{ association insights } 

their providers. There is a summary of their response to our inquiries in this issue (see page 19), and I encourage you to visit our website for more details.

Opportunities to engage A

t the time of the last Focus, we were in the midst of conversa- tions with Delta Dental about their recent correspondence with

encounter more often. But, there are also the team members who aren’t as frequently around members to get the same level of interaction. Stacey, Margie, Mandy, Melissa, Cassie and Denise are like the motherboards on your computers—you don’t see them, but you know they’re working. If we, as dentists, had to run this organization without them, nothing would get done! Our association

If we can connect the past with the present, I believe the future will be amazing.

Even though the legislative session has ended, the suspense and the celebrations have not. When the gavel dropped on May 17, we had passed everything we set out to do and more, but we had to wait for the Gov- ernor’s signature. I’m happy to say that the Governor signed the bills outlawing capped fees and authorizing dental carve out and the delegation of sealants and topical fluoride to assistants. Additionally, he signed the state’s operating budget which authorized funding for extractions, exams and imagining for the current qualified adult Medicaid population, the Elks mobile dental units, and a two-year pilot project between rural health clinics and private dentists to provide dental services to children. Unfortunately, as Patrick describes on page 18, we’re now awaiting further outcomes of these bills due to HB 253. Still, kudos to everyone involved, especially Patrick. I recently visited with several of our senators from around the state who admire and respect Patrick and are envious we have him in our association. I agree with them whole-heartedly—he is an asset to our team.

I know many of you have heard me say how wonderful our MDA team is, but I really don’t say these words lightly. There are a few like Vicki, Patrick and Paul who you may

8 focus | JUL/AUG 2013 | ISSUE 4

is great because we have active, supportive members and an active, supportive staff. They are very professional and take the as- sociation’s work very seriously. The next time you have contact with one of our team, make sure you tell them how much you appreciate their dedication to our profession.

At the end of June, new dentists and com- ponent leaders came together for the first Connect4Success conference (see page 32 for a full recap). This event was precipitated by two House of Delegates resolutions. The first encouraged leadership development and the second dealt with supporting and reaching out to new dentists.

To encourage leadership development, all of the current component society officers were invited to attend. We had 16 officers representing the Component, MDA and MDIS Boards in attendance, which was good considering it was the first year of the Leadership Academy. And, to entice new dentists, the MDA New Dentist Committee along with the MDA staff chose the venue and developed a specific agenda for this set of members. The event saw a good mix of new and “experienced” dentists from around the state, and there was ample time for everyone to get acquainted and learn something along

the way. It’s very important for our associa- tion to listen to the new dentists. The world and the face of dentistry have changed and continue to do so. The new dentists are our profession’s current—and future—leaders. If we can connect the past with the present, I believe the future will be amazing. I hope we continue to foster this type of interaction between the generations of dentists.

We’ll have another opportunity to engage with new dentists when next July, Missouri will bring a major ADA conference

to our state by hosting the ADA New Dentist Conference. This meeting, July 17-19 at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center, will give us another opportunity to network with the new dentists. I hope we see a lot of participation from our members, because you don’t have to be a new dentist to attend (see page 34 for details).

In closing, I would like to recognize two wonderful men who embodied this leader- ship I speak of and dedicated their lives to our profession and to this association: MDA past president, Dr. George Hopkins from St. Joseph and Dr. George Bailey from St. Robert (see page 28). Both men have been very involved in our association throughout their careers and were very passionate about dentistry. They will be deeply missed.

As you can see from this array of updates, a common theme is engagement. Whether your association is engaging on your behalf, such as with Delta or the legislature, or providing you with opportunities to engage in events and leadership development, there are so many ways that membership matters. Thanks for your continued membership. As usual, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me anytime. f

CONTACT DR. BARBOUR at president@modental.org.