{ association insights } Executive Office Updates


A President’s First 100 Days F


or nearly a century, American Presidents have been judged by their accomplishments in their first 100 days.


This started when FDR took the reins from Herbert Hoover at the height of the Great Depression. Roosevelt brought about sweeping changes in an attempt to pull the country out of the biggest crisis since the Civil War. One way Roosevelt was very different from Hoover was com- munication. FDR instituted “Fire Side Chats” to explain to Americans, over the radio, what he believed was wrong with America and how he was going to fix it. Using this new me- dium, he was able to explain in simple terms what was happening.


As you read this, I will be somewhere near my first 100 days as president of your MDA, so here is my “chat” with you to share my perspectives at this juncture.


Simply put, what I have seen in my first 100 days is change. Some of the changes can be seen as positive or as negative, but change, nonetheless.


On a positive note, I have attended white coat ceremonies at ATSU in Kirksville and KCU in Joplin. When I was in dental school, we didn’t have these sorts of events for incoming students. I must say, they are excit- ing. Students are excited for the change from an undergraduate to a professional student and embarking on the first stages of their careers. A fair amount of pomp and circum- stance at these events end with the reading of an oath to our profession, which serves as a north star as the new dental students embark on their journeys to join us in our profession.


Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we have been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. — Barack Obama


Within the first 100 days, I have run my first MDA board meeting and completed an officer induction for the Southeast Dental Society. Both events are full of member dentists passionate about leadership and the preservation of our profession.


Your MDA Board is made up of a solid group of well-rounded representatives from components and committees with diverse backgrounds in dentistry. They are forward thinkers and embrace the changes we are experiencing across the tripartite and within the MDA. As a board, we have been tasked with many things recently including adapt- ing the MDA strategic plan to a current framework, increasing non-dues revenue, ad-


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dressing workforce shortages, and de- veloping our 2025 legislative agenda. All while trying to find ways to engage and retain members.


In August, Vicki Wilbers, Ron Wilkerson, Mack Taylor and I at- tended the Mid-States Conference in Louisville. This meeting brought to- gether leaders from 13 states from Min- nesota, Tennessee, Oklahoma — and everywhere in between — to engage and learn from one another as we discussed common areas of interest. Change was at the forefront of this meet- ing as well. It was evident to me the MDA shined above many of the other states at this event. We were “in the spotlight” because of the lead we have taken on workforce issues and related legislative changes over the last few years. Other states are looking for areas of non-dues revenue and are struggling, but at my last check, 54 percent of MDA income is from non-dues revenue — higher than most. That does not mean we can continue to lose members at the current rate. We must embrace change at the ADA, MDA and local component level to have a stable membership future.


As my first 100 days conclude, I hope we, as member dentists, can look at the possibility of embracing change. It is going to take some vulnerability on all our parts, and it might be a little uncomfortable, but it is our only chance at organizational survival.


Contact Dr. Copeland at joncopelanddds@gmail.com.


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