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History of the June Bratcher Award for Political Action
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The June Bratcher Award for Political Action is a biennial award presented to a physician spouse for significant involvement in a federal or state level political campaign.
Created in 1987, the award is modeled after the American Medical Association Political Action Committee's Belle Chenault Award and is named for the first Belle Chenault winner, longtime Alliance leader and political trail blazer June Bratcher of San Antonio. The award is presented in the spring of each odd-numbered year in recognition of efforts during the past election cycle. The June Bratcher Award winner also becomes the Texas nominee for the Belle Chenault Award.
June Bratcher Award Winners
Spring 1987
June Bratcher, San Antonio
A strong believer in the power of grassroots activities, June Bratcher
served as the coordinator for nine targeted primary races during the
1986 elections, and eight of them were victorious. Of the ten general
election campaigns she coordinated, all ten were declared the winner.
The first TMA Alliance member to serve on the TEXPAC Executive Committee,
June Bratcher has been a campaign veteran since 1974. Recognized by
the San Antonio Express News as the "Outstanding Woman in Politics"
in 1982, June Bratcher passed on her passion to others through her seminars
on "How to Organize for Political Action" in five Texas cities as well
as Florida and Louisiana. She organized "Meet the Candidate Rallies,"
phone banks, fundraisers, and lobby days, and set the standard high
for political involvement. AMPAC chose June Bratcher to be the first-ever
recipient of the Belle Chenault award.
Spring 1989
Patti Tuthill, Dallas
One thousand fellow alliance members were surveyed regarding the
Texas Supreme Court elections under the leadership of Patti Tuthill.
Patti manned the polls on election day only after deluging physicians'
offices with slate cards, stuffing patient bills with election information,
and walking block after block on behalf of medicine. Candidates she
has assisted include Phil Gramm, Nathan Hecht, Steve Wolens, Anita Hill,
and Bill Clements.
Spring 1991
Susie Tonymon, Fort Worth
Susie organized 20 medical community fundraisers across the state for
then-incumbent Supreme Court Justice Eugene Cook. Susie is a former
member of the TMA's Council on Legislation. In 1992 she continued her
campaign activities by serving as the assistant campaign manager for
Jane Nelson. Her efforts to beat a 12-year incumbent impressed Jane
Nelson so much, she asked Susie to become a member of her legislative
staff. In 1993, AMPAC recognized Susie Tonymon with the Belle Chenault
award.
Spring 1995
Cathy Toledo, Fort Worth
Over one million voters received a slate card during the 1994 election
season thanks to Cathy Toledo's monumental efforts. Cathy worked tirelessly
on three Supreme Court races by assisting with fundraising, ad campaigns,
and "Get Out the Vote" efforts.
Spring 1997
Cathy Toledo, Fort Worth
Before now-Congresswoman Kay Granger could afford to hire a campaign
manager, she depended on Cathy Toledo to get her fundraising and campaign
efforts off the ground. During the 1995-1996 campaign cycle, Cathy assisted
on six separate campaigns and coordinated candidate events specifically
for the medical community in Fort Worth. Cathy Toledo took home AMPAC's
Belle Chenault Award in 1997.
Spring 1999
Barbara Hauser, Houston
From billboards to bumper stickers, Barbara Hauser put the name of Rick
Perry everywhere during her tenure as his Harris County campaign chair.
Barbara organized the then-lieutenant governor's "Get Out The Vote"
efforts and arranged enough local media to secure his victory in Harris
County. Barbara worked hard on medicine's behalf up and down the ballot
on congressional, state, and judicial campaigns. Her efforts were key
to the coordination of the TMA Alliance's activities throughout the
campaign season.
Spring 2001
Carole Thompson, San Antonio
Recognized by the Wall Street Journal for her grassroots campaign
efforts, Carole Thompson orchestrated a massive slate card campaign
in Bexar County during the 2000 election cycle. Along with organizing
an enormous voter registration drive, Carole instituted a fax blast
communication system to keep San Antonio physicians and alliance members
up-to-date on key candidate issues and pending legislation. She chaired
several local committees including the Bexar County TEXPAC Alliance
and the Bexar County Alliance's Committee on Legislation. Carole Thompson
was a co-winner of the Belle Chenault Award in 2001.
Spring 2003
Pat Hyer, Fort Worth
Outspent, but not outrun, Michael Burgess, MD, can now be called Congressman
Burgess thanks to Pat Hyer's efforts in coordinating numerous campaign
activities for the TMA physician. In a campaign season that had a hotbed
of activity in Tarrant County, Pat Hyer was instrumental in the election
of a pro-medicine slate all the way down to the 141st District Court,
where again Pat was there personally rolling up her sleeves. Pat Hyer
was the Belle Chenault recipient in 2003.
Spring 2007
Maureen Priestner, Abilene
Maureen Priestner's humble words on her application for the June Bratcher
award were eclipsed by the tremendous list of contributions she made
to the Susan King campaign and her equally long list of admirers. Susan
King ran three very tight races for the Texas House in the primary,
run-off, and general elections. The countless hours Maureen spent fundraising,
block walking, phone banking, organizing, and cheerleading were the
determining factors in Susan King's victory. Maureen is also active
in TMA lobby activities and is a regular participant in TMA/TMAA's
First Tuesdays at the Capitol grassroots lobbying program.