Upper Cervical Evolution Recap

Evolution was amazing. I didn’t have access to a computer while I was there, but I will give a recap of each speaker and some other events that occured.

Day One

Thursday started out great. Dr. Ken Humber, the President of Orthospinology, spoke first. He honored those Upper Cervical pioneers that paved the way for the rest of us, all the while adding some southern humor here and there.

Dr. Darren White was next. Personally, I was excited for this talk. He spoke about Social Media and the importance of utilizing it properly. He showed us that when you type “chiropractic blogs” on Google, the number 3 and 4 spots are owned by Quackwatch. He encouraged everyone to start their own blog and create a presence that can bump Quackwatch down to no higher than page 5.

Dr. Shawn Dill continued on that same theme. He went in depth how to use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to market Upper Cervical Chiropractic. He also plugged a familiar site called The Atlas of Life.

Dr. Thad Vuagniaux ended the day speaking about this friend who was given very little time to live, but has decided to continue living life to the fullest. It was a great example of what a positive attitude can accomplish.

Round Table Discussion

I had the honor of representing Parker in a round table discussion with all the various leaders in the Upper Cervical World. Other student leaders were Liz Jones from Western States, Matt “Matlas” Wolfertz from Life, Adam Tedder from Sherman, Rob Clarke from Palmer, and Danielle Gray from Life West.

It was an amazing experience to watch the various leaders in the Upper Cervical profession discuss various topics of concern and to end the meeting with an actual plan for each topic. I was honored to be there.

Day Two

Friday started out with Dr. Stan Pierce, Jr. Honestly, his talk was one of the best of the entire weekend. He spoke about quality control in Upper Cervical and addressed much of his talk to the students.

Dr. Julie Mayer-Hunt followed and spoke about pediatrics. She showed some examples of cases from her clinic.

After that, there was an award given to Dr. Jill Howard from Life University. She is the wife of the late Dr. John D. Grostic. She played a video of Dr. Grostic giving a speech at Life before he died. I was inspired by the confidence and belief he showed even then, that he would overcome cancer, despite the fact that he didn’t have long to live.

The pre-lunch lineup ended with the great Dr. Marshall Dickholtz, Jr. For 85 years old, the man is as driven as anyone. He spoke about research in Upper Cervical. My favorite line was when he said you have to give your life to Upper Cervical. He said he’s given up everything for Upper Cervical… except sex! That brought the house down.

After lunch, Dr. Yoshiki Tanizaki spoke. He was the first Upper Cervical Chiropractor in Japan, where he’s practiced for 30 years. He went to Sherman and was mentored by the likes of Thom Gelardi, Michael Kale, and Steven Duff. He mentioned how x-rays are illegal for chiropractors in Japan, so he does a series of atlas challenges, leg length analysis, and thermal scans to get the listing. He did a great job.

Dr. Bart Patzer spoke next. Dr. Patzer has to be one of the most calm and cool people I’ve ever seen speak. I don’t think he gets nervous at all. He spoke about being a third generation chiropractor, as well as his dad. It was a really good talk.

Then Dr. Robert Kessinger spoke about Upper Cervical neurology and brought the house down about every two minutes. The guy is hilarious. He ended with the story of how he got really sick on a mission trip and actually developed sarcoidosis. He went through that struggle and how painful and difficult it was, but explained how he pulled out of it with Specific Upper Cervical Chiropractic.

Dr. Ray Drury finished up the day speaking about passion. I actually heard him speak about this at the UCHC Marketing Seminar in February, but it was still good hear again.

Student Spiz Night

Spiz Night was fun. A number of us got up and spoke about anything and everything upper cervical. I got up and spoke about my story, my absolute unwaivering faith in Upper Cervical and I strongly recommended everyone read Volume XVIII as well as the Upper Cervical Subluxation Complex by Kirk Erickson.

I was really impressed by Will Soriano and Matt Wolfertz from Life. Those guys are solid. Will has already done eight mission trips in school. He told a story about how he spoke to oncologists in San Salvador about Upper Cervical. Impressive.

At the end, Dr. Drury and Dr. Vuagniaux, as well as UCHC Marketing expert Billy Doherty, showed up to present Liz Jones with the B.J. Palmer award for all the barriers she has broken through, as a student, at Western States. It was well deserved.

Day Three

Dr. Bob Goodman, President of NUCCA, spoke first. He showed us a video he and his wife produced about Body Balance and Upper Cervical. It was a really well-produced video. I enjoyed it a lot.

Dr. James Tomasi was next. He spoke for a little bit, but then handed it over to his wife, Rhonda Tomasi. She spoke about the various mountains we must climb to promote Upper Cervical Chiropractic. She spoke about breaking through in academia, media, and technology. In the technology aspect, she plugged The Atlas of Life Social Network and everyone clapped for that. A very humbling experience, indeed.

Then Billy Doherty spoke about how we should market Upper Cervical. He made the point that chiropractic has a negative stigma attached to it, and how we can separate ourselves from that stigma.

Lunch

the lunch itself was amazing. Dr. Daniel Kuhn spoke. He spoke to the students and emphasized practicing our technique and dressing professional. Then he spoke to the recently graduated doctors up to seven years in practice. He emphasized staying strong, that those are the years that define whether a doctor makes it or not. He then spoke to the established doctors and told them they were the backbone of the profession. Finally, he ended with a salute to Dr. Daniel Clark for his service in World War II.

Day Three Continued

Dr. Tom Forest was first up after lunch. He spoke about the various threats we face, as well as some of the recovery stories he’s had in his office. He ended by speaking about how pleased he was with the unity Upper Cervical has now. He took off his jacket and planned on turning around with a big “Blair” sign on his back. However it came off when he took his jacket off. Everyone still laughed. Traditional Dr. Forest humor.

Next we watched a video presentation Dr. Daniel Clark did a couple of years ago when Dr. Drury and Dr. Vuagniaux visited him in California. He spoke about starting out in his parents home, with the family room as the reception area and a bedroom with an adjusting table and an x-ray unit. He made his first house call a few years later, and the success of that fueled him getting into his own clinic with two doctors, all seeing 100 patients collectively a day.

Dr. Tony Palermo spoke next. It was pretty funny because Dr. Cliff Drury, Ray Drury’s dad sang a Johnny Cash song to introduce him. He got up on stage wearing all black. As usual, he was great. This was the third time I’ve seen him speak in the past year. First at the Blair conference, then at the UCHC Marketing seminar in February, and finally at Evolution. One thing he said that stood out to me is that “Stress is knowing what is right and doing what is wrong.” Words to live by.

Finally, the main event speaker was the fierce upper cervical warrior, Dr. Drew Hall. He said his talk was inspired by a question I asked him in his interview here. In fact the second slide of his power point was titled “Thanks Brandon” and below that was this site’s web address. I was very humbled to know I had that kind of impact. Dr. Drew spoke about how we need to take back our profession from the incompetent. At the end he spoke about how students and doctors can do things now. He had Liz Jones stand up and he went on to congratulate her for all the hard work she’s done at Western States. Everyone gave her a standing ovation.

He ended with his trademark saying: “We will not be denied!”

Lastly, I can’t recap Evolution without mentioning Dr. Eddie Weller, who was the amazing MC of this event. I got the chance to talk with him several times and I’m happy I did. He’s one of the most passionate Upper Cervical Chiropractors I’ve met.

Overall, it was an amazing experience.

I have to thank Dr. Ray Drury and Dr. Thad Vuagniaux for all that they sacrificed in putting this event together. They put the students in rooms for free and paid for our meals at the luncheon on Saturday, which I can tell you was not cheap by the quality of food that was served.

I’m already looking forward to next year’s Evolution!

Recommended Reading

• Photos From Evolution
• The Atlas of Life Introductory Video Tour
• Advocating Upper Cervical Chiropractic: An Interview With Rhonda Tomasi
• The Atlas of Life Social Network Update
• An Interview With Dr. Adam Tanase

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