{ association insights } Executive Office Updates Follow the Mission, Not the Leader


by JON COPELAND, DDS MDA PRESIDENT


next president of the MDA, their commonly asked questions were: “What is YOUR plan? What are YOU going to do as president?”


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These questions confused me a little bit and my response usually was something to the effect of “I’m just going to continue the mission and hopefully not break it!”


hen I told pa- tients, family and friends that I was going to be the


“Leadership is not about being in charge, it is about taking care of those in your charge.”—Simon Sinek


As I write this article, the MDA is coming off a busy week. Along with the nor- mal business, we had a very successful lobby day and a leadership conference to help us make sure we are following that mission.


I’ve said mission a couple times already, so what is it? The MDA mission is: “Helping All Dental Professionals Succeed.” It is impor- tant you know that, because you need to hold us to it. As a board, we do our best to make decisions with our mission and strategic plan in mind.


The Wednesday morning of lobby day was full of activity and anticipation. Everyone there was on a mission to advocate for change. Our main issues are Dental Loss Ratio insurance reform, the dentist and hygienist compact and discussing the OPA project with legislators. Dentists, hygienists, and assistants all benefit from these initia- tives, which are in line with our mission. In the past five years, the MDA has brought forward 15 initiatives that have changed a law in favor of our profession. Fifteen! We have also helped block multiple things that would hurt our profession. We are good at it. We are good at it for YOU. This is why you pay your dues and donate to MODentPAC.


10 focus | SPRING 2025 | ISSUE 1


After lobby day, some of us went back to the executive office to strategize the future of the MDA. This was the second annual leader- ship summit. As to how this event began, as little as three years ago, MDA’s lobby day attendance was substandard. I realize there can be unforeseen circumstances that keep dentists away, yet I still have a concern about the lack of overall member attendance from all components. I realized, we as the MDA, had failed to demonstrate the value of their presence in the advocacy fight. We failed those members and other members across the state. We determined the best way to get more involvement is to invite leaders from each component to the summit (after lobby day) to increase understanding of the value of advocacy and adapting to change. Noticeable growth in lobby day has been created, yet more dentists need to be in the fight to become winners in tackling the MDA advocacy agenda.


Change was the theme of this year’s summit. Representatives from the ADA talked about changes in ADA structure and how the pilot projects are working in other states. We also had Dean West, founder of the Association Laboratory, talk about changes affecting


all organizations (see his article on page 30). There was a lively discussion, and we will continue those discussions and adapt to our changing environment. At a break, I gave Dean a tour of our new EFDA training center located in MDA headquarters. Last year, we offered 22 different courses and trained 299 assistants for EFDA certifications. We also facilitated several Basic Skills Review courses and are now offering Nitrous Oxide certification courses. These courses are offered to assistants and hygienists so they can come back to your practice and improve your efficiency in serving patients.


This facility helps all dental professionals succeed. This is why you pay your MDA dues.


When you think of what the MDA is doing for you, the first two things that pop in your head should be Advocacy and Workforce (EFDA, primarily). But we do a lot of other things. Take Connect4Success as an example. It is our annual conference, and besides being fun, we have great speakers and entertain- ment, and great events that are connected to it. You should come! But because there is so much competition in the dental education marketplace, we know we are not going to be a leader in this area. We do have courses for dentists and the rest of the dental team, so it is in line with our mission, but you can get those things elsewhere. That meeting shouldn’t be what you think of when you think of “us”. Think Advocacy and Work- force.


And let me not mislead you: Advocacy doesn’t just happen on one day at the Capitol. Advocacy is a single word that encompasses a myriad of regulatory and legislative activities happening day in, day out to protect YOU in YOUR profession. The same can be said for workforce: Although we


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