Faith. Family. Fun. Farm life. If you know Dr. Vandervoort outside of our Anniston Orthopaedic clinic, or if you've known him for any length of time at all, you know that these are a few of the words that could be used to describe him. When we sat down with Dr. Vandervoort to see what we could find out about his life "out of the office," however, we learned a few new things, as well. And, we hope you will, too.

Dr. Kenneth "Buddy" Vandervoort grew up in Guntersville, Alabama. Surrounded by more than 69,000 acres of water from Lake Guntersville in North Alabama, if you've been to Guntersville, it's hard to imagine calling that area home and then deciding to leave. "I spent a lot of time swimming and skiing on the lake," says Dr. Vandervoort. His time growing up was also spent playing sports and cultivating a love for farm life. "As a child, I enjoyed spending time with my dad on a family cattle farm, just outside of town." Thankfully for all of us in East Alabama, Dr. John Hollingsworth--a dentist from Anniston--introduced his city to his college roommate--Dr. Vandervoort.

One question we tend to seek an answer to is "How did you decide to become a physician? Specifically--how did you decide on the specialty of orthopaedics?" Like many of us who grew up with stories of our older family members, Dr. Vandervoort listened to stories of his grandfathers and developed a curiosity for medicine and a desire to help patients in need. "My maternal grandfather, who I am named for, was a physician in Selma and my paternal great grandfather was a physician in Arab. I decided to pursue that path as I was graduating high school."  As for deciding on orthopaedics, Dr. Vandervoort says he had two family physicians in Guntersville who acted as his mentors, but during his third year of medical school, he did an elective rotation in orthopaedics. "I fell in love with the idea of being an orthopaedic surgeon."

As for what fills his days when he is out of the office, if Dr. Vandervoort is in town, he still enjoys many of the same things he grew up doing in North Alabama. "When I am out of the office and in town I enjoy working/spending time on a farm in Cleburne County. I enjoy cycling and hiking with family and friends in some of the beautiful areas around Anniston." And, of course, he tells us that attending his grandchildren's youth events is also at the top of his list of favorite things to do when he's not in the office.

Dr. Vandervoort has three sisters, each of whom have large families, and the four siblings often gather together at a lake house in Guntersville where fishing, boating and family time take center stage. That's a trend you'll notice quickly when spending time with Dr. Vandervoort. The things he enjoys most always involve his family. When asked about traveling, he says he has enjoyed trips to the Canadian Rockies on two separate occasions and was "fortunate enough to complete a Mt. Kilimanjaro climb in Tanzania, Africa last January."  He also has a one-day, rim-to-rim hike in the Grand Canyon scheduled for next May. But quickly the conversation returns to family and what matters most in the years to come.

"I hope to be remembered as a caring physician who made a difference in our community, both through medicine and outside of medicine," says Dr. Vandervoort. And looking ahead for generations to come, he says his advice would be, "Love the Lord with all your heart and accept Christ as your savior;  always honor and live by the Golden rule. Dream big and work hard toward your goals."