Senate Concurrent Resolution 549

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING DR. LEONARD BRANDON FOR BEING NAMED "FAMILY PHYSICIAN FOR 2004" BY THE MISSISSIPPI ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS AND CONGRATULATING HIM ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OPENING OF HIS PRACTICE IN STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI.

WHEREAS, about the only thing better than being named the "Mississippi Family Physician for the Year" is the gratitude

Dr. Leonard Brandon feels for being able to do what he loves best every day of his life for the last half century; and

WHEREAS, at the age of 77, the genial and fatherly family physician observes the 50th Anniversary of the opening of his medical practice in Starkville. This year he received the honor of being selected by his peers in the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians as the "Family Physician for 2004." It is the highest honor the academy bestows on an individual member; and

WHEREAS, Okibbeha County Hospital honored Dr. Brandon with a reception in celebration of the accomplishments and dedicated service of the local physician; and

WHEREAS, setting broken bones, sewing up cuts, delivering babies and dispensing medications for five decades is only a small part of Dr. Brandon's commitment to the medical needs of the community. He insists on taking time to listen to what patients have on their minds, believing the personal touch is an important part of the healing process; and

WHEREAS, as a young graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York City, he came to Starkville in the early 1950s looking for a location in which to hang his shingle. He met and married Rachel, a young nursing student, in New York City and they promptly headed south. Young Brandon had been the recipient of a scholarship from the State of Mississippi and was obligated to return the favor by practicing medicine in a community with a population of less than 5,000. He selected Starkville, which counted 4,900 people during the 1950 census; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Brandon delivered between 50 and 90 babies a year during this time. He observed that there was a small army of children born in the 1950s and 1960s with the name Brandon; and

WHEREAS, Brandon began his career as a General Practitioner and later shifted to family medicine, a growing specialty in a field becoming increasingly more specialized. In the late 1960s, the American Medical Association set in motion events that would create the American Board of Family Practice and set the standards for the new specialty. Today, family medicine is the largest single specialty in Mississippi with some 800 practitioners; and

WHEREAS, it is the peculiar privilege of family doctors to continue to practice medicine as an art, more than a science, by relating to people on a personal basis. Dr. Brandon has that indefinable quality called "bedside manner"; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi Academy of Family Medicine was overwhelmed with nominations for Dr. Brandon for its award. The doctor is still going strong and waves aside any talk of retirement; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize the career and the high esteem with which this Mississippi gentleman is held by his peers and his patients:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend Dr. Leonard Brandon upon being named "Family Physician for 2004" by the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians and congratulate him on the 50th Anniversary of the opening of his family practice in Starkville, Mississippi, where he is held in the highest regard for his dedicated service to the community.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Dr. Brandon and his family and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.