Lt. Col. Burt Dodson, Jr., [Born in St. Louis, MO in 1931] authored the first biomedical equipment technician certification exam and played a leading role in the establishment and growth of AAMI’s certification programs over the years. He went on to serve as AAMI’s first non-physician president from 1978 to 1979. Dodson’s many contributions to the BMET profession were recognized in 1977 with the first SBET Lifetime Membership Award. From a 23-year career in the Air Force Medical Services, he joined the multi-hospital corporation Sunhealth (now Premier)and was the chief operating officer at retirement. His college graduation came from the University of Nebraska-Omaha with graduate work from the University of Oklahoma.