Dr. Stanley Grogg’s resume contains a fairly typical list of activities associated with successful high school students: Class President (1, 2, 3, 4); Football (2, 3, 4); National Honor Society (3, 4); Track (1, 2); Varsity G (2, 3, 4), Vice President (4). Following high school, he attended the University of Cincinnati, earning a BS in Zoology (1971). He attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, and following his internship and residency, entered private practice in 1974.
But his life is much more than the “Boy-From-a-Small-Midwest-Town-Becomes-a-Doctor” tale. Classmates Donna Wilson and Nancy Reid, with a “fact-checking assist” from Grogg’s wife Barb, wrote of their high school friend:
Stanley Grogg, a member of the GHS class of 1963, has been a devoted member of the pediatric medical teaching and research profession for over forty years. After completing his pediatric residency in 1974, Stan began a private pediatric practice and became a member of the teaching faculty at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa. He has held various position including Chief of Staff (1981-1983), Chairman of the Pediatric Department for three terms, and most recently, Associate Dean of Clinical Research and Medical Director of Service Learning. He is also affiliated with the Andrew Tailor Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine as a Clinical Associate Professor since 1985 and presently serves on the school’s board of directors. He was voted Physician of the Year in 2006 by the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association, Pediatrician of the Year in 2008 by the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, received the Faculty Distinguished Service Award in 2011 and 2012 from the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, and the Outstanding Physician Award in 2013 from the Osteopathic Founder’s Association.
For the past 30 years, Stan and his wife, who is a nurse practitioner, have been interested in providing medical information and immunizations for travelers. Veteran travelers themselves, the Groggs have visited 164 countries and territories. Since 2004 they have been leading medical missions to under-served areas of the world.
Their team consists mainly of medical students from all over the United States, butother friends, including fellow GHS 1963 graduate Carol Borror Privette, have volunteered for the missions. The Groggs have served areas in Mexico, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Uganda, and Viet Nam and will make their first medical mission trip to India in December.
Upon retirement in 2014, Stan and Barbara started a not-profit organization, Power of the Nickel, to continue their global medical outreach programs.
(For more information, visit www.powerofthenickel.com .)
Truly, Dr. Stanley Grogg’s “Small-Town-Boy-Makes-Good” story has a world-wide reach and impact.
