Posted by By Gary D. Boyd, FAHRA, Luann J. Culbreth, CRA, FAHRA and Jeffrey A. Palmucci, CRA, FAHRA
February 2014—Nominations for the Gold Award are now open. If you know of an AHRA member who you think should join Gary, Luann, and Jeff in receiving AHRA’s highest honor, please go to our website and nominate them. Read about what winning the Gold Award meant to our 2013 winners below.
What does the Gold Award mean to me? It is the validation of my career and how it is an important part of the greater community.
I was raised on a ranch, played football in high school, and met the girlfriend I later married (we are still married 39 years later). After high school, I attended Modesto Junior College, graduated with an Associates of Arts degree, and started to look for a job. Between milking cows on the ranch I read a farm magazine on job opportunities. I became interested in respiratory therapy or radiology, and I chose radiology. I entered a two year hospital based radiology school, passed my certification, and got a job. Radiology was the basis of my career. I was the first in my family to finish college and receive a Masters degree. So, all the years of work behind me represent the Gold Award to me.
My family came through Ellis Island from Sweden in 1900. My grandparents moved to Chicago – Go Bears – and eventually settled in Arkansas. They had four children, which included my mother. My parents met in Arkansas and both joined the military. After the war they were married, moved to California, and my brother and I appeared in the 1950’s.
My wife and I have two children, and we have all enjoyed attending the AHRA Annual Meetings and meeting new friends. Our kids are adults now, and we are expecting our first grandchild in the family.
My medical imaging career impacts four generations: my parents, my wife and me, our kids, and our grandchild. As a symbol of what I have achieved in my career, the Gold Award certainly has impacted my family.
Thank you for the honor!
I remember the instant I found out I had been selected to receive the AHRA Gold Award. I was at work, in my office, busy with a million things when the message arrived. At that moment I felt myself dissolve in humbleness, taken away by feelings of undeserving. Me? Receiving the award I’d seen so many great AHRA members receive and being honored alongside both Gary and Jeff? Unbelievable. The next several minutes were quiet. The million things disappeared, replaced with thoughts and images of AHRA people, events, and achievements. Radiology, medical imaging, and healthcare administration have been my profession; AHRA has been the passion for my profession. Being honored with the Gold Award stands for so many things. Just as gold symbolizes so many things – achievement, standards, enduring, wisdom, solid yet malleable – these also signify the AHRA members and the many programs, initiatives, collaborations, products, and invaluable resources the countless volunteers have created. I’ve been blessed to be a part of this AHRA family and thrilled to work with great friends. I’m proud of AHRA, who we are, our purpose, our values, our mission, and vision. We are indispensable. I’m humbly proud to be among the previous Gold Award recipients and look forward to recognizing other AHRA members.
I remember watching every year as the Gold Award was presented to recognizable names, but I really didn’t understand what was necessary to obtain this prestigious honor. As my career progressed, and my activity in the AHRA increased, it became clearer what effort was necessary to receive this honor. During a career, I don’t think individuals think about what awards they’re are going to receive later, it’s more about doing the best job possible since so many people count on you for leadership. My AHRA career has been similar, as at every step, you are concerned with enhancing the profession, supporting the membership, and providing the very best in education.
From a personal standpoint, my involvement with AHRA came at a time in my life when I was able to really dedicate myself to it. My entire journey has been a tremendously rewarding experience. I can still tell you where I was at the exact moment I got the news that I was nominated and then elected to the board, and when I was elected president. The same goes for receiving the news about the Gold Award; however, the experience was a bit different. It was more a feeling of satisfaction, that all the work involved was being recognized by my peers. Each milestone holds a special place in my heart, but the culmination in everything involving the AHRA, the time I invested, the problem-solving, the hours spent preparing, was receiving the Gold Award last July. Having close friends there to celebrate with me made it all the more enjoyable.
I was very humbled to win the Gold Award this past year, and I look forward to furthering the cause and supporting the goals of AHRA for many years to come.
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