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BCMS ALLIANCE

Past President Jennifer Lewis is

Inducted as TMAA President

By Lori Boies, PhD

As the 2017 past President of the
Bexar County Medical Society Al-
liance, I have the distinct honor of
being surrounded by excellence. The
2018 President of the BCMSA,
Jenny Shepherd, was honored at the
2021 TMA TexMed Conference
with the June Bratcher Award for
political action (named after another
BCMS Alliance trail blazer, June
Bratcher, who was the 1979-80 past
president). At the same time, 2016
BCMSA President Jennifer Lewis
was also taking her oath of office as
the 2021-2022 Texas Medical Asso-
ciation Alliance President.
Jennifer is the 10th BCMSA member to serve as president of the nifer extended in her speech – let the Alliance be the group where you
Texas Medical Association Alliance. The 9th BCMSA member to can find kindred friendship from others in similar positions who un-
serve was Martha Vijjeswarapu, who called Nueces County (Corpus derstand the unique struggles of the physician family.
Christi) her home for many years before moving to San Antonio in Jennifer – I had the honor of following you as BCMSA President.
2019. Martha finished a strong year as president and swore Jennifer in You were an inspiration and you truly showed me that we are all in
during a virtual ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Martha this together; we all get by with a little help from our friends! I know
– thank you for your inventive and compassionate leadership during that your year as TMAA President will have a brilliant vision as you
such unprecedented times. You showed us all how to lead with pa- lead the way with novel ideas to direct us forward in the post-COVID
tience and grace; you strengthened the TMAA with pioneering ideas era. From the entire BCMSA: Congratulations! We are proud of you!
to engage members while, as medical spouses, we navigated uncertain
and trying circumstances. Lori Boies, PhD is a Bexar County Medical Society Al-
Jennifer’s installation speech was inspiring as it relayed a riveting story liance (BCMSA) past president (2017) and currently a pres-
about having to evacuate from Hurricane Katrina while her husband, idential advisor. She also serves on the TMA Alliance Board
Cannon, was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base Hospital. In the end, as the Bylaws Chair for 2021-2022. Lori is an Instructor of
while Hurricane Katrina made landfall two miles south of their home, Biological Sciences at St. Mary's University.
this stressful time had a silver lining of bringing the Lewis family to
Texas, and ultimately to San Antonio, where Jennifer found her tribe
with the BCMSA. As physician families, many of us may relate to the
allegorical parallels of evacuating a home with Hurricane Katrina bar-
reling towards the coast, as well as many of the uncertain emotions that
have consumed the past year, with the COVID-19 pandemic. I extend
the same invitation to both physician spouses and physicians that Jen-

12 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • July 2021