Get involved!

I am extremely pleased to report that the ADAA Annual Conference in Anaheim this past July was a great success. Not only did the Academy of General Dentistry meet at the same time, but the U.S. Army Dental Command and the American Association of Women Dentists held their annual conferences as well. We had several educational and social activities that were well attended and well received. Next year's Annual Conference will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., July 14-17, 2005. Mark your calendars now.

I feel very fortunate that more than a dozen people approached me in Anaheim and asked to serve on a Council. If you are not familiar with ADAA Councils there are nine and they include: Allied Health Relations, Annual Conference, Awards & Scholarships, Education, Finance, Governance, Legislation, Member Services and Strategic Planning. There are also three special committees: ADAA/DANB Alliance, ADHOC Committee to the Army, and the new Committee on Volunteerism. ADAA Councils are chaired by a trustee but are made up of ADAA members who volunteer their time for the betterment of our Association. I thank each and every member of a council or special committee for their dedication and willingness to serve.

Now I have an ADAA Board of Trustees update. Since no one ran for the office of First District Trustee at the Annual Conference, I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Virginia (Ginny) Cairrao, CDA from Rhode Island, to that position. Ginny's district includes: Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Also, I am sad to report the resignation of Sheryl Stuewe as Eleventh District Trustee. Sheryl was just elected to her second term this year, but is unable to continue serving on the Board at this time. We will miss Sheryl, but I am happy to report that I have appointed a new Eleventh District Trustee, Rosana Rodriguez, CDA, CDPMA, from Arizona. Rosana is president of the Arizona Dental Assistants Association and is the most recent recipient of the National Sullivan-Schein Award of Excellence. Rosana's district includes Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. I would like to welcome both of these ladies to the Board.

One of my goals this year is to attend as many state association meetings as possible. Brainstorming with members throughout the country can be extremely beneficial and I look forward to my travels to various states. I appreciate the number of invitations I have received thus far, and hope that there will be more to come.

In my inaugural address I stated that I would like our members to have an opportunity to learn more about volunteer efforts available in the dental field. For that reason I have appointed a former ADAA Trustee, Carolyn Newman, as chair of the new special Committee on Volunteerism. She has participated in eight international medical/ dental mission trips and is headed to Quito, Ecuador, in February 2005. Also, she was recently asked to serve on the Advisory Council of World Dental Missions, Inc., with President Ronald Lamb, DMD, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Carolyn, and the members of this committee, will be seeking out information on various community service dental projects available nationally and internationally. This information will then be disseminated to our members via the website and our Journal.

I was recently contacted by the People to People Ambassadors Program to lead a delegation of dental assistants to Russia in February 2005. Since its founding by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, People to People has developed high level professional exchanges to encourage dialogue with counterparts in other nations. The delegation traveling to Russia will visit clinics, hospitals and schools, and meet with dental assistants and other dental professionals. The exchange will include extensive discussions on the composition of the dental team in Russia and educational requirements; dental specialty fields and requirements; access to dental health care issues; promotion and practice of preventive dentistry; the future of dentistry; and relationships with other health professionals. This trip will take place February 4-13, 2005. If you are interested in being a part of this special delegation, space is still available. Details on this program and an application form are available by calling: 1-877-787-2000 or by emailing:

[e-mail].

For more information on People to People Ambassador Programs, please visit their website at: www.AmbassadorPrograms.org.

In each issue of the Journal I plan to update ADAA activities. The November/December issue will include a year-end synopsis of ADAA activities including new initiatives and programs. If you would like to contact me regarding ADAA issues, please email me at: [e-mail].

Kristy S. Borquez, CDA, RDAEF, FADAA ADAA President 2004-2005