Dr. Rogers assumed several leadership roles in the Georgia Chapter of ACEP, including chapter President, and remains on the GCEP Board of Directors to this day. He has served on several ACEP committees, chaired both the Rural and Workforce Sections, and founded the Telemedicine Section. He was elected to the ACEP Board of Directors in 2011 and served two terms.

John A. Rupke Legacy Award

Peter M. Fahrney, MD, FACEP(E)

As a Seabee medical officer in Vietnam, working as a volunteer in the 3rd Marine Division MASH unit, Dr. Fahrney focused his attention on trauma and saving lives. Later, he was appointed as the command medical officer for the 12 battalions of Seabees that made up the Atlantic Command (COMCBLANT), involving the oversight of the individual battalion departments and preparing them for combat conditions.

At that time, the US Navy did not recognize the importance of specialized emergency training, so Dr. Fahrney sought and landed a position at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, where he remained for his entire 32-year career. He was excited to find that there were others of like mind, and he soon attended meetings in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia, with the “founding fathers” of emergency medicine. Soon, ACEP was established.

Once he joined the College in 1969, he was “all in” and served in many capacities. After the formative “Constitutional Convention” at the first meeting of the new Council in Washington, D.C., in 1973, Dr. Fahrney was elected as the first Speaker of the Council and presided over its tumultuous first meeting. He was also elected that year to the Board of Directors, where he served two terms. During his membership in ACEP, he has served on many committees and assisted in getting the acceptance of the specialty of emergency medicine within the American Medical Association (AMA).

“It is the purpose of our lives to make a difference and cause a better world” is the credo that has guided him during his exciting career.

Colin C. Rorrie, Jr, PhD Award for Excellence in Health Policy

Steven J. Stack, MD, MBA, FACEP

Dr. Stack spent seven years at The Ohio State University in medical school and emergency medicine residency. Early on, he became involved in the American Medical Association, beginning another journey with an unimagined destination.

Dr. Stack’s career has been a combination of clinical practice and leadership. In 2006, he became the first board-certified emergency physician ever elected to the AMA board of trustees and served in 2015–2016 as the AMA’s youngest president since 1854.