Frank “Alan” Hull has served in numerous capacities on state and national organizations. He is a tremendous example of a “grassroots” PA who wanted to contribute to the work needed to advance the PA profession. Although he found himself in high level leadership roles, he was always down to earth and focused on serving the profession. His initial leadership opportunities came in the Downeast Association of PAs (DEAPA) – the state chapter for Maine. He would go on to serve DEAPA as a delegate to the AAPA House of Delegates. True to form, Alan would serve for many years as Sargeant at Arms. Ultimately, his talents were noted and he was encouraged to seek to serve as a House Officer. He would serve as AAPA Vice President/Speaker of the House of Delegates from 2010-2013.
Alan grew up in an unincorporated township in what was then rural North Carolina. He relates that the nearest village area had a 2×2 post on the side of the road with the name on both sides. He attended public school and upon graduating high school attended and eventually graduated from Wake Forest University. During a party in his junior year, he met two PA students who introduced him to the PA profession. He applied to the Bowman Gray School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program but failed to gain admission. Applying the next year, he gained admission to the BGSM-PA class of 1981. It was fortunate that the program had a very strong student PA society. Classmates included such future leaders as Sarah Zarbock, Robert Wooten, and L. Gail Curtis. This is where he also met his future wife Susan Kepes, PA. He was able to attend the 1980 PA conference in New Orleans as a member of the Assembly of Representatives. Alan Hull graduated with his PA Certificate in 1981 from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
After PA school, he began work with Rochester-Genesse Orthopaedic Group P.C. in Rochester, New York, which was absorbed into the Department of Orthopaedics of Genesse Hospital in 1985. In 1986, Hull left this position to move to Maine where he worked in a variety of specialties including Family Medicine, orthopedics, and finally in spine surgery until his retirement in 2019.
Alan Hull followed his wife Susan into DEAPA. He served on several committees and held every office except Vice President. He became the organization’s board president in 1995. He was awarded the “Robert J. Lapham Outstanding Service Award” twice. He continued to chair the Bylaws Committee and served as an alternate delegate for many years. While being cognizant of needing to pass the baton to a group of younger leaders, he continues to serve the Maine Association by monitoring the activities of the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine.
He again followed his wife, this time into the House of Delegates (HOD). Alan accompanied Susan to the 1998 Los Angeles HOD just to see what all the hullabaloo was about. He volunteered as teller and became enthralled by the parliamentary procedure and the inner workings of the HOD. He then became a perennial Alternate Delegate for Maine, representing DEAPA (1988-1991, 1993-1997, 1999-2005) and then served Delegate (2017). Debating the policies and position papers was a privilege and an education.
In 1997 he was asked to be Sergeant at Arms (SAA) to the House of Delegates, which he still considers to be the best role in the Academy. The Sergeant-at-Arms preserves order during the House of Delegates meeting, maintains security of the floor, and provides support to the House Officers and delegates. He served as SAA from 1997 to 2005 with the exception of 1998 when he missed the HOD to travel to adopt his daughter. While SAA he was awarded the “House of Delegate Outstanding Service Award in 2002″. When asked, he feels that his biggest accomplishment as SAA was working to implement the amendment computer projection system that is still used today in the HOD.
Hull participated in and chaired several AAPA committees and sub committees: the Ad Hoc Subcommittee for Bylaws Review and Revision (2005) and the House of Delegates Standing Rules Committee (2001-2005). In the AAPA House of Delegates, he was eventually elected to be House Officer and served as Second-Vice-Speaker (2005-2008), First-Vice-Speaker (2008-2010) and Speaker/Vice President (2010-2013).
As a House Office, he was a full voting member of the AAPA Board of Directors. He remembers this as a turbulent time as the Academy changed Executive Vice President twice and experienced the unexpected death of President-Elect Paul Robinson in 2008. It was also a special time as he was able to be on the AAPA BOD with classmates Gail Curtis and Robert Wooten.
During retirement he is trying to travel more and re-engage in activities such as reading for pleasure and birding. He continues to utilize his parliamentary procedure skill by serving on the board of his homeowner’s association.
Acknowledgments: This biographical sketch was prepared by PA History Society staff with the assistance of Alan Hull and was submitted to the Society in June 2024. Photographs are courtesy of Mr. Hull.
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