|
|
|
News Categories
No subcategories News and Announcements
President's Message
Published: Dec 5, 2009
Holiday Thoughts
The holidays are here and we have
much to be thankful for. As president of CADS I can tell you I am very excited
to see the two programs co-sponsored by the Society and the Foundation nearing
their launch. This marks a special time for our dental society. We are becoming
a stronger and more mature community leader. Rather than just joining the
projects of others, we are now proposing and implementing solutions. The DOC
program will deliver preventive education to third graders in Title I schools
in the Austin area. Our DDS supplementation program will allow CADS dentists to
treat more of these patients and reopen the treatment list.
This change has not gone
unnoticed. I do not think St. David’s Community Health Foundation would offer
up the matching $25000 grant if they did not see a great deal of potential in
our efforts. We can be thankful for their support while thanking our own
members for their participation in both past and future events. Our continued
volunteer participation is paramount to the success of these programs.
I will borrow some words from Dr.
Arthur Dugoni, President of the ADA Foundation, to illustrate the power we have
as a group. “Living a life that matters does not happen by chance. It is not a
matter of circumstance but one of choice. As health care professionals, we have
chosen to have a life that matters and because we have, many individuals have a
better quality of life; go to bed without pain; have a beautiful smile; live
longer, healthier lives; walk a little taller—we know in our hearts that we
have made a difference”. This was excerpted from a letter in the October ADA
News dealing with diminishing charitable contributions due to the financial
meltdown of 2008. I am proud to say that CADS members have donated at record
levels for our fundraising Gala in February. We surpassed the threshold for the
matching grant and were presented the check at our November general meeting.
Our society focuses a lot of
energy on its younger members. Our New Dentist committee has had a series of
successful meetings over the past year. Involvement of new members in the
Society is crucial for long-term success. This involvement is evident when we
have a local TMOM and a large number of the dentist volunteers are young CADS
members. It’s easy to join an organization and sit back and watch others
perform. It is however much more rewarding to participate and help achieve
goals which benefit ones community. My hat is off to all our young dentists who
have volunteered for TMOM, the Theo vans, and will sign up and support the DOC
project.
The CADS Board cannot go
unnoticed at this time. Everyone in that room is committed to the betterment of
our organization. I find it particularly telling when the majority of committee
chairs are willing to continue to serve past their original one-year term. This
is happening because we have projects developing which need continuity of
leadership at all levels and these members are willing to devote the time and
effort necessary for their success. My thanks go out to all of them. They make
my job easy.
It is the time of year for giving
and caring. Take some special time out for the people you love. Let them know
they are special. See you all next year.
Happy Holidays,
Stan LaCroix
President, CADS |
|



