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{ legislative & regulatory } by Shantel Smith, Legislative & Regulatory Director


tant to take time to reflect on the past. I know that sounds incredibly cliché, but it doesn’t change the truth that in order to know where you’re go- ing you have to know where you’ve been. Besides, who doesn’t love looking back at the past two years and relish- ing in the memory of success? However, to continue that success, one must look at your faults for what you can learn. Success comes often not from perfection, but from wisdom, which we know usually comes from mistakes.


Carrying on the Tradition A


s we gear up for the New Year and new session ahead, it’s always impor-


Recently I watched a documentary series on a man who is known for being one of the most successful in his trade. While his ac- complishments are impressive, what more so gained my interest and respect was how he handled his failings. Throughout his child- hood and career he experienced many trials, tribulations and media backlash that would typically crush most people. During these times, he chose to embrace his mistakes and misspoken words and learn from them. He used his past as a driving force to reach suc- cess. He used his flawed actions as avenues to better himself and grow as an individual. Now that is impressive.


Some of you may be wondering what does this have to do with passing a legislative agenda? Well, as I begin my third legislative session advocating for issues important to our member dentists, it is always a tradition of mine to acknowledge success and focus on areas of improvement. This is vital to the success of the MDA legislative agenda, be- cause every year is a fresh slate. Walking into


14 focus | JAN/FEB 2020 | ISSUE 1


session you never know what may or may not come up. It presents a whole new avenue of potential issues, and without first reviewing missteps from previous years, you can more easily fall into a trap for failure.


Therefore, I must look at my own shortcom- ings in legislative advocacy efforts in order to constantly strive towards perfection. I must acknowledge I am going to do things, I am going to make mistakes—but I must learn and then move forward with the understand- ing of what not to do. To this day I have yet to end a session without some form of new knowledge—how to address certain issues, work with each individual legislator’s personalities (old or new), deal with potential opposition’s tactics and identify key players and supporters for every issue.


As I prepare for my third year of third-party payer issues and a fight with the big, bad insurance companies, I look back at the past two years. I smile at the success we were able to provide to our members, but more I focus on the times I failed to see what oppositions


and tactics were coming my way, and make a mental note to better prepare myself for the upcoming session.


My outlook is that my success is your success. For many reasons I live this in my work life daily—the biggest be- ing that my success is not achievable without an army of people dedicating their time to the fight. Without a team that is unbelievably dedicated and knowledgeable, support from those I work with within the Capitol walls and—most importantly—you, no success is possible for anyone individu- ally or collectively. It is your dedication to your profession,


your passion to your patients and your ability to be present for advocacy whenever needed that provides us with something to fight for. Whether your involvement is a phone call to your elected officials, attendance at legisla- tive events, contribution to MODentPAC or delivery of a check to your elected official, every action you take toward advocacy and grassroots efforts leads to a proven equation for success.


So let me know what I can do better for you to help your involvement in these things I just mentioned. All these actions and more lead to success with in the legislative arena. Let’s embark on another year of striving for perfection and carrying on our tradition of success.


If you have any questions regarding legisla- tion, regulations or the MODentPAC, please contact me. I would love to hear from you.


Contact Shantel at shantel@ modentalmail.org.


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