Dr. Robert (Bob) Proffitt will share anecdotes from his recent memoir, “A Family Physician’s Journey: and Diversions Along the Way,” on Monday, February 13, at 7 p.m. at the Blount County Public Library.
In the foreword, Representative Dr. Bob Ramsey, DDS, describes the book as “an album of prose shapshots…the portrait of a man who never stopped moving or learning or embracing the chance to enjoy life as it unfolds before him.”
The “snapshots” span Dr. Bob Proffitt’s lifetime – from growing up on a 200-acre farm in Blount County to his current thoughts on healthcare in the US and other countries. However, it is the unexpected snapshots in between that provide a panorama of a colorful life filled with unexpected events and a variety of people. Scientists, including Dr. Jonas Salk, celebrities such as Eddie Albert, Jr., athletes Hank Aaron and Pat Summitt, as well as politicians including the Clintons, are among the subjects of the many vignettes in Proffitt’s book.
Proffitt, a graduate of Maryville High School, and a starter on the school’s first undefeated football team, also graduated from Maryville College. He went on to attend medical school at the University of Tennessee at Memphis and completed his internship and pediatric residency at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He then enlisted in the Army Medical Corp where he was assigned to the initial staff of the Seoul Military Hospital as physician for the State Department personnel at the American Embassy. After returning to Maryville, he completed a year-long residency in internal medicine at the University of Tennessee Hospital at Knoxville. Proffitt continues to be a practicing family physician in Maryville.
Proffitt has a long list of public service which includes serving as Chief of Staff at Blount Memorial Hospital, president of the Blount County Medical Society, a member of the Southern Counsel of the American Red Cross, and currently sits on the Tennessee Medical Association Board of Delegates. In the political realm, Proffitt has served on the Blount County Commission and currently serves on the City of Maryville School Board.
Proffitt has had professional articles published in the “Tennessee Medical Association Journal” and the “New England Journal of Medicine.” He says he strives to balance “medical practice, family, and a variety of civic and political activities.” Dr. Proffitt will have copies of his book for sale at the presentation.
Open to the public, this program is hosted by the Blount County Public Library, located at 508 N. Cusick Street, Maryville, where services are an example of your tax dollars at work for you.
For further information about library programs or services, call the library at 982-0981 or visit the Web site at www.blountlibrary.org . To sign up to receive a monthly calendar by email, go to the library’s Home Page and type your email address in the box at the top right that says “Email for library news.”
