Beaumont Journal, April 10, 2007 BEAUMONT -- Dr. Kubala is not only important to this area as a neurosurgeon but in the entire medical society, according to Nathan. There are 41 thousand people in the Texas Medical Association (TMA) who thought him worthy of the 2006 Distinguished Service Award, TMA's highest honor, for his tireless advocacy for patients and physicians at the local, state, and national level. His peers at the University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston awarded him the Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus Award.