ASRT names 3 Life Member honorees

The American Society of Radiologic Technologists will award Life Member status to 3 long-standing members during its Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting in Albuquerque, NM, on June 26.

The 2026 honorees are Donna Newman, B.A., R.T.(R), CNMT, NCT, PET, FASRT, of Fargo, ND; Marilyn Sackett, M.Ed., R.T.(R), FASRT, of Missouri City, TX; and Joseph Whitton, M.S., R.T.(R)(CT)(MR), FASRT, of Mount Sinai, NY, according to ASRT.

Life Member status was established in 1938. ASRT grants the recognition to active members who have maintained continuous membership for at least 30 years and demonstrated sustained service to the society and the radiologic science profession. Candidates are selected by at least a 3/4 vote of the ASRT Board of Directors.

Newman became an ASRT member in 1995 and was named an ASRT Fellow in 2013. She has held several leadership roles, including ASRT president in 2002 and chair of the board in 2003.

Her work also extends beyond the U.S. Newman served as the 15th president of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists from 2018 to 2022. ASRT said she was only the 2nd person from the U.S. to hold that role.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Newman helped maintain radiographer representation in international stakeholder discussions and contributed to safety guidance for imaging and radiation therapy professionals. She also co-authored publications, including the COVID-19 ISRRT Response Document, according to ASRT.

In North Dakota, Newman previously served as president of the North Dakota Society of Radiologic Technologists. ASRT said she helped advance state licensure for technologists, a process that led to licensing standards being passed in North Dakota in 2015. She now supervises the nuclear medicine department at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, where she has worked for 36 years.

Sackett has spent more than 6 decades in medical imaging and radiation therapy. She became a registered technologist in 1964, joined ASRT in 1965, and was elevated to ASRT Fellow in 1988.

Her name is attached to the ASRT Foundation’s Marilyn Sackett Leadership Scholarship, and she co-founded the ASRT Emerging Research Scholarship. ASRT also credited her with service on education and curriculum initiatives, as well as long-term support for the ASRT Foundation as a mentor, donor, and advocate.

Sackett was also involved in establishing Texas licensure for medical radiologic technologists. She chaired the Texas Medical Radiologic Technologist Advisory Board from 1987 to 1990 and holds Radiographer License No. 1 in the state, according to ASRT.

In 1988, Sackett founded the Advanced Health Education Center, which ASRT described as a continuing education provider serving all 50 states and more than 60 countries. She later founded MEDRelief Staffing and established the AHEC Foundation.

Whitton has been an ASRT member for 34 years. His leadership roles include ASRT board secretary in 2023, speaker of the House in 2019 and 2020, and vice speaker in 2017 and 2018. He has also served as a delegate for the Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance chapters.

ASRT also noted Whitton’s involvement in the Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy bill, which sought national minimum education standards for radiologic technologists and was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1999.

For the radiologic technology profession, the awards are less about a single event and more about long-term professional infrastructure. The 3 honorees represent work across clinical practice, nuclear medicine, education, professional licensure, international representation, CT, MRI, and ASRT governance.