W
Membership implies a transaction. People join professional organizations for access to political advocacy, access to business resources, networking, as well as pooled benefits like insurance and bulk discounts. Fellowship is different. It is a group of like-minded individuals pooling their knowledge, skills, time, and resources to further a common mission. ACD Fellows have come together for over 100 years to advance excellence, ethics, professionalism, and leadership. This is, and has always been, largely through educational initiatives.
As a Fellowship, the ACD is an organization founded on the belief that dentistry is a medical profession and dentists are healthcare professionals. Our Founders stated that our purpose is “To elevate the standards of dentistry, to encourage graduate study, and to grant Fellowship to those who have done meritorious work.” While our founding documents describe who we are, our mission, to advance excellence, ethics, professionalism, and leadership, defines what we do. While it is an exceptional experience to be part of a Fellowship like the ACD, there are also personal benefits. While Fellowship is not transactional, it does provide our Fellows opportunities to:
• Improve the profession’s social contract with those for whom we care;
In this Issue President’s Forum 2-3 ACDF Strategic Planning 4 Dates to Remember 5 Board Meeting Highlights 6 Annual Meeting Highlights and New Fellows 7-10 News of Fellows and Sections 11-13 News From the Office 13 Guest Reflection 14-15 NEWS
• Access advanced education in professional and educational leadership through our partnerships with the AAPD and the Kellogg Institute, as well as ADEA;
• Work closely with dental students through SPEA, helping to shape the future of the profession;
• Work closely with colleagues in the American Society for Dental Ethics and the American Association of Dental Editors and Journalists;
(continued on page 5)
President’s Forum Who Will You Push?
Robert M. Lamb, DDS President of the American College of DentistsWow! If you weren’t in Houston, you missed a great meeting. It was so great to see Fellows in person. We welcomed 246 New Fellows at the Convocation where Dr. Larry Garetto presented the Convocation Address. I am so proud of the inclusiveness of the ACD. Over 400 fellows were in attendance, with 550 attending the luncheon. We were amazed at the mentalist abilities of John Pullum, although my wife says there is not much to read in my mind! Over 650 attended the Denim and Diamonds Gala! Seeing longtime friends was really special.
Our Fellows Forum panelists Drs. Scott Tomar, Francisco Ramos-Gomez, Lisa Simon, and Carlos Smith presented perspectives on the Oral Health in America Report and access to care. Their experiences and thoughts on these issues gave all of us much to discuss and think about. The panel was moderated by Dr. Keisha Ray, whose work in social determinants of health is well known.
The American Society for Dental Ethics program, led by Drs. Toni Roucka, Carlos Smith, and Pam Zarkowski, was excellent. The perusal of the ACD Ethics handbook and the identification of topics that stood out to attendees was a great way for attendees to gain more familiarity with one of the Foundations biggest, most long-term projects. This exercise emphasized the need for revision of the handbook, which will occur in 2023. The dentist’s role in identification of those trapped in human trafficking was eye-opening.
The Student Professionalism and Ethics Association held their annual meeting in Houston on October 14-15th and had 60 students in attendance. Student Professionalism and Ethics Association chapters have been formed at most dental schools in the US and Canada. SPEA is a student-run organization for those students interested in professionalism and ethics. Sections are encouraged to assist chapters with meetings, mentoring, and projects.
Start making plans to attend next year’s annual meeting, which will be October 4-5 in Orlando, Florida. Search your state’s association, state boards, and other organizations to identify candidates to nominate for Fellowship. The nomination form can be found at acd.org. The accomplishments of your nominees are not restricted to dentistry. Leadership in military, civic, or church organizations is also important. While the American College recognizes the value of American
Dental Association membership, we no longer require this membership for nomination. Dentists in like-minded organizations are just as interested in professionalism and ethics as ADA members. Please remember, this is a confidential nomination.
In my President-elect speech, I talked about two lifelong friends, Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck. As a teenager, Justin developed a foot drop and the paralysis progressed. It took many years to establish the diagnosis of multifocal acquired motor axonopathy. Justin became wheelchair bound.
Justin couldn’t do many things, but he could operate his television remote. He was channel surfing and stopped on a Rick Steves’ program about Northern Spain and the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile journey over three mountain passes, steep, rocky, and muddy trails. Justin thought this was the perfect guy trip. He showed Patrick the recording and asked Patrick if he wanted to go on this journey and Patrick replied, “I’ll push you!”
Patrick and Justin had to order an $8,000 custom-built wheelchair before they started training. A fire-fighter paramedic friend accompanied them on the first ten days of their journey. Many strangers aided Justin and Patrick in their journey.
Most of us have had people in our lives who have encouraged or pushed us. My father was one. Dad was a meteorologist, stationed at a B-17 base in England during WWII. One of his
best friends was the base dentist, Dr. Larry Kerr. Dad became interested in dentistry and, after the war, completed his dental school prerequisites under the GI bill. He was a 1949 graduate of Baylor College of Dentistry. After the war, Dr. Kerr became an oral surgeon and was President of the ADA from 1979-1980. He is also an ACD William John Gies Award recipient.
I always wanted to be a dentist. When I was in college, Dad arranged jobs for me. Mostly manual labor in order to keep me studying. I graduated from Baylor College of Dentistry and my senior year was on an Air Force sponsored scholarship. I completed a General Practice Residency at March AFB, California. My Base Dental Surgeon and Program Director was Colonel Arthur J. Sachsel. Colonel Sachsel, ultimately, directed the USAF Dental Corps and retired as a Major General. General Sachsel was a great encourager and influence on my life and Air Force career.
I completed an Air Force sponsored Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Many staff attending pushed and encouraged me. Many are ACD Fellows: the late Bill
Now, back to Patrick and Justin’s journey. Along the journey, they met Richard and Joe, who were from Boise, Idaho, about 10 miles from Justin and Patrick’s houses. Richard and Joe said that they had been following Justin and Patrick’s progress on the Camino. The last mountain pass is very steep, and Justin and Patrick had considered by-passing this portion of the journey. Richard and Joe said that they would wait for them at a village and help them in the last push to Santiago de Compostela.
Early in their journey, Patrick and Justin were reluctant to accept help from strangers. Justin realized if you deny a person the opportunity to help, you deny them the joy of helping, so they accepted the assistance.
When Justin and Patrick arrived at the village, Richard and Joe were waiting for them in a cafe. Justin and Patrick ate, rested, and then got up to start the climb over O Cebreiro. The whole cafe stood up and twelve people assisted Justin and Patrick over the last mountain pass.
After thirty-five days, 500 miles and three mountain passes, Justin and Patrick completed the Camino. They were welcomed at the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela by a large group of journeyers.
How does Justin and Patrick’s story and my story relate to new ACD Fellows and really, all Fellows? At our convocation, candidates are welcomed into the American College of Dentists by a large group of Fellows in a very impressive ceremony.
We have all had those in our lives who have pushed or encouraged us: parents, family members, teachers, mentors. Think about those who have encouraged you. If you can, send them a note thanking them for how they have influenced you.
You have been recognized for your accomplishments in leadership, ethics, excellence, and professionalism. Fellowship does not come without responsibility. Look at colleagues who have not been recognized as a Fellow. Nominate those dentists. Encourage and assist younger dentists to be involved in leadership roles.
Who will you push?
“When you deny someone the opportunity to help you, you deny them joy in life.
– Justin Skeesuck
STRATEGIC PLANNING Thinking Forward Beyond 2023
Richard E. Jones, DDS, MSD ACDF PresidentSCENARIO PLANNING
TODAY
Strategic planning for the future of the College and the vital role it plays within the profession will be a focus for much of 2023. The Board of Regents has engaged Futures Strategy Group (FSG) for an innovative look at how the College can remain relevant and effective in advancing our Mission for the second century. FSG is a consultancy specializing in scenario planning and strategic decision support in times of rapid change and high uncertainty.
The detailed work schedule has already begun with data collection and interviews planned for more than 40 individuals. FSG selected a core group consisting of Paula Friedman, Dick Jones, Robert Lamb, Rebecca Long, Suzan Pitman, Toni Rouka, Drew Smith, and Carlos Smith. This group will serve as the planning team for
ALTERNATIVE FUTURES CORE STRATEGIES & ACTIONS
the process. Board members, subject matter experts, and strategic partners selected from the Fellowship will do the bulk of the in-person work needed to formulate the plan, and the Board will review, discuss, and approve the final plan.
A commitment was made for a 2020 centennial anniversary meeting at Boston’s Copley Hotel—the location of the first College meeting on August 20, 1920. That event has been postponed twice because of the pandemic. The spring meeting of the Board will be virtual so an intensive, electronics-free workshop can take advantage of the prior obligation.
The strategic foresight will prepare and direct the College for future relevance. The process will also provide crucial data to identify important characteristics and duties for the search and screen process for our next Executive Director.
A great plan to guide our decision making is important, but it is meaningless if we do not work together to bring it to life and implement the strategies. You, our Fellows, will be the most important part of the plan’s success as we see it through over the next five years.
STRATEGIC PLANNING TIMELINE
SUMMER 2022
Futures Strategies Group selected as strategic planning partner.
FALL 2022
Planning with the core group begins.
WINTER 2022/2023
Interviews with Board members, subject matter experts, and strategic partners selected from the Fellowship.
SPRING 2023
Intensive working session with 32 carefully selected individuals in addition to four FSG facilitators.
SPRING-SUMMER 2023
Board input continues.
JULY 2023
Final plan delivered to the College.
Dates to Remember
Fellowship Nominations Due for ACD 2023
January 15, 2023
Ethics Scholarship Applications and National Award Nominations Due February 15, 2023
Section Awards and Model Section Designation Applications Due February 15, 2023
Nominations for Board of Regents Due March 1, 2023
News of Fellows and Section News for the Spring Issue of the Newsletter Due March 1, 2023
Approved Fellowship Candidates Notified May 1, 2023
CONTACT
ACD News is published by American College of Dentists 103 North Adams Street Rockville, MD 20850 301-977-3223 • 888-ACD-1920 301-977-3330 fax suzan@acd.org • www.acd.org
GUEST EDITOR AND MANAGING DIRECTOR
Suzan Pitman
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Nanette Elster
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Matthew Sheriff
Periodicals postage paid at Frederick, Maryland
Send address changes to: ACD News 103 North Adams Street Rockville, MD 20850 or e-mail office@acd.org
The Greatness of Fellowship
(continued from page
• Collaborate on local projects through Section membership that benefit the profession and society; and
• Participate in continuing education at no charge.
The Convocation speaker this year, Dr. Larry Garetto, said “The greatness of a profession, does not consist of having great wealth, or in the high intelligence of its members…or in power over other people, or in high status or fame. Its greatness consists of the spirit of service and servant-leadership seeking always the well-being of those people for whom you care.” This is also the greatness of Fellowship in the ACD. Our Fellows make it so.
1) ORLANDO | ACD 2023
Plans are underway for ACD 2023 in Orlando, Florida. Nominations for the 2023 induction ceremony should be sent to the ACD office no later than January 15, 2023.
The form is online at www.acd.org/nominations, or may be requested by contacting Stephen Froehlich at stephen@acd.org.
Board Meeting Highlights
The Board unanimously voted to create a communications team to expand and improve our communications capability.
Nanette Elster, currently the Editor of the eJACD, will be the Communications Director as a half-time staff member. Matthew Sheriff, currently contracted on a limited basis to work on graphic design for the College, will be the half-time Design Director. Ms. Elster, an Honorary Fellow of the College, transitioned the JACD to an online format and Mr. Sheriff has transformed the visual presentation of the Journal as well as the ACD News . The Board also approved a social media strategy consultant to
be contracted on a limited basis, followed by the creation of a parttime social media specialist position.
The Board also began the process of realigning committees and setting up new task forces. Currently, the Sections and Bylaws Committee does the work of two committees in one. Moving forward, they will be two separate committees as described in the bylaws, with the Sections Committee taking a more active role in assisting the Sections. It is proposed the Bylaws Committee become the Bylaws and Policy Committee and the Finance Committee become the Finance and Budget Oversight Committee.
Additionally, the Membership Committee will have a subcommittee devoted to young professionals.
Other task forces proposed by President Robert Lamb and approved by the Board include:
• Continuation of the Annual Meeting Task Force with a proposal to transition this group to a standing committee with the title of Annual Meeting Steering Committee.
• Establishment of an Annual Meeting Evaluation Task Force.
• SPEA Best Practice Task Force will be continued.
• Executive Director Search Task Force was established.
ACDF Meeting
The ACD Foundation Board of Directors voted to fund another ethics summit, this one on the theme of interprofessionalism. Between 1998 and 2006, the ACD sponsored several summits on a variety of topics. These summits brought together professionals across oral healthcare, including practitioners, academics, and leaders in organized dentistry, insurance and industry.
The Ethics Summit on Interprofessionalism is co-chaired by ACDF President Richard Jones and Michael Cadre, MD, DMD, who is a Fellow and Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon from California.
The Summit will be held in Rockville in August of 2024. The Foundation maintains a fund for this project.
Annual Meeting Highlights
The ACD and the AADEJ renewed their historic ties at the Annual Meeting, signing an affiliation agreement that brings the AADEJ into the College as a non-geographic Section.
As part of AADEJ’s ongoing rebuild, Board members met in Houston during SmileCon with ADA leadership, President George Shepley, Immediate Past President Cesar Sabates, and Executive Director
The Student Professionalism and Ethics Association held their annual session on Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15. Highlights included workshops on difficult conversations, finances, and practical advice. Highlighting the session was a talk by Dr. Marko Vujicic, Chief Economist and Vice President of the ADA’s Health Policy Institute. His topic was “Making Dentistry Essential Healthcare: What would it take and do dentists really want this?”
All Sections are encouraged to fund a student from a local SPEA chapter to attend the 2023 meeting in Orlando.
Raymond Cohlmia. The face-to-face conversation culminated the AADEJ’s successful two-day annual meeting and continuing education sessions and provided attendees a unique opportunity to share ideas and lay the groundwork for what promises to be a fortuitous partnership between the two organizations.
Dr. Cohlmia noted that like AADEJ, the ADA is committed to retaining and promoting the finest principles and ethics of dentistry and to that end, excellence in dental journalism is a necessity.
Together with AADEJ’s new relationship with ACD, the future looks bright indeed.
REGENCY 1
Western New York
Erin Bates
Stacy L. Hoffman
Helmy Y. Mostafa
Hudson Mohawk
Bert Goldfinger
New York
James R. Keenan
Amrita R. Patel
Eugene G. Porcelli
George Raymond
Marvin J. Schissel
Richard B. Serchuk
Caryn M. Siegel
Analia Veitz-Keenan
New England
Abdulibrahim Abdulwaheed
Albert Abena
Chiho Ahn
Elinor Alon
Erin L. Breen
Michael J. Chung
Monica H. Cipes
Joseph W. Costa, Jr.
Mary C. DeMello
Dayana I. Escobar
Yael Frydman
Miriam H. Gale
Hatice Hastruk
Ana M. Keohane
Rachel L. King
Jessica Lau
Matthew D. Mara
Mary E. McCabe
Mayumi O. Miyamoto
Hesham M. Nouh
Pinelopi Pani
New Fellows by Regency
Christina D. Pastan
Loren T. Peck
Rashmi Shah
Earle Simpson
Thomas P. Suranyi
Tina L. Wang
Ana M. Zea
Andre A. Zelikov
Samuel R. Zwetchkenbaum
REGENCY 2
Federal Services
George J. Holzer
Sean C. Meehan
Herminio Perez
David I. Tucker
James Wilson
Maryland
Fotini V. Anagnostopoulos-King
Jeffrey M. Behar
Vineet Dhar
Sheldon R. Seidel
Robert R. Windsor
Metro Washington
Robert Gamble
Cheryl T. Lee-Butler
Sheila M. Samaddar
Samantha Siranli
New Jersey
Rosa Chaviano-Moran
Debra Ferraiolo
Craig S. Hirschberg
Dennis A. Mitchell
Thomas J. Sniscak
Richard P. Szumita
Robert T. Wong
Virginia
Toni A. Bowden
Paula L. Coates
Timothy J. Golian
Parthasarathy Madurantakam Zachary A. Paukert Christopher R. Spagna Scott B. Wolpin
Philadelphia-Delaware Valley Belinda Brown-Joseph Bryan J. Frantz Joseph P. Mulligan
REGENCY 3
Carolinas
Tameko D. Alford
Edward Clemons, Jr. Edna L. Giles-Williams Louis A. Hassell
Anna L. Hicklin David G. MacPherson Julia K. Mikell Matthew J. Olmsted Ricardo J. Padilla Harold M. Rhodes Eric J. Sadler
Cleveland T. Smith
Florida
Thanhphuong N. Dinh
Douglas R. Fabiani Naved Fatmi
Andrea Fenton
Craig Kara Melvin L. Kessler
Lisa A. Klein
Mark McCawley
Merlin P. Ohmer Matthew T. Waite
Georgia
Martha G. Brackett
Jacqueline Delash
Dylan S. Hamilton
Melissa Hunt
Abu Nazmul-Hossain James Paschal
Brent C. Stiehl
Puerto Rico
Luis Toro-Lloveras
Juanita E. Villamil-Silvey
REGENCY 4
Indiana
Joshua Bussard
Molly E. Dwenger
Paul Glass
Heather Hradek
Luke M. Keusch
Amanda Miller
Catherine E. Murphy
Valerie M. Seifert
Jill S. Torkeo
Kentucky
Greg L. Adams
Rachel H. Davis
Brian A. Marrillia
Zindell Richardson
Brandon Stapleton
Michelle E. Story
Jeri L. Stull
Breacya Washington
Michigan
Genrundyne C. Algenio
Jeffrey L. Ash
Tenzin Dadul
Derik P. DeConinck
Todd V. Ester
Carlos Gonzalez-Cabezas Gabriel Holdwick
Ghabi Kaspo
Melanie E. Mayberry
Romesh P. Nalliah
Robert C. Niskar
Ashish G. Patel
Susan B. Pauzaras
Donald B. Sherman
Rachel Sinacola
Lauryne Vanderhoof-Begrow
Michael Zuroff
Ohio
Raweya Y. Mostafa
Ontario
Chandan G. Advani
Dimple Bhatia Diana Boodram
Aaron G. Burry
Edward A. Busvek
XueEr Hong Ira Marder
Richard Schmidt
Navreet Sidhu
Tamara Sosath-Schmidt
Naveen Verma
West Virginia
Lauren Y. Godwin
Arif Salman
Kerri Simpson
REGENCY 5
Illinois
Vishruti Patel
William Simon
Rick Workman
Iowa
Christopher A. Barwacz
Satheesh Elangovan
Kansas
Susan K. Evans
John M. Lewis
Daniel C. Nielson
Jeffrey J. Thompson
Missouri
Aaron M. Bumann Sarah Cimino
Amanda Fitzpatrick
Emily Mattingly Dean F. Telthorst
Upper Midwest Mark Essner Woojin Kwon
Takanari Miyamoto
Jon G. Nelson
Wisconsin
Joseph Best Joseph D. De Guzman
Jeremy M. Hoffman Derek Schmidt
REGENCY 6
Arkansas
John K. Jones
Kim Kosmitis
Louisiana
Peter J. Dupree
Oklahoma
Kristen R. Campbell Bobby Carmen
Melanie D. Emerson
Mary A. Hamburg Shannon Lewis Daulton Roberts
Troy A. Schmitz
Bryan E. Sorgen Ryan J. Theobald
Paul S. Wood
Carla W. Yeates
Tennessee
Ryan G. Bowles
Benjamin D. Scott
Texas
Vanessa G. Carpenter Gabrielle Dizon Sara Ehsani
Stephanie Ganter Anne Lyon Luis E. Ortiz-Quiles
Patrick M. Ralph Michael J. Reed
Jennifer M. Roe Katie E. Stuchlik Kayleigh E. Temple
REGENCY 7
Arizona
Jeanette MacLean
Maureen M. Perry Marc Shlossman
Azfar Siddiqui Terrence T. Yu
Hawaii
George Chan
Nevada
Christine C. Ancajas
Hassan M. Ziada
Northern California
Jacob S. Barber
Sampada J. Deshpande
Laila B. Hishaw
Christine Hong Daniel Mendoza Nick M. Nguyen Brandon Zeidler
Southern California
Georgia Dounis
Ryan Grier E. Bernard Gross
Amir E. Kazim
Andrew S. Levin Gregg A. Tartakow
REGENCY 8
British Columbia
Kristy Chu
Saida Rasul
Guessy Wang Robert Wolanski
Colorado
Jon Boynton Brian J. Cotant Britton M. Marsh Robert D. Meyer
International
Dean Licenblat Paul O’Dwyer Nadeem A. Rana Amal M. Sindi
Oregon
Ravi S. Sinha
Utah John W. Graham
Washington Herbert Edwards
Lauren Hagel
Emily D. Hobart
Aaron J. Lemperes Rochelle Nguyen Mostafa Norooz Sonia Pal Charles L. Regalado Alan A. Yassin
THE PHOTO GROUP—30 YEARS OF CONVOCATIONS
For more than 30 years, Les and Nikki Kamens, founders and co-owners of The Photo Group, have been photographing the new Fellows and Convocation for the ACD. They memorialize our best times and are part of the fabric of our history.
Recently, Suzan Pitman, Managing Director, had some questions for Nikki.
SP: How did you “meet” the ACD? I think Gordon Rovelstad was still the Executive Director when we began working together.
NK: We “met” during the typical cold call process—at that time we were receiving leads from the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau. We spoke with Mae Hom. When she first presented the opportunity, we had to consider it….as new as we were we were hesitant to do “spec work” but her grace and warmth sold us. The rest is history and to this day the College is the only client for whom we do spec work! The College holds a very special place in our hearts.
SP: What makes the ACD different from your other clients?
Coming Soon the Updated ACD Website
Design Director, Matthew Sheriff and Managing Director, Suzan Pitman have spent much of the last year working with the College’s web contractor on a major overhaul of our websites. Coming soon, the relaunched acd.org will feature a more streamlined navigation and updated look. Our learning management site, dentalethics.org, is also recieving an update.
NK: We are fortunate to access the College and its members during a happy time, with the event surrounding the honor placed on members as they are inducted into the College. Our role is particularly focused on this one event and the celebratory aspect of it is infectious.
SP: What kinds of changes have you noticed in our organization and our Fellows over the years?
NK: I suppose the biggest changes that I’ve seen has been in the membership make-up. As the years have gone by, I’ve noticed more and more women and people of color have been admitted.
Thank you, Les and Nikki, for decades of partnership on our Convocation! This spring, a brick in honor of the Photo Group will be placed in the Legacy Walkway in front of the Rockville office.
News of Fellows and Sections
Paul Bottone (Colorado) has stepped down after more than 30 years of spearheading the dental hygiene award given by the Colorado Section. Structured like the Outstanding Student Leader Award, Dr. Bottone initiated and has maintained this recognition of future dental hygienists.
“I want to sincerely thank you for all these years of you going to the hygiene schools in our Colorado Section to present the ACD hygiene award certificate. A graduate’s family said to her that the ACD award was the most prestigious one given today. That says it all! Thank you, Thank you, my friends!”
Submitted by Paul Bottone.
The White Coat Ceremony at Schulich Dentistry on September 10 was a great success, as well as being an historic undertaking.
The fall meeting of the New York Section was held on September 22, 2022 at the Penn Club in New York City. Nanette Elster, JD, MPH, Editor of the College, was the guest speaker. Her topic was the “Ethics of Social Media in Dentistry.” Her talk was excellent, and the meeting was well attended.
Submitted by Tom Connolly
WHITE COAT CEREMONY
Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) Program Saturday, September 10, 2022 Alumni Hall 2:00 p.m. ET schulich.uwo.ca/whitecoat
“All the dental classes in future classes will have this exciting and heartwarming experience to hold in their ‘bouquet of memories’ from Western’s Schulich Dentistry. It was a great honour for me to be invited to participate and speak at this year’s White Coat Ceremony. The Ontario Section of the American College of Dentists is very grateful and appreciative of being included and given a chance to be introduced to the dental students on this momentous occasion.”
Submitted by Paul Romanson
ACD President, Robert Lamb (Oklahoma), took the opportunity to visit with SPEA students in Colorado while on vacation.
“It’s a very active chapter with lots of leadership! Many future ACD Fellows will come from this chapter.”
Submitted by Robert Lamb
News of Fellows and Sections
On November 11, the Ontario Section held its 2022 Annual Session. Live streaming from multiple locations, the meeting was designed to reach as many Fellows as possible in a geographically large Section. The three venues represented an eight-hour stretch along Highway 401 through Ontario.
The keynote speaker was Emo Raczjak, DDS. Dr. Rajczak was inducted in 1977, and is a founding member of the Ontario Section. His talk was provocative and cutting edge, relating to ethical issues facing our profession today. Dr. Richard Jones, Immediate Past President, presented Dr. Rajczak with a President’s Distinguished Service certificate for his exceptionally long and notable career as a dentist, speaker, and passionate standard bearer for the ACD’s mission.
Submitted by Paul Romanson and Richard JonesAs classes resumed across campus in August, West Virginia University School of Dentistry students returned with a plan to launch a new student organization.
There is now a Mountaineer chapter of the Student Professionalism and Ethics Association in Dentistry (SPEA). SPEA is “a national, student-driven association that was established to promote and support students’ lifelong commitment to ethical behavior in order to benefit the patients they serve and to further the dental profession.” SPEA chapters are sponsored by local sections of the American College of Dentists, and support for SPEA is a long-term, essential project of the ACD. Dr. Valerie Perrine, Fellow and WVU Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Community Health and Outreach, serves as the faculty advisor, and student officers are Hillary Hainer, President; Ali Alsayegh, Vice President; Brooke King, Secretary; and Bobby Gilbert, Treasurer.
The national mission and objective of SPEA is to support students through ethics education resources, foster a positive environment for ethics communications and to promote awareness of ethics standards in dentistry. For more information, please visit speadental.org
Submitted by Stephen Pachuta, Dean, West Virginia University School of Dentistry and former At Large Regent.
Lily Garcia, DDS, MS (Texas) took the helm at the Texas A & M School of Dentistry on October 1. Dr. Garcia, an alumna of A & M, joined the school as its 17th dean. Her first day on campus coincided with the school’s 117th anniversary.
Submitted by Texas A&M School of Dentistry.
Colonel Peter H. Guevara (Federal Services), Regent for Regency 2 gave a two-hour ethics lecture at the Three Rivers Dental Conference in Western Pennsylvania on November 2. His lecture, Basic Dental Ethics Principles and Their Application During a Pandemic, was described by attendees as “the best ethics lecture I ever attended.”
Dr. Guevara is currently serving as Commander, Fort Carson Dental Health Activity in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but has a long relationship with Western Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. His session was sponsored by the Western Pennsylvania Section of the ACD, which tested this project with seed money from the Section Activity Program.
by Jane Segal.
Alma Clark, DDS, MSHCE (Northern California), and Linda Himmelberger, DMD (Philadelphia-Delaware Valley) recently co-authored “Patient AutonomyCancer” for the Journal of the American Dental Association, which can also be found on PubMed. Dr. Clark is a former Ceclia Dows Scholar, a scholarship program sponsored by the American College of Dentists Foundation.
Submitted by Alma Clark.
News from the Office
Nominations are being accepted for the next election for the Board of Regents. Nominations for Vice President, President-elect, and Regents from Regencies 4 and 8 are needed. Nominations are due by March 1 and should be sent to Suzan Pitman at suzan@acd. org. For more information, please visit www.acd.org/aboutus/leadership/.
After decades of initiating a new dues cycle on November 1 each year, the College has moved that date to December 1. Shortening the gap between the dues cycle and the fiscal year will improve clarity in our membership record keeping and accounting. If you have not paid your dues for 2022, please contact the office as soon as possible. Dues for 2023 remain unchanged on the national level but some local dues have changed. National dues have been $225 annually since 2017, and retired dues, which are $50 annually, have remained unchanged for more than a decade. Although Life Fellows are not required to pay dues, they may choose to pay Section dues in support of their local Sections.
Meet the ACD Staff
Each year, the Staff gets into the holiday spirit by choosing a charitable group collecting toys for local children. This year, Suzan, Stephen, and Erica took several toy dental sets on behalf of the College as well as personal donations to Rockville City Hall for the annual Rockville Holiday Drive.
Learning “On the Road”
The ACD-PFA Spring 2022 CE Conference
Paul Romanson Past Chair of Ontario SectionWe headed out of the Forest City, near daybreak after being suitably “coffee’d up” at home. Valet parking got us to Pearson Airport with plenty of time to “hurry up and wait.” Karen and I stood dutifully in line at 6:30am for over an hour, until the new shift of security folks took up their duties. Shades of the airline travel crunch, that we are now enduring, as air travellers.
Upon arriving and having cleared through the Estate security, we pulled up to The Inn on Biltmore Estates. The building is huge and architecturally impressive, set way up on a hilltop. The check-in is just left of the entrance doors, at one end of an expansive long rectangular, foyer, with a spacious lounge for guests at the opposite end. This area is filled with glass windows and doors, with the inviting décor and furnishings making a large space look comfortable and even cozy. We loved every moment that we afforded personal time, to relax and take meals there.
Next day, the Board of Regents were hard at work with their meetings.
Karen and I managed an invitation to join the spousal itinerary provided by the College. This consisted of about twenty of us folks, who were all congenial and happy as clams, to be offered a personal guided tour of the Biltmore House Gardens. We had such a wonderful tour guide who was an Ashevillian, and a grade schoolteacher to boot. She provided a great morning of light humour and endless information about the Biltmore Estates, which remains in the Family and the relevant history of the Ashville surrounds. We helped her a bit with the identification of the tree and plant life grown in the gardens. To top that off, we all went to the Stables Café for a delicious lunch and more animated conversation.
The afternoon seemed to vanish, and it was time again to board the 5:15 pm Shuttle to Lioncrest. The Welcome Reception was held on the “Veranda” and we got to meet and mingle with ACD Executive, Staff, and Regents and of course their spouses. We also enjoyed the company of the PFA contingent, including Lisa Bently and Lesli Hapak from back home in Ontario. Many people attending are indeed fellows in both organizations.
It was a great evening to put faces and names together from Zoom meetings and newsletters and enjoy conversing with many new friends and old.
Shuttles appeared again at the crack of dawn, and it was back to Lioncrest
for the CE Sessions. A welcome breakfast and coffee were served before we assembled to hear our speakers. The first speaker was Dr. Michael Schmidt, who spoke on the, “Syndromic Surveillance by the Medical Workforce.” In concert with Michael, Dr. Theresa Gonzales gave a parallel talk on the “Syndromic Surveillance by the Dental Workforce: Oral Manifestations of Covid 19.” Then it was off to the Veranda for lunch to fuel up for the afternoon session.
At 2:00 pm the theme of the lectures shifted to, “Communication Strategies for Leaders.” Dr. Joshua Weiss, PhD, gave an in depth look at “Effective Negotiations.” Our next speaker was delightful and energetic. Her name is Mary Sandro and her lecture title was “Get Them Marching.” Which indeed she did. She proposed that we learn to speak and get our audience to march— invest, learn, agree, and feel differently.
Saturday morning was early to rise and wake up once again on the shuttle to Lioncrest, for the last session of CE. Session 3 was themed “Covid and Beyond.” The morning’s first speaker was Rear Admiral Tim Hicks, Chief Dental Officer of the US Public Health Service. His topic was, “The Dental Workforce Response at the Federal Level: What we did, why we did it, and how we could do it better.” Tim was a laid back and affable person who spoke candidly about the Covid situation as
it developed and became prolonged. Our last speaker of the conference was the delightful Amy Brock Martin DrPH, MSPH. Her eye-opening talk was on “Access to Care for Vulnerable Population in Times of National Crisis at the State and Local Level.”
The lectures ended with a robust Q&A, and we enjoyed another amazing lunch. I rejoined Karen at the Inn. We spent an idyllic afternoon walking the trails and visiting the Antler Hill Village with its winery and farm. After we finished our sight seeing, we took drinks on the massive second floor veranda. It was a pleasant, sunny, warmish but windy
afternoon. To our great delight young men and women were everywhere in formal dress and readying themselves for a wedding. Soon thereafter, from the balcony, we saw the bride in her hooped white wedding gown with a long, elegant train, ready to descend an outside staircase, from their private rooms. Her proud father had joined her. We had just ordered dinner. Off in the distance, down the paved pathways, onto a grassy peninsula the groom and groomsmen and a multitude of friends anxiously awaited the bride. The outdoor venue was complete with a beautifully decorated wedding
Want to learn “on the road” with ACD?
In addition to attending our annual meetings, we host a CE Experience with our colleagues from other organizations every four years. The next experience will be held in 2026 “out west.” These times together in new locations with fresh topics provide an opportunity to learn new things with fresh eyes. We hope you’ve got next year’s annual session in Orlando, October 4-5, already inked on your calendar, and that you’ll leave some space to join us in the spring of 2026.
arch. On the final turn of the path the bride’s veil became a kite. The veil was corralled and placed securely back in its place with a seamless adjustment to the bride’s manicured hairdo. The bride remained cool and calm. She was going to marry that boy come wind or high water. The ceremony ended with cheering and a starburst of colourful streamers that rivalled fireworks.
The taxi came before daybreak. Happily, coffee appeared at the check-out, for a wee caffeine burst. And then, as my maternal Grandmother Anna would say, “Home again, home again, jiggety jig.”
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