Impressions
Where are our next leaders ? by Dr . Stephen T . Radack III , Editor
Happy New Year ! As I contemplated the turning of the calendar from 12 / 31 to 1 / 1 / 2022 , I wondered how it is possible that we will be starting year 3 of the COVID-19 global pandemic . Like most of the people I know , I figured this thing would be over sometime in the first year , 2020 . But here we are in a new year having just spent all of 2021 still riding the ups and downs of the pandemic wave .
For some , life is back to as normal as possible , especially for us in the dental profession . We adapted as we always do , and as soon as we were “ allowed ” to return to the offices we did , and have been doing so ever since . What has not returned to normal for us is having regular in-person meetings . How many local , district , regional , state , and even national meetings have been cancelled or gone virtual the last two years ? As I write this , I had been getting ready to go to Denver for the CDCA-WREB Annual Meeting , but just received word ( three days before ) the meeting is cancelled due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant and the domino effect it has had on disrupting the airline industry .
Right now , we have been fortunate to have great leaders in both the PDA and ADA , especially during this pandemic . Dr . Charlie Incalcaterra finished the last months of his term dealing with the start of it , Dr . Jim Tauberg spent his entire term tirelessly working for us and the entire profession , and now our current president , Dr . Gary Davis , has just over three months left in his term and has also had to juggle COVID and the constantly changing effects it has on us . These seasoned leaders as well as the members of the Board of Trustees have been LEADERS for many years .
Like me , they regularly attended the local dental meetings from the start of their careers and met their colleagues , but also got the chance to be mentored by the seasoned leaders in the locals and districts . Having the president of your local put his arm on your shoulder and tell you that the board wants YOU to take the next chair in the line of officers is something that has happened to every leader , but is it happening now ? Will it ever happen again ? Where are our next dental leaders ? If you were not active in ASDA in dental school or were not actively involved in your local or district dental society before the pandemic started , how will a new colleague ever get a pathway to leadership ?
Dr . Davis , our president , and the PDA board recognized the same problem and created the PDA Leadership Academy . Each PDA trustee was asked to solicit potential members of the inaugural class and the NEXT GEN leaders are now in the midst of this immersive experience that will give them an experience in leadership and everything PDA . Kudos to the members who enrolled . I salute them and their time commitment . I hope this will be the first of many classes of the academy .
The challenge to find volunteers to be officers in the local and districts is a real one . The challenges to find a volunteer to sit on our PDA councils , committees and task forces are even more daunting for some districts . Years ago , many of us old timers could not have imagined there would be a challenge for a district to get a member to volunteer to serve as a PDA trustee . Unfortunately , some of our smaller districts have had to have past trustees step up and volunteer their time and talents once again .
I am well aware that time is a limited commodity these days for all of our members , but hasn ’ t it always been ? I can recall the years I worked three evenings a week in the office to make sure my patients had those after work hours available . I had two daughters who had dance classes and school plays , as well as all the sports events to attend . Somehow my wife and I managed to squeeze all of it in and I still managed to attend my local and district dental meetings . When I was given the opportunities , I made the time to be on a PDA committee , be a trustee and then an officer and ultimately your president . I made time to attend the PDA and ADA annual meetings . Please know that I am only using me as the example because I could insert MANY volunteer leaders ’ names here that have served us over the years .
I know there are still many colleagues out there who are willing to serve , if asked . During my years in the Erie County Dental Association and Ninth District Dental Society , I have asked many to serve and almost every person said YES . I had the advantage of seeing these colleagues every month at our in person dental meetings . That opportunity has been lost for the last two years , and with it the chance for seasoned members to mentor our new members in person . I am not sure virtual meetings can ever offer anything close to that same opportunity .
I am encouraged that as the pandemic drags into its third year , both the PDA and ADA are working hard on the membership issue and how to recruit , retain and engage members to start them on a path of lifelong membership . Could some of this work be a start to finding our next leaders ? Will the PDA Leadership Academy produce an alumnus who may one day be our PDA president ? Will a return to in-person meetings that all members feel safe returning to put our locals and districts back on the road to finding the new volunteers to fill those vacancies ? I remain optimistic and will do my best to find these members to put my arm on their shoulder and encourage them to step into an officer chair . Where are our next leaders ? Take a look across the table at your next meeting !
— STR3
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 5