Tennessee Chapter College Awards
The Tennessee Chapter Receives the 2026 John Tooker Evergreen Award
The John Tooker Evergreen Awards Program provides recognition and visibility to chapters that have successfully implemented programs to increase membership, improve communication, encourage member involvement, enhance diversity, foster careers in internal medicine or improve chapter management. The Tennessee Chapter received a 2026 John Tooker Evergreen Award for their collaborative initiative.
Rituals and Traditions Series
This program enhances and elevates numerous goals for our chapter including developing innovative programs related to well-being and fulfillment, global engagement, International Medical Graduates, and narrative medicine.
The Tennessee Chapter’s “Rituals and Traditions Series” is a multi-chapter collaborative webinar program that explores how rituals, through traditional meals, storytelling, and cultural practices, offer windows into others’ lived experiences. In each event, speakers spend 5-10 minutes sharing unique traditions from their background that have fundamentally shaped their thoughts and practices. Multiple participants have enthusiastically shared that this program has improved their sense of well-being (especially when external environments and events are stressful) and strengthened their connection to others they may have known (but not known the stories or background of) or may never have met otherwise. So far, 16 webinars have been conducted over the past two years.
Special thanks to this program’s key contributors:
- Mukta Panda, MD, MACP, Chair Wellness Committee, Tennessee Chapter
- Tammy Lin, MD, FACP, Immediate Past-Governor, California Southern III Chapter
- Shirisha Kamidi, MBBS, Wellness Committee Member, Tennessee Chapter
- Renee Arnott, Executive Director, Tennessee Chapter
- Dan Ely, MD, FACP, Governor, Tennessee Chapter
2025 Chapter Excellence Award-Gold Level Winner
(September 2025) We are pleased to announce that our chapter is in receipt of the Gold Level of the 2025 Chapter Excellence Award! The award recognizes truly extraordinary chapters that surpass excellence in chapter management. We are in the company of 68 other outstanding chapters. In order to achieve the Gold Level of the Chapter Excellence Award, chapters must meet 22 Bronze criteria, 12 Silver criteria and 25 Gold level activities. Criteria include such activities as having a legislative action plan or agenda, holding a volunteerism/community service activity, holding multiple stand-alone meetings, having revenue sources outside of dues and meeting registration fees, implementing a strategic plan, implementing a formal recruitment and retention plan and measuring outcomes, conducting various activities for Medical Students, Residents and Early Career Physicians. We would like to extend a special thanks to those chapter members who assisted us in all of these endeavors! For their hard work and dedication, we received this award.
