Paris for a summer and did the summer institute there. Which was really life changing, to live in another culture for awhile. I felt that was one of the best parts of my education.   \n\nDo you have any other stories from your undergraduate years you want to share?\n\nYou know, it was really before all of the what you would call uproar of the 60s, all of the demonstrations. There were civil rights demonstrations when I was in school, but nothing really anti-war or as severe as it got in the late 60s. So it was a pretty calm, happy time. There’s kind of a generation gap I think between the year that I graduated really and the year or two after that. So it was a quiet time and a happy time. I still see a lot of people I was in school with then. There were lots of bonds that went beyond campus and that have been really fun over the years.\n\nSo majoring in French, what were you hoping to pursue as a career after graduation?\n\nI don’t think I really knew that. Again, I was not that goal-oriented. I had a lot of credits in humanities topics and also classes in literature and that kind of thing because those were things that were really of interest to me. I just always liked liberal arts and had faith that that would help me in my career. But I don’t think I really was professionally goal-oriented at that point.\n\nThat’s good to hear a similar situation.\n\nI think we’re coming back to that, from what I’m reading. \n\nWhere did you go to school for your master’s?\n\nI was in a program sponsored by Southern Methodist University and it was taught by Baker University, which is kind of a local campus here. They offered a Master of Liberal Arts program which was really of interest to me, obviously. And it was really fun. And the Academy helped make that possible, obviously, by helping to pay for some of the tuition cost. That was a big help.\n\nHow did they pay for that? Did you apply for a scholarship or were you working for them?  \n\nYes, I was working for the Academy at the time. And they have a program where if you’re in an accredited program, they will help defray some of the costs for that. So that was very helpful.\n\nDo you have any stories from that period, your master’s?\n\nNot really. Again, I have some friends actually who came out of that program with me. We had wonderful teachers and it was a really good program. I really had a good time participating in that. But because I was working full-time, it’s a different kind of experience. And you’re not on campus and viewing your education really is your primary concern.\n\nIt’s more towards work there?\n\nExactly.  \n\nWere you still studying anything related to French or was it other things then?\n\nNo, nothing related to French. It was all general liberal arts. A lot of literature, arts, that kind of thing. \n\nDid you seek some further education after that?\n\nNo, I didn’t. I read all the time, but nothing formal. \n\nI see that you’re a Certified Association Executive. And what made you decide to get that title?\n\nI decided to do that after I started working with the chapters. In 1985 I started doing chapter relations part-time and I realized that as a staff specialist for the Academy, I didn’t really have a good feel for what it was like to be the CEO of a small association. And I thought that Certified Association Executive would give me that kind of background. And I think that it did. I think it made me really appreciate the various things that chapter executives are dealing with on a daily basis. And I needed to know that. I needed that kind of empathy in order to work with them respectively.\n\nYou said while you were doing your master’s, you were also working for the Academy. Was that your first position or did you have a previous position after you graduated?\n\nMy first position here was as secretary to the managing editor of what was then GP magazine. It became AFP. And I worked for Walter [Kemp] for a couple of years and then was moved into a position where I was editing manuscripts and some of the columns for GP. And I also did the index and who knows what. It was really a fun time. It was a close-knit group of people. And I liked that kind of work. I liked editing articles. And it was very good for me professionally because it really taught me to pay attention to how things are written and to sharpen them up. And that was a skill that I really valued later. I was in that position until 1978, I believe was when I moved to the Membership Division to start the CME Records Program. And it was right before that, that I was in graduate school. I finished my graduate work the first year that I was doing CME Records. So that was kind of a crazy last semester, but it was exciting as well.\n\nDid you take that first position knowing that you liked that sort of editing work? Or how did you come across that?\n\nNo, actually I had a friend who suggested that I interview here. She worked for the Academy. Her name was Sue Helmers. And that’s really how it happened. This was a position that was open. I wanted to move to Kansas City and I thought it would be a good place to start. I had no idea that I would stay so long and do that many different things. But I actually found while I was working for him that I was very interested in the editorial work. So it was really nice that I was able to move into that. And that was kind of the beginning of it all.\n\nDo you happen to remember who you first interviewed with?\n\nYes, with Walter Kemp who became my first boss. He was the managing editor for GP magazine at the time.\n\nAnd why did you move from editing to doing the CME records?\n\nA couple of reasons. It sounded like a really good challenge. I think I was ready for something new. I thought it would be good to work for the Academy rather than just for the publications arms of it for awhile. And I just thought it would be a good opportunity for growth.\n\nAnd was it?\n\nYeah, I think it was. I really enjoyed doing it. It was great to be able to create something that was brand new. It was very much a service position which I enjoyed. It became the No. 1 most valued service for Academy members, and I believe it still is. So that’s nice. It turned out to be something that was really valued. You always hope, when you’re creating something, that it’s going to be worthwhile. But that’s really determined later by what people tell you about it. But our members love that program. Of course, now the technology enables them to really do all kinds of things that were not possible then like electronic transfer of records and just all kinds of ways of communicating with the members that weren’t available at that time. So it’s really grown and prospered, which is terrific. It has changed, and for the better.\n\nSo you did editing, then CME. What else have you done with the Academy?\n\nThen in ’85 I took on Chapter Relations part-time as well as the CME Records position. And I really enjoyed that. And then in 1978 they wanted to start the Chapter Relations initiative. And so that point they split CME Records from Chapter Affairs and I went full-time in the Chapter Affairs position. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since and I really like that.\n\nAnd what have you done with that in general, your job description?\n\nThe general job description probably is to just maintain relationships with the constituent chapters. There are fifty-five of them. They’re integral to the Academy’s success, I think. All of our leadership comes up from the chapter level because they’re the ones who nominate people to the commissions and committees. They’re the ones who appoint the delegates to our Congress of Delegates. And of course it’s [the] Congress that elects our Board and elects our officers. So it’s very grassroots. And I’ve just really enjoyed those relationships and working with the chapter executives and the chapter elected leaders to develop their leadership training. Annual Leadership Forum has been one of my responsibilities. It used to be State Officers Conference. And that has been great fun to put together every year. I really like working on education and working with the chapter leaders. It’s just a lot of fun. And they’re just such nice people, it’s been a real pleasure to spend time with them.\n\nLet’s go back for a second. Can you talk about what actually CME is, because we’ve been using the abbreviation but we haven’t actually said what it is, in case someone in the future doesn’t know.\n\nOf course. Computerized CME Records which is now I think called the CME Records Program. But at the time, computerizing any kind of records was a big, new thing. And if I’m correct, this was the first [medical] organization to really create computerized records for individual members of their CME participation. The idea behind it was for us to be able to help our members maintain a record of their CME mainly because the AAFP requires 150 hours of CME credit in order for members to maintain their three-year membership. It’s up for renewal every three years. One of the major developments that came out of all of this was the ability to create a collaboration with the American Board of Family Practice, now Family Medicine, whereby we could document to the ABFP that members had been reelected and had completed a certain number of hours since that reelection period. All of this, of course, on an honor system. But if the members reported that to us then we could in turn say to the Board, the member has met this criteria, to the best of our knowledge. And the ABFM then accepts that as documentation of the CME criteria for sitting for the Board [exam]. And that has become a major service to members. They love that they don’t have to go back and recreate a record or get a copy from us and send it to the Board. It’s all taken care of for them. So it’s been helpful. And I know that a lot of our members use those records for licensure in their states. But in the end what it allowed us to do was maintain these records. And further, to be able to analyze those records and reelect the member based on what they had reported to us, alleviating the necessity for the chapters to review all of the records individually for their members. It freed up a lot of time for the chapters to devote to other important things for their members like advocacy and public relations and that kind of thing. So it’s been really helpful to the chapters and to the members.\n\nCME stands for Continuing Medical Education?\n\nContinuing medical education, yes. \n\nWhat sort of things were you editing?\n\nI was editing clinical manuscripts and some of the columns. We had a column called “Tips From Other Journals,” which was abstracts. And I also edited one other column. But I’m not sure I can remember the name of that one. And I know that I did an index at the time. We used to do an index every six months of what had been published. That was kind of fun too.\n\nKind of an overview of the whole six months?\n\nYes.\n\nAre there any of those jobs or duties that you haven’t talked about yet or have you pretty much covered it all?\n\nI think I have pretty much covered that. The Publications job is mostly just dealing with manuscripts. Getting things ready for publication. And CME Records was basically maintenance of the records for our members. So that was actually kind of a narrow focus.\n\nLet’s move on to your Chapter Affairs. What were you actually doing in that position?\n\nOne of the first things that I did when I moved to Chapter Affairs full-time was to work on the AAFP Chapter Relations Initiative which came out of a task force that was appointed by the Board in response to a resolution that came out of, I believe, the 1996 Congress of Delegates. It was mostly around the issue of competition between the AAFP and chapters for CME revenue. But I think the Board recognized that this was much broader and appointed a task force to look at the issue. And they in turn recommended an initiative of all kinds of resources to assist the chapters more directly. Part of what came out of that was a leadership road show which offers support to the chapters for a facilitator for up to one day of training of presentation or whatever. The AAFP pays for the fee for the facilitator and all of the travel expenses. And we offer usually about fifteen of these a year. And at least half of them every year as used for the purpose of strategic planning, which we think has been very valuable. But they’ve also been used for board retreats or a focus discussion around a specific topic or perhaps media training, that kind of thing. It’s really up to the chapter. And as long as it meets the criteria of leadership training for the chapter leaders then we’ve been very flexible about supporting those. One of the other popular programs especially has been the peer visit program for chapter executives and staff where they can ask for a day or two to go visit another chapter to learn about the best practices of that chapter, to collaborate on an issue or to see how their board works or their annual meeting or whatever. And that’s been a popular program too. We’ve had good success with that. Mostly I think the outcome of the initiative has been to really build stronger relationships with the chapters. We now have a discussion list for the chapter executives and another one for chapter leaders where they can talk about topics that are of general interest to them. We have a web page on our web site for chapter leaders. We have another one that is specifically for the chapter executives which they use quite often. And we’re getting ready now to really enhance so that it will be the page, we hope, that they’ll go to every morning for their latest news about what’s going on at AAFP. And all the templates and forms that they need and really be sort of their page. And I think also being able to work full-time in Chapter Relations has allowed us to gather a lot more information and data about our chapters over the last few years. We have really started to track and compare obvious things that we already know about such as total numbers of members and what their dues are and that kind of thing. But also asking them about their budget, the number of staff they have, certain kinds of resources that they have that are used. And it’s allowed us to get a much better picture of how the chapters are alike and how they differ because they are all unique. They range in size from really a relative handful to several thousand. So it’s a big spread and it’s been learning more about them. We’ve also over the years offered a lot of technology to them that was new at the time that now we’re really hoping to enhance with the new AMS system the Academy is working on. But we have a platform for them to build a web page. We have the ability for them to host ten discussion lists within their chapter. We offer them the ability to do blast emails to members or a segment of their members. We offer them data that they can place in their system or just use the information that we have. And those things have all been really popular with the chapters. A lot of that technology now has become dated enough that some of the chapters are now doing obviously their own web pages and have their own data management systems. But I think with the new AMS that we’ll be able to offer them a lot more and have the ability to share a lot more data, which will be really good.\n\n       \n\nWhat is the AMS?\n\nAssociation Management System. It’s a way to manage the data of the AAFP. And our system here I think is about ten years old now, so it’s pretty out of date. And Gordon Schmittling and the Research folks are spending years literally developing this new system with outside consultants, of course. It’s a product that they’ve purchased and it’s very exciting.\n\nSo out of your positions or out of different duties within those positions, what is your most favorite thing that you’ve done?\n\nI really loved the editing work. But I think probably the most fun thing has been working with the chapters. I have just really enjoyed that. I like the relationships that we have. They’re such nice people. The leaders are really nice people and it’s lovely. That’s the major difference. They’re both great jobs, but the one is more people-oriented and I’ve found that really rewarding. It’s been a good thing.\n\nHave any of the duties you’ve done been less fun or one that was the least amount of fun?\n\nI really can’t think of anything that’s the least fun. Maybe all the reports and the accounting that seems to be necessary with a government structure and an association. But I must say, that’s probably been less onerous for me than for a lot of people. Because of the editing background, I probably write with more ease than a lot of people. So it hasn’t really been that bad. I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve done. It’s been really great.\n\nObviously in that time you must have faced different challenges. What were kind of unique challenges that you had to face?\n\nI think the first was putting into place all the processes for the Computerized CME Records Program. That was the major challenge. And really it took about a year to determine what those processes would look like. And then working with outside consultants to write software for the program, hiring a training staff and all of that. That was quite challenging. And then I think putting together the specifics of the Chapter Relations Initiative. Partly because of the speed with which that had to be done, we really wanted to get the products rolled out. But it was great fun too as well as being a challenge.\n\nWere you actually working with the computers? And how different are they from the computers we use now?\n\nOh, they’re very different. In the beginning, it was a really pretty simple data management program through what we call TABS (?), which is the data management system that we’re using here. I think maybe it’s even predated that. It’s been a long time. I’m trying to remember how we put all that together. But we did have kind of early versions of computers and data management. The Academy at the time didn’t process its own data. There was another organization that was right there in the area. A building sort of behind where our building was called Beta Sigma Phi. And they actually ran all the reports and all of our orders went through them. So it was just a very early kind of stage of this kind of application. And it’s a lot different now because now you can get things I think almost instantly. Pull up your reports and get the information.\n\nWere there any other obstacles or barriers you had to overcome?\n\nI think just getting a handle on the volume of it at the time. Because we really didn’t know quite what to expect in terms of participation or what it would need in terms of the volume of mail coming in every day. And, of course, it all had to be hand keyed. Now we have online capability where people report their own things. But that wasn’t the case then. They reported it on paper and keyed it in. So it was just a different time.\n\nWho or what did you go to when you needed ideas or when you had a problem to solve?\n\nObviously I would go to my supervisor to brainstorm things. And the CME Record program was under the purview of the Chapter Affairs Committee, so often we would also brainstorm with members of the committee if we were dealing with anything major or wanted to kind of change policy or whatever. And then I think some of our really good ideas came from the members themselves. They would suggest ways that we might change a form or do something differently and when it made sense, that’s what we did.\n\nYou talked about the editing being something that helped you a lot and that your training as a CAE was helpful. Was there anything else where you learned things that you needed to be able to do your job?\n\nProbably some of the volunteer work that I’ve done over the years. I’ve always been a volunteer in the community or at church or wherever. And I think that again has given me empathy from the point of view of what it must look like to the volunteer in a chapter. So I think that probably has been a helpful experience. And then also I’ve done work in the association community. So that’s given me the broader association environment perspective that I need.\n\nWhat would you say is the toughest decision you’ve had to make related to your career?\n\nI really don’t know. I would have to think about that. I think I tend to look at decisions or problems, if you will, as something to be solved. So I don’t know.\n\nAre some harder to solve than others?\n\nActually, I think it was a bit of a tough decision to leave Editorial to come into Membership because I really loved that job. But I also wanted something different. So that probably was the toughest decision.\n\nBut you made the right decision?\n\nI think so, yes.   \n\nWhat else do you feel you did especially well and right that kind of improved things for you?\n\nI guess just being able to take advantage of the opportunities to continue to do different things. It’s been good to be here for forty years. But I’m not sure that it would have been good to be here for forty years if you were in the same job. I think people do need new challenges and new things to do. And I think that’s been good that I wanted to do that.\n\nWas there anything you think maybe you did wrong, that you kind of wish you hadn’t done or that maybe a different choice would have turned out better?\n\nNo, I don’t really think so. \n\nAre there any other accomplishments that we haven’t talked about that you feel are very important or that contributed? Or what you’re most proud of, of the things we’ve talked about?\n\nI think I feel very good about the CME Records Program and how helpful that is to the members and the fact that they view it as being so helpful. I think I feel very good about the relationships that I’ve had with the chapters. This last ten days or so it’s been really remarkable to see some of the things that they’ve sent, messages and just good wishes and things. I’ve been kind of overwhelmed by all of it. So that’s been really gratifying. And I think also I feel really good about having not only given to the Academy and the chapters but the association environment as well. I’ve really enjoyed my work with the Kansas City Society of Association Executives. And I’ve enjoyed my work with the American Society of Association Executives. For a number of years I was a peer reviewer for ASAE and worked on teams that went to other associations to review them and to write a report on their management strengths and weaknesses. I think that was helpful to me, to learn about associations and also a way to sort of give back. I enjoyed that.\n\nIt seems like people are so important to you. Which people have you worked most closely with and what is your impression of them?\n\nI think most closely I’ve worked with the chapter leaders, particularly the chapter executives. And they’re wonderful, wonderful people. I think they’ve become increasingly more professional over the time that I’ve been here. And they’re very open. Most of them are just passionate about family medicine and it shows in everything they do. They’re just really dedicated and they’re collegial. They share with one another. They are such experts in what they do really that it’s just fun to get them talking and sharing with each other. I just have really enjoyed working with them. They’re just so much fun.\n\nObviously you’ve been impressed by most of them. Are there any people you are especially impressed by?\n\nWell, many. I think some of the chapter executives are really doing wonderful work and some chapters have developed wonderful programs. It would be hard to pull some out. You look at programs like Core Content from Connecticut and Ohio. It’s such an innovative program, at the time that was started. It’s an education program for CME for the members. And that’s been a real boon particularly to Connecticut, a small chapter. It’s been a major source of revenue for them. But other chapters are doing such innovative things. California is doing really innovative things in the realm of education and the way patients are treated. Florida has been doing all kinds of things, I believe, in the area of performance. So it’s really fun to see all these chapters working on the cutting edge. Almost all of them too are very involved in what’s going on legislatively in their own state. And, of course, that differs from state to state. So they’re doing really fun things these days and good work.\n\nSo it sounds like lots of improvements and new things going on. What was the AAFP like when you first started as an organization, the work environment and culture?\n\nOf course, it was the American Academy of General Practice when I came on board. So that was the major difference. I think the staff was about sixty. And the first EVP, Mac Cahal, was still here and I originally worked for him. It was a very collegial staff. Lots of people did multiple things. Basically whatever was required. People had certain jobs. But then as things arose, people got shifted around and pitched in here and there. It was really a fun time. It was a slower age. The hours were 9:00 to 5:00. And every afternoon there was a break at 3:00 and everyone took a break at the same time and there were all these multiple bridge games going on and other fun things for about twenty or thirty minutes every afternoon. So you got to really know people. AT events like the Picnic where everyone would bring their families, you still were only talking about maybe 200 people so you really got to know people. Of course now our staff is over 400, so it’s’ a very different situation.\n\nSo obviously there are more people now. How else has it changed from that time?\n\nAt the time I came on board family medicine wasn’t a specialty yet. So that was really the first big thrust, if you will. That’s what everybody was working for. And then in 1971, I believe, family practice became the twentieth specialty. And that was very exciting, that decade of watching all the residency programs be established and people beginning to be certified in family practice. And the establishment of the Board. So that’s kind of a major difference. I think now there’s a lot more emphasis on advocacy because it’s just a lot more important. And managed care of course is a very major difference. So that’s changed radically, how physicians are paid. I think also there are generational differences. People now tend to be employed rather than solo physicians and that changes their expectations. It is a very different environment.\n\nYou were talking about when family practice first became a specialty, what the feeling in the air was at that point.\n\nIt was very exciting. I think people were very excited, very optimistic about what future would hold for these old GPs who were now going to really get very specialized training in treating the whole family. It was a very exciting time. I remember ten years later there was a party (I hope I recall this correctly). I believe there was this tenth anniversary party at AAFP headquarters to celebrate family practice. And lots of people came in for this and it was just really a good time. It was a very big deal to be the twentieth specialty.\n\nSo you obviously have lots of fond memories. Can you think of the top few fondest memories of your time here?\n\nI do remember after SOC [State Officers Conference] every year, that everyone used to come out to the headquarters for a lunch buffet on Sunday and then just mill around and spend time with one another. And then everyone got on buses and went to the airport and flew home. So again, it was a slower time. People felt that they could give up a Sunday to do something like that. And I think people sort of knew each other better then. That was a lot of fun. I remember also doing the Post-Assembly Tour to Puerto Vallarta. I’m not sure of the year, but I know it was the year that Ernie Chaney was leaving the presidency. He was then the Past President. And Gerald Gehringer had just become President. They were sort of the hosts of the meeting. And it was really hilarious. It was a CME meeting but you had some time off and people could just kind of enjoy the area. Except that it was Mexico and we had all kinds of problems with the electricity at the hotel and the laundry broke down and people couldn’t get towels. It was the end of the rainy season, so people couldn’t take carts out on the golf course and then they got eaten up by mosquitoes. And virtually everyone was sick with ----. So I do remember Ernie and Marge [Chaney] and Gerald and Myrtle [Gehringer] and I doing a lot of laughing and cajoling with everyone because it was a very funny time. We all had a great time, but I think it was the last time they went to Mexico for a very, very long time. They do take meetings now there. So it was an interesting time but lots of fun.\n\nIt sounds like you had a good sense of humor about things.\n\nOh, yeah. What else could you do? And it was beautiful there and we were having a good time.\n\nCan you think of any times that were kind of darker days more for the specialty or the Academy or anything?\n\nI think one of the darkest personally probably was when Roger Tusken left. That was a very unexpected event and very disruptive to the staff for quite some time. Now probably just knowing that the environment is such that we’re really having difficulty attracting students into family medicine is really a big challenge.\n\nYou talked about going to Mexico. Have you done a lot of traveling? If so, do you have any other exciting travel stories?\n\nI have traveled a fair amount. I think any time you travel anywhere it’s probably exciting. I’ve really had a good time wherever I’ve traveled. And I know there have been some bad times because my traveling companion occasionally reminds me of them. But I don’t tend to remember things like that very well. So it’s been good. I’ve kind of enjoyed roaming the world. I hope to do a little more of that.\n\nHow much of it was actually related to work?\n\nVery little of it was related to work. Now I’ve done a lot of travel actually in the states related to work. And that’s been really rewarding because that’s mostly been to visit chapters or attend chapter events or maybe go to a professional activity. The many, many Assemblies we’ve all been to over the years, that’s been a lot of fun. Really hard work but a lot of fun just being there with the staff. And everybody’s in the same boat, working hard and trying to have a good time.\n\nAny specific stories from that?\n\nNo, I don’t think so. \n\nYou say there’s been lots of innovations and things with the AAFP. What do you feel like we’re doing better now than what they were doing when you started?\n\nI think there’s a lot more communication with the members now because we have the technology to do that. Obviously we have more publication vehicles as well. We used to have just GP and a newsletter, the AAFP Report or The Reporter. That’s changed names a number of times. But now GP has become AFP and that’s published multiple times per year. I think it used to be monthly only. And we’ve got FPM, Family Practice Management. And lots of electronic ways of communication with the members. So I think that’s been different. And I think we’re better able to advocate on behalf of our members. And some of that is connected to technology too with the Speak Out Program (?).   \n\nYou talked about how in the old days there was a smaller community feel. Is there anything else that kind of seems like you wish it was back the way it used to be?\n\nI think it was just slower. Now it seems that communications are so speeded up. That that there is this sense of urgency with email just by its very nature. You can get it in an instant. So the assumption sometimes is that you can respond to it in an instant. Whereas they used to come to you in a letter and you would have a day or two maybe to think about that and get something back. And, of course, you can still do that with email. But now you’re likely to get another email saying “Did you get my email” or something like that. So I think just the sheer pace of things is very different. But that’s with everything. It’s not just here at the Academy.\n\nDo you have any advice you’d give to new employees here after all your experience to help them to be successful?\n\nI think for anybody you just need to find something that you really love to do. And if people really love doing association work, it can be a great career. And there are all kinds of resources to help people with association management. ASAE is a great resource. And the local Society of Association Executives is a really great resource. Most people who are in association management are very generous about sharing their expertise and their help. So it’s a good career for people who really like doing that kind of work.\n\nWithin family medicine what sort of changes have you seen over your time here?\n\nI think family medicine, obviously the training has changed completely with the initiation of the specialty. And then I think managed care has radically changed the whole financing structure for care. Also, of course, clinically I think things are much improved. There’s been lots and lots of developments in the clinical arena that have resulted in much better patient care. So that’s been exciting, too, when you look at the diseases that have been totally eradicated.\n\nDo you have a sense of where family medicine is going having seen where it’s gone over these years?\n\nI think it’s exciting to think about the fallout from the Future of Family Medicine reports and studies. I think it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens with TransforMED and how the work from TransforMED translates into better patient care, better reimbursement for the physicians. That kind of thing is very needed. I think the challenges are going to be really related to the healthcare environment in the U.S. in general. It’s not really specific to family medicine. I think there are some real huge inequities in the payment system and that’s going to be difficult to overcome. But it’s not family medicine in a vacuum where you can look at that. Clinically I think it’s really exciting and there are some real opportunities to improve patient care further with the redesign. But I think reimbursement is going to be gone of those really huge issues, particularly if we hope to attract more people into family medicine. I think studies vary. But it seems logical to me that with the aging population, that there’s going to be an ever greater need for family physicians. And I think that’s going to be a challenge to find enough people to do that.\n\nSo what changes have you seen within the chapters? I know you said there’s been lots of innovation there since you started working with them.\n\nI think that’s kind of paralleled the progress of the Academy. They’ve just become much more professional in what they do. Much more oriented to serving specific needs of members. And I think in general the staff has become more professional. Association management really is kind of recognized now as a career niche, if you will. But it’s not really business. It’s certainly based on management principles. But associations are kind of a different breed. And then I think medical associations are sort of a subset of that. And a lot of the folks who are working in the associations, in our chapters particularly, have that kind of background and they’ve brought a lot to the table. I think leaders are also more tuned into the need for training and learning specific skills. The challenge is that everyone is so busy now that it’s becoming more difficult really to identify physicians who want to volunteer in their chapter and give up that kind of time. But those who do seem very committed and dedicated to it.\n\nWhat do you see currently or in the near future as the biggest challenges for chapters?\n\nFinancial liability. Because most of them have relied very heavily on support from pharma-ceutical companies and that’s very much drying up. There have been so many mergers within those companies. And also just cutbacks in the amount of money that they’re willing to donate, if you will. And the criteria for sponsoring continuing medical education events has really tightened up, so it’s made it more difficult for companies to match with chapters. But that has definitely cut into the revenue stream for chapters. And I think one of the big challenges for us will be to help them identify other sources of non-dues revenue.\n\nWhat else do you see AAFP providing for chapters in the future?\n\nI think just more support all around. The chapters need a lot more information about what we’re doing, so communication is going to be very, very important. They particularly need help in the advocacy arena. That’s the most important thing to our members right now. So I think anything we can do to help the chapters with legislation or just specific ideas about how other chapters have tackled an issue. Things tend to start in one or two states and then they spread from there. So if we can identify that early enough and provide tips to the other chapters about what was effective in addressing that issue. I think the Graham Center has been instrumental in providing all kinds of background data that can really make the case for legislators. That’s been very helpful to chapters and I hope that continues because it’s a great resource for them. And just the AAFP keeping its hand on the pulse of what’s going on at the chapters so that we can sort of partner with them to help get them through whatever it is that they need. And leadership training is obviously always going to be important. And that benefits not only the chapter but the AAFP as well.\n\nAre there any views on important issues in the specialty or just in your career that we haven’t addressed that you would like to still talk about?\n\nI think it’s been a constant from really the beginning that family physicians are all about patient care, which is I think the right place to start. So I’m hoping that that’s where that focus will remain. And I think the challenges really are, as I said, in the areas mostly of reimbursement. And that’s going to be a real challenge to persuade the people who make those kinds of decisions of the importance of family medicine and how family medicine really does provide that kind of quality care at really lesser expense than some of the other specialties. But I’m optimistic about that because I think that’s the right place for the emphasis. It should be about patient care and then everything springs from there.\n\nYou said after you retire you’re going to do some traveling. Is there anything else that you’re considering being involved in?\n\nI really want to go back to doing some community work again. I have not had time for that too much because of my travel. So I’m looking forward to that. And I’m looking forward to just have time to read and spend time with my family and my friends.\n\nAs a whole, which people have most touched your life over the years? Who were they and why did they affect you? Or how did they affect you?  \n\nDo you mean personally or professionally? \n\nWhichever they affected you more.\n\nThat’s really hard. I think so many people have really affected my life. But I think probably the most important thing has been support of long-time friends that have always been there for me. I have had the same man in my life for about forty years now. He’s been very important. I have a very good friend who lives in England who’s been a friend of mine for about forty years and he’s very important to me. I have a couple of friends from grade school and high school that are important to me. That has given me the freedom to go forward, knowing that there were people there to support me. My family has always been very supportive. I’m very close to my brothers. My parents are wonderful. I just lost my father last November but I still feel his presence a lot. And my mother is very, very supportive to me. A number of people have been supportive in my career. Certainly Walt Kemp and Mac Cahal, who saw the potential to put me in an editing position and let me grow. And Bill Myers who tapped me to begin the CME Records Program. I just feel like there’s been a lot of opportunity here and people have been very supportive. That’s probably one of the advantages of a smaller organization. People really got to know one another. They had a good sense for people’s qualities and characteristics and they were able to make kind of informal matches. It’s necessarily a lot more structured now because this is a very segmented and specialized group of people working here now.\n\nI just think that a lot of people that I’ve worked with here have been really inspirational because they’ve been so cooperative and they’ve really taught me a lot. Particularly among the chapter executives with my current job, some of them have just been so generous with brainstorming solutions with me and encouraging me and encouraging the chapter executives to really work more together. So I feel very lucky really in my life and in my career. I’ve had a lot of good people in my life and they’re important to me.\n\nIn closing, do you have any last thoughts you would like to add? This is your opportunity to share your thoughts with future generations listening to this tape. Or set the record straight on anything that you feel might be important to address?\n\nI do believe that fundamentally family medicine is a really important part of the medical structure in this country. And I just feel that it’s been a great privilege to work here all these years. I’ve been here during really exciting times for family medicine. Some really landmark times that I’ve really appreciated. And it’s been really fun personally to work for every executive director in the organization. Everybody has put their personal stamp on it. This last job particularly has really been kind of an ideal position for me. It’s been a wonderful job. It’s been a wonderful forty years here. And I just wish the Academy the best and think it’s probably got a very bright and in the short term probably a very challenging future. And I hope things go well for everybody here. \n\nI’m sure everyone here wishes you the best of luck.\n\nThank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2195/collection_resources/154891/file/284067#t=0.0,3954.94278"}]}]}]}