Good morning!  What a beautiful morning it is set up to be. Are you listening to the birds singing?Maybe you were reading Wednesday’s release of the WHO’s first-ever report on global inactivity?Maybe you were just going to grab a cup of coffee?Hopefully all three, I just don’t know.Oops, sidetracked! Newsletter… I know, I know, you want to look at the pictures, but please just give me like…45 seconds.Many years ago we were approached by the visionaries at the Texas Medical Association.Today, we celebrate our ten-year anniversary with them! They already had 2 very successful programs, Be Wise Immunize and Hard Hats for Little Heads, but they wanted to create additional value for their members, and my goodness look at them now. 10 years later they have achieved 140,000 miles of walks spread among 135 doctor-led chapters in Texas communities.They vetted us, they made a plan, and they launched a grass-roots All-Out Attack on the public health crises of sedentary lifestyles and social isolation. When we think about the TMA we think about the visionary administrators that believed in us when we were still little. They looked at us and then they took a leap of faith.When I think about Texas, I think about a heroic plastic surgeon, Dr. Susan Pike and Kathy Lesko in Round Rock/Georgetown , I think about Dr. Li-Yu Mitchell (and Angela Driggs) bringing her family to a gorgeous park in Tyler, the Dr. Amanda Green in Paris, TX, Dr. Amanda Mohammed, Dr. Sarah Helfand in South Dallas, Dr. Piyush Mittal, Dr. Riz Bukhari  there’s just too many.These doctors are amazing.The TMA, G-d bless ’em, gives their physicians the support, the resources, and the space to work their magic.Let’s not forget Baylor, Scott, and White, Memorial Hermann, and many other Texas health systems also lending countless resources that have facilitated so many of those 140k miles.Look, I make it a point not to get emotional about medical associations. These guys though?They are heroes to me, our team, and so many throughout their state, and honestly, they blaze a trail that many across the country follow.TMA – thank you for being there when it mattered and thank you for continuing to have the vision.David

WWAD Texas is funded by a grant from TMA Foundation with major support from TMAIT and Prudential.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.Rachael, Kathryn, Chels, David, and Bryan

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 56,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans. The TMA Foundation, TMA’s philanthropic arm, raises funds to support the public health and science priority initiatives of TMA and the Family of Medicine, including Walk With a Doc Texas. Walk With a Doc Texas is funded by a grant from the TMA Foundation with generous support from TMA Insurance Trust and Prudential. To learn more, visit the TMA Foundation website. Walk with a Doc is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire communities through movement and conversation with physician-led walking groups. Walk with a Doc was started in 2005 by David Sabgir, MD, a board-certified cardiologist in Columbus, Ohio. To learn more, visit the Walk with a Doc website.