Interview: A Moment with Dr Hugh McKinnon
Article by Alex Thio
Dr. Hoo.
The moniker by which we fondly know Dr. Hugh McKinnon.
Who wouldn’t love this guy? He’s the life of the party. And SCSS is lucky to have him on board.
AT: Dr Hoo, it’s a treat to have you in the SCSS family! Your commitment to the group is amazing. This is your second time traveling with the SCSS not only as an adult chaperone, but a valued member of the choir. Tell us a little more about why you chose to tour with SCSS again.
HM: When our daughter Josie was invited to SCSS in 2006-07, Linda Gartner needed additional male voices and asked me to join her husband Neil supporting the choir on a few numbers. I love working with Linda, a seasoned professional choral director; I love the kids on that trip, many of whom are with us again; and Diane and I love being with the other teacher and parent chaperones. That trip was a highlight of our lives, and this one promises to be as good or better.
AT: Professionally, you have an incredible track record and a resume that would make anyone’s eyes pop! Share with us briefly what your profession entailed and what the greatest moment in your career was.
HM: After some training in clinical medicine and surgery, I felt my calling was to protect the health of populations (large groups) of people rather than treating individuals, so I trained in Preventive Medicine and Public Health (as a State or County health officer would do, for example). I worked as a Medical Officer in the U. S. Gov’t Civil Service, in the Environmental Protection Agency’s R&D program, which gives science and engineering support to EPA’s regulatory and enforcement programs. My work was fascinating and often unpredictable.
Several high points were: meeting then-President Jimmy Carter and later then-Vice-President Al Gore in person; assisting residents of Love Canal, NY (near Niagara Falls) with health problems from leaking buried chemical wastes; traveling to then-Yugoslavia on cooperative health research projects; leading an EPA group that compiled health effects from exposure to tobacco smoke, and testifying about them before Congress; briefing then-First Lady Hilary Clinton on health problems associated with pesticides; and heading up the Cincinnati EPA lab, working with the leading scientists and engineers in the world on the treatment and quality of drinking water.
AT: Sounds like you’re a seasoned traveler! What is one piece of travel advice you might be able to offer those of us who have yet to travel across the seas to another country and to another culture?
HM: As you can already tell, I’m incapable of giving a single succinct answer!
Pack VERY light — it’s MUCH easier to move about, and you can get along with ‘way less than you think.
Remember always that you are a GUEST in another country, and conduct yourself like you would want a guest to do in your own home.
Expect things to be different than they are in the U.S., try new foods and activities and learn what that country’s natives love about their own country and why.
Stay alert, and move about with a small group, NOT ALONE — Americans stand out when abroad, and the myth that all Americans are rich can make us targets.
Enjoy every minute, soaking up experiences to enjoy as memories after the trip.
AT: It’s great to see ADULTS excited about something. Anything. Tell us what you’re most excited about as you gear up toward our trip to Spain next week.
HM: I love travelling, and I’m thrilled to be going to Spain — my parents travelled there 35 years ago, their only overseas trip after WWII, and they loved it. But what excites me most is being privileged to share the lively environment among the young people performing on this trip. They give us energy and fresh eyes, and I tear up and get a lump in my throat when I listen to their gorgeous voices and gaze upon their eager faces. If only they could recognize and appreciate how beautiful they are, each one of them, and how much hope they give to us adults.
This is Dr Hugh McKinnon’s second trip with the SCSS abroad as well as his second time performing with the SCSS as a baritone. He also performed with Linda Gartner’s Grown-Up Choir in 2005 and 2007 at the Sycamore Junior High School’s Holiday Concerts.
Dr McKinnon and his wife Diane raised three daughters: Meg, Carrie and Josie. (Josie is an alto in the SCSS.) His career experience spans the gamut and includes being Director at the US Environmental Protection Agency (Office of Research and Development), a Resident Physician in General Preventative Medicine and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health (Baltimore, MD) as well as the Memorial Medical Center (Savannah, GA).
His hobbies include bicycling, golf, movies, reading and photography.
