I was born in Smith County, Texas, November 20, 1927, and grew up in Tyler, Texas. I finished high school and entered the U.S. Merchant Marines. Following my discharge I attended Tyler Junior College and upon graduation enrolled in Sam Houston State University, planning to major in Agriculture but decided to make Chiropractic my life work.
Chiropractic is an important part of my heritage. My father, Dr. Ben Glaze, was a Chiropractor and his philosophy and belief in the healing qualities of his profession were impressed upon me from my earliest childhood. This made my choice of a profession a complicated one, as I was at once equally aware of the promise and potential of Chiropractic and also of the many hardships and challenges in store for members of the profession. Therefore, it was after much thought that I made the decision to enter Texas Chiropractic College in San Antonio, fully aware of the rewards as well as the penalties and of the great company of brave and dedicated doctors who had made this decision before me. The autobiographies of many of these doctors are included in this book and it is with much humility that I add mine to their number.
I married Wilma Jean Franks of Tyler and together we worked my way through Texas Chiropractic College, San Antonio College and East Texas Baptist College. After graduation I established a practice in Gilmer, Texas, as my father had an office in Gilmer and had suffered a heart attack just prior to my graduation. His was the only Chiropractic office in Gilmer so I was pressed into service to care for his patients. I have never left this practice. My vocation, my avocation of ranching, my family life, my professional and civic service have developed and expanded from this wonderful little community and I have never been limited in any way by its size or location. I have had many enriching experiences and much moral and spiritual support here which has deepened my capacity and desire to serve my profession and my fellow man as my sphere has broadened, with Chiropractic, far beyond my city and state.
I have had the good fortune to see the influence of Chiropractic grow to national proportions and to have participated in this growth. Early in my career I was involved in a contested election in Upshur County which became the test case which established the precedent for allowing Chiropractors to certify voters eligible to vote absentee. Many of the contested absentee ballots were cast by my patients whom I had certified as physically unable to go to the polls. My testimony and that of many witnesses determined the favorable outcome of this landmark decision.
The years from 1970 to the present have seen great strides for our profession through the cooperative efforts of many Texas Chiropractic Association members and I am happy to have had a part in it. We fought hard for inclusion of Chiropractic in Texas Workman’s Compensation Law and succeeded. We lobbied for Chiropractic inclusion in Medicare for many years and when success came in 1973 the vote of the Texas delegation was significant in its passage, reflecting our efforts. And when guidelines were drawn up to regulate Chiropractic participation, we were involved to see that these were fair and to establish and maintain a good working relationship with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, which underwrites Medicare in our state.
In 1973 I was appointed Medicare Consultant for Blue Cross-Blue Shield and participated in its formative guidelines of participation. Gearing up for Medicare was a trying yet rewarding time for all of us. In order to qualify, we had to set up a Peer Review system and train doctors to function in it. At the same time, we organized the Texas Chiropractic and Insurance Joint Advisory Committee for reviewing and arbitrating disputed insurance claims. TIC-JAC and Peer Review have opened doors of communication between Chiropractic and the insurance profession which have made Chiropractic treatment acceptable under the terms of every major health insurance company operating in Texas. We have instructed Chiropractors in the practice of reporting and substantiating claims and insurance adjusters in the interpretation and evaluation of Chiropractic claims. More important, we have earned the confidence of the insurance profession in the competence and integrity of Doctors of Chiropractic.
The National Health Planning and Resources Development Act brought about the setting up of the State Board of Health Resources. We worked for the inclusion of a Doctor of Chiropractic on this Board and I was appointed by Governor Brisco to fill this office and became the first Chiropractic member of the State Board of Health. I was also appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the Health Systems Agency placed in charge of health planning for Health Service Area 7 of our state. I presently serve in both capacities.
We have developed a very good relationship with the State Department of Human Resources (formerly the State Department of Public Welfare). This has taken diligent and persistent work over a period of many years. I was appointed to represent our profession on the Medical Care Advisory Committee to this department. I am presently in my second term in that capacity.
I became a member of the TCA in 1950 and have served in all offices of District 6 and in the Chiropractic Science Club of East Texas. I was elected State Director for District 6 and in 1971 I was elected Secretary and served as TCA President in 1973 and 1974. I have participated nationally as Director of Region 6 to the National Congress of Chiropractic Associations and was a member of the steering committee which worked unsuccessfully to unite ACA and ICA.
My graduate studies include orthopedics at Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, Radiology at National Lincoln Chiropractic College, and Physical Therapy at Columbia Institute of Chiropractic. I was made a Fellow in the International College of Chiropractic.
My local civic activities have been many and varied. Politically I have served as campaign chairman for Upshur County for a great number of successful candidates for state and national office and a few unsuccessful ones. I was elected to the Gilmer School Board and continue to serve there, having been elected Presient of the Board this year for the third successive year. I have been President of the Upshur County Chamber of Commerce, have served as a director and as chairman of many of its committees. I have been president of the East Texas Jamboree Association, chairman of many of its committees and am presently a member of the Board of Directors of this organization. I am a member and President-Elect of the Gilmer Rotary Club and was Scout Master for their troop for six years.
My interest in agriculture has brought much satisfaction, as together with my wife and son I have developed a cattle ranch and dairy. I have worked with FFA and 4-H Clubs and was awarded Honorary Chapter Farmer.
Jean and I have three children, Jeannie Kay is a graduate of the University of Texas and is now a court report in Tyler; Jill attended the University of Houston and is married to Dr. Randel L. McDaniel who graduated from Texas Chiropractic College in May of 1978 after receiving a B.S. degree from the University of Houston and who plans to enter practice with me. They presented us with our first grandchild, Anna Laura, in 1976. Our son, Andy, graduated from Texas A&M University in May of 1978 with a degree in Agricultural Education and he and his wife Sandra have returned home to manage our ranch and dairy.
It is with a full and grateful heart that Jean and I look forward to many more happy and exciting years of contribution and growth through our professional, civic and personal relationship. We have been blessed in many ways and owe a debt to our profession and our community which we can never repay.