ASRT Names 2013 Life Member and Fellows

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The American Society of Radiologic Technologists will award Life Member status to one member and bestow the status of Fellow on seven of its members during the ASRT Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., June 14-16.

The Society’s newest Life Member is Barbara W. Hente, B.A., R.T.(N), CNMT, FASRT.

The Fellows are Laura Aaron, Ph.D., R.T.(R)(M)(QM); Mitzi Drey, R.T.(R)(CV); Catherine M. Kukec, B.M.E., R.T.(R)(QM), CBPN-1C; Larry D. “Max” Maxwell, B.S., R.T.(R)(CT); Diane Mayo, R.T.(R)(CT); Dawn M. McNeil, M.S.M., R.T.(R)(M), RDMS, RVT, CRA; and Donna Newman, B.A., R.T.(R), CNMT, NCT, PET.

Hente will be the 24th member elevated to Life Member status since its inception in 1938. Life Members are active ASRT members who have maintained continuous membership for at least 30 years and have participated in a range of volunteer activities that demonstrate dedication to the ASRT and the radiologic technology profession. Candidates who receive the honor are selected by at least a three-quarters vote of the ASRT Board of Directors.

Hente is a nuclear medicine technologist for BarNor Services, a firm specializing in staffing, educational product development and meeting support for the radiologic science profession. She joined the ASRT in 1977 and has served in its House of Delegates as a Missouri affiliate delegate and Nuclear Medicine Chapter delegate. She also served as ASRT’s representative on the Joint Review Committee on Nuclear Medicine Education for 12 years. The ASRT presented her with Fellow status in 1997. In addition, she served as president and chairman of the Missouri Society of Radiologic Technologists and the MoSRT Fourth District and holds life member status in each group.

The ASRT established the honorary Fellow category in 1956 to recognize members who have made outstanding contributions to the profession and to ASRT. Fellows have volunteered in leadership positions at the national and local levels, written articles for publication, presented at professional meetings and helped advance the radiologic science profession.

An active researcher and published author, Dr. Aaron has volunteered in several positions for the ASRT and ASRT Foundation since becoming a member in 1993. In addition to serving as a Louisiana affiliate delegate and as a member of the ASRT Grass-roots Network, she also has worked on several ASRT committees, task forces and project groups. She is a former chair and current member of the Editorial Review Board for Radiologic Technology, one of ASRT’s peer-reviewed scientific journals, and has served on the Louisiana Society of Radiologic Technologists board of directors. Dr. Aaron is the head of the Department of Allied Health and a professor of radiologic science at Northwestern State University in Shreveport, La.

Drey joined the ASRT in 1986. She has served as a South Dakota affiliate delegate and Cardiovascular-Interventional Chapter delegate. She also was CV chairman of the ASRT Practice Standards Council and was a member of the Cardiac-Interventional and Vascular Interventional Curriculum Revision Workgroup. Drey has served as treasurer for the South Dakota Society of Radiologic Technologists and received SDSRT life member status in 2011. In addition, she has been a member of the ASRT Grass-roots Network since 2000 and has attended several ASRT R.T. in D.C. advocacy events. Drey is the radiology administrative coordinator at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.

A longtime advocate for the radiologic technology profession, Kukec has an impressive résumé. She has been an ASRT member for more than 20 years and has participated in a number of volunteer roles including serving as ASRT’s speaker of the House and vice speaker of the House. Committed to establishing professional standards for radiologic technologists across the country, she also has been a member of the Committee on R.T. Advocacy and contributes to the ASRT-PAC®. In addition, Kukec has a long history of involvement with the Illinois State Society of Radiologic Technologists, where she has served as an affiliate delegate and as president. ISSRT awarded her life membership status in 2009.

Maxwell has volunteered for a number of ASRT positions since he joined the association in 1989. He has served as a Computed Tomography Chapter delegate and a Pennsylvania affiliate delegate. He also has served in every leadership position with the Pennsylvania Society of Radiologic Technologists. In addition, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists Board of Trustees appointed him to serve as a member of the Radiography Examination Committee and the Computed Tomography Practice Analysis Committee. Maxwell is a computed tomography technologist at Shadyside Hospital/Hillman Cancer Center, where he’s worked since 1974.  

Mayo has a long history of involvement with the ASRT. She joined the association in 1976 and has served in every nationally elected officer position on the ASRT Board of Directors. In addition, she has served in the House of Delegates as a Radiography Chapter delegate and CT Chapter delegate, and she has been involved in advocacy activities as a member of the Committee on R.T. Advocacy. Mayo also lectures at radiologic science conferences across the country. She is the quality assurance coordinator for diagnostic imaging at St. Dominic Jackson-Memorial Hospital in Jackson, Miss.     

McNeil has been an ASRT member since 1994. She has served in every nationally elected officer position on the ASRT Board of Directors, as well as on many committees and projects. She is a former president of the Mississippi Society of Radiologic Technologists and has served as a Mississippi affiliate delegate, Sonography Chapter delegate and Management Chapter delegate. McNeil also is a member of the ASRT Grass-roots Network. She is an assistant professor and chair of the radiography program at St. Catharine College in St. Catharine, Ky.

A leader in the radiologic technology profession at the international, national and local level, Newman has a storied history with the ASRT. She joined the association in 1995 and has served in every capacity on the ASRT Board of Directors. She was a member of the ASRT Education and Research Foundation Board of Directors for one term and served on the National Committee on Bylaws. She has been actively involved with the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists for nearly ten years, where she currently serves as director of professional practice. In addition to her ASRT and ISRRT activities, she is active at the state level and was granted life membership by the North Dakota Society of Radiologic Technologists in 2003.         

The ASRT membership will honor the recipients at the Honors Evening Reception June 15 at the annual governance meeting at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque.

For more information about the awards, the ASRT or the radiologic science profession, visit www.asrt.org.  

About ASRT

The ASRT represents more than 150,000 members who perform medical imaging procedures or plan and deliver radiation therapy. The Society is the largest radiologic science association in the world. Its mission is to advance the medical imaging and radiation therapy profession and to enhance the quality of patient care.