Dr Bobby Mukkamala 8-11-21

Shows

Dr. Bobby Mukkamala
Otolaryngologist

August 11, 2021

Day 3 of our Back To The Bricks celebration features my conversation with this years Grand Marshal, my good friend Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, who is back for another swim in The Aquarium!

This time it’s to talk about his role as Grand Marshal of the 2021 Back To The Bricks extravaganza. After a year off, expectations are that this will be the biggest “Bricks” ever. "Dr. Bobby" as he’s known to friends far and wide, was a perfect choice for this honor for a range of reasons.

He spent the last year doing everything from performing his normal doctorly duties, such as seeing patients and performing surgeries, as well as putting in yeoman’s hours vaccinating people, and even manufacturing masks in his home’s 3D printer for the public .

A man with many interests and roles, he’s also the President of the Michigan State Medical Society. From that lofty perch he has guided the Governor’s Office, Michigan lawmakers and physicians statewide. Dr. Bobby is also passionately devoted to Flint’s Downtown revitalization efforts.

A past chairman of the board of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, he also serves on the board of the Crim Fitness Foundation, Chairman of the Foundation for Flint and is actively involved with several Downtown businesses, and started the 80s In The Hole Festival to boot.

What’s the impetus for all of this Flintcentric focus, and how’s he found the time to do it all? Well it’s not because he’s not busy!

Dr. Bobby (formally Srinivas “Bobby” Mukkamala, MD) is a board-certified otolaryngologist – head and neck surgeon. He’s practiced in Flint since 2000 in an office he shares with his wife, Nita Mukkamala, MD. He’s also a Flintstone, graduate of Flint Powers. But if all of that that doesn’t establish his high ranking Flintstone credentials, he also happens to live in the old home of one of Flint’s most famous Flintstones, and that is particularly congruent with his other passion cars.

As it turns out the Mukkamala’s reside in the former residence of one Harlow Curtice, former CEO and President of General Motors. Curtice put in his time at AC Spark Plug in GM as he worked his way up the ladder at the corporation.

Curtice, who is buried in Flint's Glenwood Cemetery, also successfully led the firm out of the Great Depression and in to the unprecedented prosperity of the late 40s and 50s in Flint.

So fiercely loyal to Flint was Curtice that he refused to move closer to the GM Headquarters in Detroit, and instead helicoptered in to “The D" every single day for work. His success was celebrated when Time magazine made him their 1956 Man of The Year.

That relationship isn’t lost on Dr. Bobby who demonstrates his love for both Flint and the automobile daily. His car collection housed in a warehouse on James P. Cole Blvd, is appropriately only minutes from where both General Motors, AC Spark Plug, and Chevrolet were all invented, and the very first Buick production plant was built, as well as the former behemoth Buick plant that once stood along Hamilton Avenue.

His car collection of over 50 sparkling hot rods, antiques, classic, and outright COOL cars is a sight to behold. Immaculately stored, always maintained, and exquisitely displayed “Each one also gets a good drive at least once a year”, he offers.

We don’t stop our conversation with Back To The Bricks though, as we jump in to several other topics that matter to folks in Flint and Genesee County as well.

As always, it’s another good dunk in to the ‘Fish Tank’ with Dr. Bobby!