The publication is reproduced in full below:
COMMENDING THE LEADERSHIP OF DAN FINCH
______
HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS
of texas
in the house of representatives
Thursday, December 2, 2021
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commending the leadership of Dan Finch, Texas Medical Association Vice President of Advocacy, upon his retirement after 39 years of exemplary work on behalf of patient care and the physician practice of medicine.
Daniel ``Dan'' Thomas Finch was born on November 16, 1952, reared on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., the eldest of seven children, and the son of a Navy veteran. He moved to Texas in 1982, to work for the Harris County Medical Society before heading to Austin in 2006 to join the public affairs advocacy team of the Texas Medical Association.
Dan's commitment to hard work and serving others began early in life in Catholic school as an altar boy and later with his first job out of University of North Carolina as a bus driver. These early life experiences molded Dan's leadership, communication, and navigation skills which serendipitously led him into a medical association communications position with the North Carolina Medical Society, and then a brief stint with the American Medical Association in Chicago, before heading to Houston where he began a 24-year stint with the Harris County Medical Society, and eventually to Austin where he has served the past 15 years with the Texas Medical Association.
Dan's rapid trajectory and success professionally in the field of medical association communications and advocacy was matched only by his private life as a Renaissance man who developed keen interests as a guitarist, singer, photographer, golfer, motorcycle enthusiast, world traveler, cigar afficionado, Astros baseball fan, home gardener, and outdoor grill master.
Dan has been equally well grounded as a dedicated husband to his loving wife, Becky, for the past 41 years, as a caring father to their daughter, Liz, and son, Nate, and as the loving ``Pops'' to all of his grandchildren. He has offered his many talents to the community, including being a member of his church band in Houston which performed every Sunday in their Hawaiian shirts. His respect among his working peers, his dedicated service to the more than 53,000 member physicians in the Texas Medical Association, and his public affairs accomplishments in both the Texas Legislature and in Congress led to his ascension as Vice President of Advocacy for the Texas Medical Association.
Texas is a better and healthier State in part to Dan's steadfast commitment to the highest standards and quality of patient care in Texas, protections for physician autonomy in caring for their patients, common sense health insurance reforms which put patients before insurance profits, and medical liability protections which prevent lawsuit abuse.
Dan's most memorable advice to his younger colleagues was, ``A doctor long ago told me if we do what's right for patients, we'll do what's right for physicians, and that's always been my guiding light.''
Dan and Becky are now replacing the rolling Texas Hill Country of Austin with a retirement home closer to their grandkids in the rolling hills of Manhattan, Kansas (which is much preferable to that other Manhattan).
I ask that my fellow Members join me in saluting the life, work, and accomplishments of Daniel ``Dan'' Thomas Finch, on behalf of the Texas Medical Association, for a healthier Nation. I am humbled to formally declare Dan a ``great American'' who has earned his retirement spurs and a ``great Texan'' (even if he's not in Texas anymore).
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 208
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