David N. Henkes, MD, recalls his first American Medical Association meeting in San Francisco as a new member of the Texas Delegation to the AMA. The November 2001 conference was, in a word, “overwhelming.”
“You don’t know where to go, you don’t know what to do,” the San Antonio pathologist recalled. “It’s like taking a drink from a firehose.”
Indeed, he left that first meeting, which was tense and contentious at times, wondering, “What have I gotten myself into?”
But inspired by his fellow Texas Delegation members, he persisted in his participation and rose to become a leader almost halfway through a remarkable span of years on the delegation – first as a vice chair in 2012, and then as its chair since 2014.
Dr. Henkes is proud of his longtime service on the Texas Delegation, saying “our influence is greater than our numbers,” reflective of the respect Texas has in advocating for physicians.
“Because of the way the Texas Medical Association is, we receive the appropriate and duly earned respect at the at the national level,” he said.
Dr. Henkes officially stepped down from his role as the delegation’s chair on Dec. 31. He will spend his 25th year on the delegation serving as an adviser to the group to ease the transition to new leadership.
Though Texas’ numbers still stand to grow, its representation within the AMA has increased from 16 delegates (and 16 alternates) to 20 delegates (and 18 alternates) during Dr. Henkes’ tenure.
“Now we have Texans in almost every single committee and council of the AMA, because we have such a strong delegation that he has led over the years, helping to develop leaders who the association values,” Samuel Mathis, MD, said.
Those who know what the role requires have appreciated his steady hand at the controls for more than a decade.
Former TMA and AMA President Susan Bailey, MD, who predated Dr. Henkes as delegation chair, lists three primary roles for the job: Getting resolutions from the TMA House of Delegates to get adopted by the AMA, making sure that Texas candidates for AMA offices get elected, and bringing as many people as possible into the Texas tent.
“You’ve got to keep all three balls in the air at the same time,” Dr. Bailey said. “It is a job that requires political savvy, prioritizing relationships around the country, and knowing what the needs of Texas physicians are all at the same time. … Dr. Henkes has just done a masterful job.”
Whether it was the Texas-led push to get the AMA delegates to declare Medicare payment reform the association’s number one priority, creating workable and ethical guidelines for telemedicine even before the COVID-19 public health emergency accelerated its use, or successfully advocating for internists facing certification of maintenance difficulties, Dr. Henkes has led Texas in championed impactful ideas.
And, as Dr. Bailey pointed out, the public health emergency challenged leaders working in unfamiliar virtual spaces like Zoom, but she saw Dr. Henkes’ talents for fostering relationships and running large meetings that helped the delegation through the organizational challenges it presented.
Dr. Henkes recalls that when he was first elected to the delegation in May 2001 as an alternate, he was chosen in the same election as Michael Burgess, MD – who went on to a distinguished career as a congressman, which started with his 2002 election victory and ended Jan. 3 when he declined to run for a 12th term.
“I had told Mike a couple times afterwards that I had beat him in an election,” he quipped before acknowledging Dr. Burgess as a stalwart advocate for medicine in the U.S. House of Representatives.
TMA President G. Ray Callas, MD, who serves on the Texas Delegation with Dr. Henkes, recalls encouraging him to first run for a leadership position within the group.
“He ended up doing it, and we have been grateful, we’ve been blessed, and we’ve been stronger than we’ve ever been,” Dr. Callas said. “The reason the Texas Delegation is so respected in the House of Medicine at the AMA level is because of the leadership of David Henkes.
“He didn’t put his self-interest first, and put Texas physicians first on a national level, promoting people ahead of him, because he’s that kind of leader,” Dr. Callas added. “He’s always led from the front, but he didn’t need to be the big, loud voice. He was more like a father figure, and one that always put his kids first.”
Dr. Henkes also remembers that encounter fondly.
“I hadn’t planned it, didn’t think about it, hadn’t talked to my wife about anything, but Ray just said, ‘Hey, are you interested in running for vice chair?’” Dr. Henkes said. “And I’ve told him, I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know who said it, but somehow, my voice said, ‘Hell, yes!’”
Michelle Berger, MD, who succeeded Dr. Henkes as chair in January, lauds his leadership as key to Texas bolstering its reputation among AMA delegates nationwide.
“He came in in a very kind of difficult time where we were not having great success as a delegation getting people elected, and has totally turned it around,” Dr. Berger said. “I credit that to his real selfless leadership. He’s not there to make himself better or move forward or get an elected position, he truly is about the delegation first and foremost.
“He’s clearly cared for the issues of medicine, he’s cared for our delegates, he’s cared for patients,” the Austin ophthalmologist added. “He’s not been afraid to show his heart, and that makes a big difference. It makes him very effective, very well respected and well trusted.”
Dr. Henkes takes pride helping build what is now the Big Five – a coalition that brought delegates from Texas, California, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania together to focus on mutual interests and provide advocacy for each other, including their collaborative efforts on prioritizing Medicare payment reform.
“We would get together at every meeting and talk a little bit about what was going on the AMA, if there was a big, hot issue,” he said. “But a lot of times, we would just talk about what’s going on in each state and how we could help each other.”
Over the last four years, Dr. Henkes has helmed that group of large-state representatives as well as the Texas Delegation.
“It’s been a fair amount of work, but it’s been fun,” he said, adding that together, they’ve been instrumental in helping AMA maintain its “focus on keeping doctors viable and able to practice and take care of their patients.”
Gary Floyd, MD, the delegation’s vice chair, maintains that Dr. Henkes’ personality helps him in the necessary bridge-building to work with representatives from other states – including a coalition initially involving eight Southern states plus New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which has since grown in numbers and into other regions.
“David has a very calm demeanor, a very calm way of presenting things,” Dr. Floyd said. “All three of us [Drs. Henkes, Berger and Floyd] together, they can’t rattle us. That has gone a long way with other states.”
AMA President Bruce Scott, MD, considers Dr. Henkes one of his closest confidantes within the AMA ranks.
“I consider David one of the few individuals who I would turn to when I wanted to keep my finger on the pulse of what was really happening out there within the states and within medicine on the ground,” Dr. Scott said. “I always considered him a very level-headed voice of reason, but at the same time, very well connected within the AMA. He has always been one of the most respected leaders of one of the most powerful delegations.”
While serving as speaker of the AMA House of Delegates, Dr. Scott appointed Dr. Henkes to several special committees, including one formed in 2019 to evaluate AMA’s election process and make it more open and competitive.
Dr. Henkes was instrumental on that Election Task Force Committee, helping bring forth 41 different recommendations – 39 of those were adopted without changes, which Dr. Scott characterized as “unprecedented” and even “unique,” attributable in large part to Dr. Henkes’ participation.
“There are a lot of men and women of a lot more words than David,” Dr. Scott said. “But when David speaks, people listen, because you know that he’s going to say something that is thoughtful and that is important. He’s just a very, very talented leader.”
Another facet of Dr. Henkes’ leadership that fellow delegates appreciate is his inclusiveness.
“His leadership style is to treat everybody equally, including students, residents, and young physicians,” Dr. Floyd said. “I think they all felt a part of our group.”
Dr. Mathis, involved in the Texas Delegation for 13 years so far, recently became an alternate delegate after being a student participant, a resident sectional delegate, and a representative to the AMA’s Young Physicians Section. He values Dr. Henkes’ willingness to welcome new voices into the delegation.
“He has always been such a warm and inviting presence on the delegation,” Dr. Mathis said. “He’s always been very open for conversations and always led the delegation in a way that I’ve always felt like, even when I wasn’t officially a member of the delegation, I still felt a part of it.”
The Galveston family physician credited Dr. Henkes for spearheading a mentorship program that helped cultivate talented leaders within the delegation.
“We now have a committee within the delegation that is strictly for delegation development, which is working with and mentorship for the students, the residents, the young physicians and even those who are new to the delegation,” he said. “That helped ensure that we were creating a pathway for developing future leaders” – not only within the Texas Delegation but throughout AMA.
In November, TMA gifted Dr. Henkes with a special commemorative book celebrating his time on the Texas Delegation, featuring handwritten notes from a cross-section of delegates serving alongside him.
“I can be kind of an emotional person, and I can tell you some of the people in there are some of my dearest and closest friends, a lot of them on the delegation, a lot of them on other delegations,” Dr. Henkes said. “It was phenomenal. I was totally blown away by that.”
The book also led him to reflect on the incredible changes he’s been able to experience in his chosen profession.
“There have been so many great things that have happened in medicine in general that we don’t necessarily focus on because they’re not problems,” he added. “They’re not things you have to go and get people’s support to do. I mean, the advances we’ve had in cancer care and other [specialties] are just phenomenal, and it’s just changed so much.”
Now that he’s stepping back from his delegation duties, he’s thinking about scheduling vacations that don’t revolve around AMA meetings. Among the destinations he’s considering: Jacksonville, Fla., where his daughter is currently a resident at the Mayo Clinic, and Houston, where his son works as a flight controller for NASA.
In the meantime, he advises the delegation he’s led for more than a decade to “just keep the Texas way.”
“It’s been a tried-and-true way of doing things,” he said. “It’s turned out to be the right path all along, because we have such fine people who are dedicated and who work on it.”
And he pledges to stay involved to aid in the transition to new leadership, assessing he’s had a “great tenure” and is happy to hand the baton to his successor while pledging to “do everything he can” for the delegation on his way out.
“I love our delegation,” Dr. Henkes reflected on. “I love the people. I want to help them to be successful. And I don’t want any glory or whatever. I just want to help them to be successful at the AMA, and I’ve had fun doing that.”
Reflecting on his remarkable contributions to the medical profession, Dr. Henkes has been selected to receive TMA’s highest award, the 2025 TMA Distinguished Service Award. His achievements “are a source of great pride for his Texas colleagues, and this recognition is well deserved,” Dr. Callas said.
Dr. Henkes will be presented with the award during the opening session of TexMed 2025 on Friday, May 9, at 8 am. The ceremony will take place at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio.