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FOCUS | ISSUE 6 | 2010


The right place, at the right time, doing


the right thing and in the right way Doing the right things, in the right way for the MDA and its members … join with your Association so that we can answer that question TOGETHER with an unequivocal YES!


Following is an adaptation of the Executive Director’s speech from the 2010 MDA House.


Thank you for allowing me to serve another year as your Executive Director. It is an honor, and I thank the Board for their continued con- fi dence and support. It is a very challenging, yet rewarding, career.


A successful association professional once shared with me that, “There’s no feeling like the one you have when you know you’re in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, in the right way.”


So I ask myself, “Am I feeling that way?”


Am I doing the right things and leading in the right way for the MDA? You might be silently answering, “The right thing is what we, the members, ask you to do … so do THOSE things and the answer is an easy YES” … right? Well, not exactly!


As an association executive, it is extremely diffi cult to be all things, to all people, all of the time. Especially when those “things” are different for the many different members the MDA serves.


Perhaps this year, more than any other, has seemed to bring a variety of challenges to cause me to ask those questions.


I’m unsure if it’s the economy that drives people to question the direction of the orga- nization or to suspect the motives of the MDA team members and Board …


If it’s the state budget cuts that continue to undermine oral health programs …


If it’s the elections that occurred and the politics that inevitably surround any election process …


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If it’s the ease with which electronic communications provide an accessible venue for people to spout com- ments and criticism, often without much fore- thought …


Or if it’s simply the nature of the beast of managing any Association?


Maybe it’s a combination of all that and more, but no matter, this year has been challenging, as I ask if the MDA is doing the right thing often enough?


Whether its workforce issues facing our profes- sion, public health ideas versus private health care options, the dues assessment and resulting public education campaign, uncertainty of health care reform, the indifference among members, or just a lingering unsettled feeling surrounding issues in our country and profes- sion, it seems much controversy exists.


While I don’t know the cause, what I do know is that too often doubt and cynicism create division among us and overshadow the suc- cesses we have and the extent of work done by your tripartite associations on your behalf each and every day.


Part of the challenge is certainly of my own creation. I have to come to grips that I cannot be all things, to all people, all the time. But, that’s very diffi cult for me. It’s diffi cult to not “take it personally” when I care very deeply about the MDA, and I want to be able to please everyone who is a part of it. But, as all of you


know with your own patients who might continually repeat … “I want Zoom whit- ening!” (You have cavities.) “I want


Zoom whitening!” (You have gum disease.) “I want to bleach my teeth!” (You need to have your teeth cleaned.) It is impossible to always please. Instead, you simply continue to do the right thing and forge ahead with what you believe is the appropriate course of action. For me as director of your Association, that course of action comes from the Board leadership and House directives and from listening to the individual members.


In 2010 the MDA completed a full member sur- vey in preparation for our new Strategic Plan development. We wanted to learn what you valued about your membership and what other priorities and programs you desire.


The response was good and we learned a lot:


• Overall, you are satisfi ed. 85% would recommend MDA to a colleague and 91% plan to continue membership.


• The majority believes MDA is a compre- hensive source of reliable information on the profession and fi nd membership relevant to their careers.


• 77% believe quality of communication from the MDA is good or excellent.


• And, we received an “A” in Legislative Advocacy, which you said was the most important member benefi t.


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