At the American Chiropractic Association's annual House of Delegates (HOD) meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla., elections for the Board of Governors provided little in the way of new leadership. In fact, incumbents held all but one position on the board, including Dr. Donald Krippendorf, who continues as ACA president; and Dr. George McClelland, who continues as board chair. (Dr. Paul Smith, a longtime member of the ACA House of Delegates and a member of the Ethics Committee and Legislative Commission, replaces Dr. Jerilynn Kaibel as district 7 governor. Dr. Kaibel's term expired after six years of service.)
With the Board of Governors virtually unchanged, the ACA Delegates Dinner may have provided more overall excitement than the elections this year, particularly when it came to the awards ceremony. The ACA recognized numerous doctors, researchers and academicians for their dedication to chiropractic:
- Dr. James Edwards, of Austin, Texas, received the 2004 Chiropractor of the Year award, recognizing his role with the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF) fundraising campaign and his part in helping launch ACA News.
- Col. Mark Losack, DC, of Oceanside, Calif., was recognized as Humanitarian of the Year. Dr. Losack provided chiropractic care to soldiers fighting in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. [For more on Dr. Losack's contributions on the front line, see www.chiroweb.com/archives/21/11/12.html.]
- Dr. Anthony Hamm, of Goldsboro, N.C, was named Delegate of the Year. Dr. Hamm chairs the ACA's Coding and Reimbursement Committee and also serves on the association's Clinical Documentation and Practice Management committees.
- Dr. Frank Stiso, of Colonia, N.J., was bestowed the Drs. John Flynn-Robert Lynch Memorial Award, which recognizes an outstanding HOD member who has served for fewer than five years.
- Dr. Edward McKenzie, of Hoton, Kan., was named Alternate Delegate of the Year, an award presented for the first time this year. Dr. McKenzie has served on a number of ACA committees, and in 2003, was a member of Association for the History of Chiropractic (AHC) board.
- Dr. Joel Pickar, of Davenport, Iowa, was awarded ACA's Researcher of the Year award. Dr. Pickar serves as an associate professor at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research.
- Dr. Stephen Perle, of Bridgeport, Conn., was recognized as ACA's Academician of the Year. Dr. Perle is an associate professor of clinical sciences at the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic.
- Dr. Jerilynn Kaibel, of San Bernardino, Calif., was presented with the Outgoing Board of Governors' Award. Dr. Kaibel was the first woman to serve on the ACA board.
