Atlanta, GA – The Southeastern Chapter of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SECSNMMI) will honor Kathy Thompson Hunt from Memphis with the presentation of the
Marshall Brucer Award, the highest honor the SECSNMMI can bestow upon a member. The Brucer Award will be presented to Ms. Hunt at the 2019 SECSNMMI Annual Meeting, October 4-6, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia, recognizing her many years of service to nuclear medicine as well as her leadership in organized nuclear medicine at the local, regional chapter and national levels.
Retired in 2017, Hunt had the invaluable experience of spending her entire nuclear medicine career with one institution, the Baptist Memorial Hospital (BMH) and its Baptist College of Health Sciences (BCHS) in Memphis, Tennessee. Starting as Staff Technologist for the BMH Nuclear Medicine Section for two years, she then spent two years as the Supervisor of the BMH Nuclear Pharmacy. This was followed by 13 years as the Supervisor BMH Nuclear Medicine In-vitro and Radiobioassay Lab while also serving as a member of the faculty of the BMH School of Nuclear Medicine Technology.
In 1999 Hunt started an 8 year term as Program Director, Nuclear Medicine Technology Certificate Program with part of this time serving on the Founding Committee for the Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences, developing policies and procedures for turning the Certificate Program into a baccalaureate institution. Starting in 1998, until she retired in 2017, Hunt served as Program Chair and Assistant Professor of Nuclear Medicine Technology in the Division of Allied Health. During this time she also served for two years as the Interim Dean of the Allied Health Division. Unselfishly volunteering her time, during her 42 years with Baptist, she received numerous appointments and served on numerous committees. Upon retiring she was honored by the BCHS by creating a Nuclear Medicine Technology Student Scholarship in her name.
Hunt approached her contributions to leadership in organized Nuclear Medicine with the same zeal she devoted to Baptist. She started her first professional association leadership role in 1990 as Chair of Student Affairs for the Tennessee Society of Nuclear Medicine Technologists. She went on the serve as President of the West Tennessee Organization of Nuclear Medicine and on the Executive Board of the Nuclear Medicine Technologist of Tennessee.
Hunt jointed the Southeastern Chapter in 1981 at the same time she joined the Society of Nuclear Medicine Technologist Section. For the Southeastern Chapter, Hunt started as Chair of Academic Affairs for the Technologist Section in 1993. After serving on a number of committees, Hunt was elected President-elect of the Southeastern Chapter in 2005 and become president in 2006. She continued serving on the Academic Affairs committee.
Most active on the national level, for the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technologist Section (SNMMI-TS), Hunt has served on many committees but concentrated on those involved with Advocacy and Education. In 2008 she entered the SNM Technologist Section Executive Leadership when she was elected Secretary. In 2009, she became the President-elect and in 2010-2011 served as President.
In 2011, the Southeastern Technologist Section presented Hunt with their Distinguished Service Award. In 2012 she was awarded Fellow status in the SNMMITS. In 2015 she received the Robert Bower Award for Outstanding Dedication, by the Nuclear Medicine Technologists of Tennessee. Now in 2019, in recognition of a lifetime of service to her community and to nuclear medicine the Southeastern Chapter presents her with the Marshall Brucer Award.
Mrs. Hunt graduated from Lambuth College with a BS in biology and earned her certificate in nuclear medicine technology from Vanderbilt University in 1976. In 1998 she graduated from The University of Memphis with a MS in Leadership and Policy Studies. She is a native of Decaturville, Tennessee, and lives in Memphis. She is married to a Memphis architect, Wilson Hunt, and has one daughter, Kristy Dickerson (Ken), a granddaughter Abigail, and a great grandson Bently. She is a parishioner of The Church of the Holy Communion (Episcopal) in Memphis. The Hunt’s favorite pass times and activities are SEC sports, walking\hiking with their Lab, Tootsie, and spending time with family and friends.
The Marshall Brucer Award is given at the Southeastern Chapter meeting to a chapter member who has dedicated their life to the specialty of nuclear medicine and given distinguished service to the chapter.
There are few people who, during a lifetime, make a substantial impact on a specialty in medicine. The Southeastern Chapter was fortunate to have had such a person amongst its members – Marshall Brucer.
He became the first chairman of the Medical Division of the Oak Ridge Institute for Nuclear Studies in 1948. Brucer coined the term “nuclear medicine” and convinced the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission to allow use of radiotracers in medicine, as long as the physicians using the tracers were well trained (setting the groundwork for the residency structure in place today). He was an author, storyteller and educator, and almost single-handedly organized and formed the Southeastern Chapter of the Society of Nuclear Medicine. He served as the Chapter’s first president (1957-1959) and was the 5th president of the national society. The Marshall Brucer Award was created in his honor in 1991.
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