Thank you. That’s
how I want to start off this message.
I want to thank the members of the Florida Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
for allowing me the honor of serving another year as President.
I want to thank the members of the Executive Board, our Executive
Di-rector, our Legislative Advocate and all of our Past Presidents for all of
the help that they have given me over the past year and a half.
Finally, I would like to thank our members.
Thank you for going out there each and every day trying to make a child’s
life better. Thank you for
volunteering for committees and showing up for meetings and giving your input.
The FAPD belongs to us all, and I thank you for helping get us back to a
position of prominence!
Now let’s get down to business!!
During my time as President, I’ve set some lofty goals, and I am proud to
say that we are making some great progress towards those targets.
I spent much of last year listening to what our members wanted, and along
with your Executive Board, we have been working hard to make your requests a
reality. I’d like to take a just a
minute to update our members on some of the changes with the FAPD.
One of the upgrades that we have made has been to our
website. Information is much easier
to find for parents looking for a dentist, as well as, for members.
Log onto our website at
www.FAPD4kids.org and check it out.
You will be able to register for upcoming CE courses and meetings, you
can check out the newsletters, you can complete online CE, and FAPD members can
even have their office website added as a link.
Communication has been another big goal of the FAPD this
year. We are working hard at making
sure that our members are being informed of what is happening with pediatric
dentistry both within the organization and on a state level.
In addition to frank discussions at our annual meeting, we are sending
out monthly email updates to keep you in-formed.
Also, we have a great Facebook page to help keep you posted on upcoming
events. Find us on Facebook or
through our website and “Like” us for updates.
In this newsletter, you are going to read a lot about major
changes that have been going on at the state level that could affect how we
practice dentistry. The FAPD prides
itself on trying to remain on the forefront of these issues.
Special thanks go out to our Legislative Advocate, Senator John Grant,
and to all of our members that have been working tirelessly on your behalf.
Many members have approached me and asked if the FAPD would
offer more pedo related continuing education.
Your request has been heard and changes have been made.
First off, we have partnered with the California Society of Pediatric
Dentistry and now have access to their extensive library of online CE.
Just log onto the “Online CE” tab on our website and you will find tons
of great CE at your finger-tips. In
addition, we are proud to have the return of the Annual FAPD CE Course!!
This year the course will be on Saturday, November 19th at the Lake Buena
Vista Palace Hotel and Spa in Orlando, Florida.
We have made this CE diverse and affordable.
Members pay only $250 for 5 CE credits, and that includes a great catered
lunch. We have several sponsors who
have agreed to help with the cost of the course and these great vendors will be
at your disposal during the meeting.
We want this meeting to be the start of a long tradition of great CE, but we
need your help. Come to the meeting
and show your support as you reacquaint
Finally, one of the biggest obstacles that we face as a
dental organization is how to remain fiscally solvent as membership in
organizations continues to wane. By
providing new and innovative member benefits, we hope to attract and keep
members. In addition, we have
devised several methods of building back our reserve funds.
First off, Senator Grant has agreed to cut his already reduced salary in
half for the next two years so that we can save money.
In addition, starting in July, dues collection will be carried out by the
AAPD. We believe that consolidating
the dues process will make it easier for members to pay.
It is important to note that ac-cording to the AAPD bylaws, you must
maintain member-ship in your state dental society to remain an active member of
the AAPD. Because we will be doing a
dues invoice in July, you will notice that the current FAPD invoice that you are
receiving is for only half of the usual dues amount.
Since the AAPD will be taking over dues collection, we will
be adjusting your membership categories to coincide with that of the AAPD’s.
In addition, our Constitution and Bylaws commit-tee is doing a complete
re-view of our current rules and will propose any changes to be voted on by the
member-ship.
I apologize for the long address, but for those of you that I
have had the pleasure to meet in person, you know that I am very passion-ate
about the FAPD and the potential that our organization possesses.
I encourage you to get involved at any level that you feel comfortable:
join a committee, utilize the website or come to the CE course.
I look forward to seeing everyone in Orlando in November!!
To print out and
read more of the Fall 2011 Newsletter, click here!
