1958-1959: Several meetings were held for the purpose of organizing a state-wide chapter of the American Association of Hospital Accountants (AAHA). On April 22, 1959, under the direction of the national officers of AAHA, the Alabama Chapter of AAHA was formed at a meeting at the Redmont Hotel in Birmingham. As of August 2, 1959, there were sixteen members, with nineteen applications awaiting approval.

1962: By 1962, the membership had grown to eighty-four. Members were segregated into three councils: Northern, Central and Southern. The chapter had members representing 50 of the 139 hospitals located within the state. In order to participate in the Alabama Hospital Association, the chapter needed members from at least sixty percent of Alabama hospitals. Therefore, the membership criteria was expanded to include people involved in credit and collections as well as data processing.

1963: The hospital industry was introduced to Uniform Billing, Uniform Accounting and Cost Finding. The Alabama Chapter attained the criteria for membership in the Alabama Hospital Association and was invited to join. Also, a fourth council, Jefferson, was added, a segregation from the Northern Council.

1964: Bama Chatter was established as the official newsletter of the Alabama Chapter. Milton Booth was the first Alabama Chapter member to pass the Fellowship exam.

1968: A name change to Hospital Financial Management Association and a new constitution and set of bylaws was adopted for the national organization. Chapter membership had grown to 118. The first Chapter Officers' Workshop and the first printing of the members' handbook occurred this year.

1969: Dewey Parker became the first Alabama Chapter member to pass the Certified Manager of Patient Accounts examination.

1970: The first Alabama Chapter Outstanding Member award went to Don Ball.

1971: Membership had grown to 214. Annual Institute held at Gulf Shores, Alabama.

1972: The Western Council was formed.

1973: Chapters from South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and Alabama organized the first Dixie Institute. This also marked the first year that the Matrix System to chapter management was used.

1974-1979: Regular council meetings were held to discuss the topics of the era. Major topics focused on cost finding, credit and collections, business office management, budgeting, cost containment and reimbursement, accounts receivable management, and internal auditing. By 1979, membership had grown to 320. Of this number, only 63 had joined the chapter prior to January 1, 1970.

1982: The name of the national organization was changed again, this time to Healthcare Financial Management Association. This better represented the membership as a whole since the organization had grown to include members representing diversified interests within the healthcare industry. The constitution and bylaws were rewritten to reflect the change.

1983-1984: The Alabama Chapter had over 400 members as they celebrated their twenty-five years in existence. The charter members who had sustained membership from the chapter's inception were: Milton Booth, Sister Theresa D. Hopp, Robert M. Coats, Dan Childress, Amorette Reese and Faye Whitmire. In March, 1984, the Alabama Chapter hosted one of the most successful Dixie Institutes ever held.

1984-1985: The Chapter continued to grow to a membership of well over 400 members. Under the able and enthusiastic leadership of Tim Thornton, the Alabama Chapter attained GLD status for the eighteenth consecutive year.

1988-89: This was an outstanding year for the Alabama Chapter. Successful meetings were held, including the Dixie Institute. Most importantly, we experienced a new excitement, a new dedication.

1989-90: The Alabama Chapter responded to every assigned and optional task force from National, and were rewarded with the first place National award. The year ended with the Alabama Chapter ranking third overall in the Gerald League.

1990-91: The Alabama Chapter received the Award of Excellence for the first time ever, and first place for task force responses for the second year in a row! Honorable mentions were received for membership marketing and chapter projects. The first CFO forum was held, and two members were recruited to serve on a national level.

1991-92: The Alabama Chapter ended the year as second runner-up in the GLD Award of Excellence competition in the Gerald League. An honorable mention was also awarded to the Chapter for task force responses. The newly formed Patient Financial Services Forum was an immediate success with participation from throughout the state. The Chapter was represented at the National level by members on the National Matrix and the Chapter Achievement Team Program.

1992-93: The Alabama Chapter received the Award of Excellence in the Gerald League. An honorable mention was also awarded to the Chapter for chapter projects and the multi-chapter education program. The Chapter was represented at the National level by members on the National Matrix, National Task Forces and the Chapter Achievement Team Program. Thomas M. Hales, Chapter President in 1990-91, became the first Chapter Member to be elected to serve on the National Board of Directors.

1993-94: The Alabama Chapter certainly "Set the Course" this year by winning the Robert M. Shelton Award of Excellence for five years of sustained excellence! The Chapter won the Award of Excellence for the Gerald League and also won three Outstanding Achievement Awards for ProAction, Membership Recruitment and Chapter Education.

1994-95: This was another outstanding year for the Alabama Chapter. The Chapter ended the year as first runner-up in the GLD Award of Excellence in the Gerald League. The Chapter also won three Outstanding Achievement Awards for Multi-Chapter Education Programs, Projects and Newsletter and set a new standard of programming excellence by retaining nationally recognized keynote speakers for the Institutes.

1995-96: The Alabama Chapter completed another exceptional year. The Chapter won the GLD Award of Excellence in the Gerald League. The Chapter was also recognized for its Outstanding Achievement in Chapter Education. These awards were presented at the Annual National Institute in San Diego in June.

1996-97: The Alabama Chapter again received the Gerald League GLD Award of Excellence and Chapter Achievement Awards for Education, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, ProAction!, Multi-Chapter Education and two Chapter Project awards.

1997-98: The Alabama Chapter won the Charles F. Mehler Gold Award for Outstanding Performance in Educational Programming, the C. Henry Hottum Gold Award for improvement in Educational Programming, and five Helen M. Yerger Special Recognition Awards.

1998-99: Mr. Robert M. Shelton said, "Stars will shine on Alabama at the Annual National Institute!" and they did! The Alabama Chapter won the Robert M. Shelton Award of Excellence for five years of sustained excellence. The Chapter also won the Charles F. Mehler Gold Award for Outstanding Performance in Educational Programming, the C. Henry Hottum Bronze Award for improvement in Educational Programming and seven Helen M. Yerger Special Recognition Awards in the following areas: Advocacy, Education (2), Improvement, Member Service, and Membership Recruitment & Retention. Five members are now serving at the National level.

1999-00: The Alabama Chapter won the Charles F. Mehler Gold Award of Excellence for Education, The Bronze Award of Excellence for Certification, and five Helen M. Yerger Special Recognition Awards in the following areas: Education (3), Member Service, and Improvement.

2000-01: The Alabama Chapter won the Charles F. Mehler Gold Award of Excellence for Education, The C. Henry Hottum Award for Significant Improvement in Education, The Bronze Award of Excellence for Certification, and seven Helen M. Yerger Special Recognition Awards in the following areas: Education (2), Member Service (2), Collaboration (2), and Improvement.

2001-02: The Alabama Chapter revamped its strategic plan to focus on membership growth and advocacy while maintaining its longstanding tradition of excellence in education. These efforts resulted in the receipt of Gold Awards for Education and Membership Growth, a Silver Award for Certification, and six Helen M. Yerger Special Recognition Awards in the following areas: Education (2), Collaboration (2), Improvement (1), and Innovation (1).
Highlights of the year included the development of HFMA's first exclusively electronic Membership Directory, implementation of a stringent Chapter treasury management plan, the passage of nine certification exams by Chapter members, and the provision of 24.89 educational hours per member.

2002-03: The Alabama Chapter continued its role as an organization that offers excellent education to the membership. The results were winning four Helen M. Yerger Special Recognition Awards in Education, and a Silver Award of Excellence in Education. We had three members become certified and began the implementation of a new web site to parallel National HFMA's goals.

2003-04: The Alabama Chapter once again had an outstanding year. The Chapter received the Charles F. Mehler Gold Award of Excellence for Education, the Henry Hottum Award for Educational Performance Improvement and the Silver Award of Excellence for Membership Growth. In addition, the Chapter received a total of 7 Helen M. Yerger Recognition Awards.

2004-05: The 2004/2005 year was another successful year for the Alabama Chapter. The Alabama Chapter was awarded the John M. Stagl Silver Award for Excellence for Education and the Bronze Award for Excellence for Certification. Additionally, the Alabama Chapter won four individual and two multi-chapter Helen M. Yerger Special Recognition Awards in the following areas: Improvement (3), Innovation (1), Education (1), and Collaboration (1)

2005-06: Another stellar year! The John M. Stagl Silver Award for Excellence for Education, the Gold Award of Excellence for New Member Retention and the Gold Award of Excellence for Membership Growth and Retention were presented to the Chapter during the Annual National Institute in Orlando, Florida. Additionally, the Alabama Chapter received six Helen M. Yerger Special Recognition Awards. Three individual chapter and three multi-chapter awards were received in the following areas: Education (3), Collaboration (2) and Membership Recruitments & Retention (1). The chapter achieved it goal of making the Chapter's Annual Institute in Destin,
Florida more family friendly with activities planned for the entire family.

2006-07: We ended the year on a high note with our ANI awards! We were awarded the Silver Award of Excellence for Certification and Bronze Award of Excellence for Membership Growth and Retention. The Chapter was also recognized as the recipient of 3 Helen M. Yerger awards: Improvement, Strategic Planning, and Certification and Education. The Chapter also received 2 multi-chapter awards for Outstanding Performance in Education and Member Service.