Alan Dalkin reflects on how his involvement in last year’s centennial celebration heightened his passion for the Society’s work and made him enthusiastic about its future.
Participating in our Society’s Centennial Celebration has been a truly rewarding experience for me. Working with the talented authors of Special Edition ESAP: Historical Perspectives for Today’s Clinician (past presidents among them) was a labor of love. We could highlight the medical and educational contributions made by members of the Endocrine Society that have had astounding impact on how we deliver care today.
On a personal level, during my hunt for information on our past presidents, I was struck by the greatness of the men and women who have led our society. When developing each vignette, I felt that it was important to go beyond the historical information readily available and to share stories and personal experiences of each past president.
It is abundantly clear to me that the Endocrine Society has been, and continues to serve as the glue to hold a vast and diverse and talented membership together with an overarching goal of developing better clinicians, scientists, and educators.
As an example, I located and cold-called the son of one past president, hoping to gain a new perspective for a better portrayal of this great man. Initially I was met with silence as I stumbled over my introduction and tried to convince him that I was not a reporter or someone prying into the family. But, after describing the celebratory project and what I already knew of his father’s contributions to our field of endocrinology, we soon struck up a conversation full of personal family history and warmth and enthusiasm for the Endocrine Society. It was due to the Endocrine Society that he and I reopened a chapter in history and rekindled the fondness his father had for this organization. In a similar vein, and with the help of the Society’s staff, we unearthed some incredible information from the written archives for a host of vignettes that highlighted how each president felt personally connected to the Society.
Through this project, it is abundantly clear to me that the Endocrine Society has been, and continues to serve as the glue to hold a vast and diverse and talented membership together with an overarching goal of developing better clinicians, scientists, and educators. The Special Edition ESAP is a historical project that highlights the incredible past which forms our foundation. As I look back on 100 years of accomplishments and contributions, I am confident that the next 100 years will hold more of the same for the Society.
Alan Dalkin, MD, chair, Special Edition ESAP: Historical Perspectives for Today’s Clinician, council member, physician-in-practice seat
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