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Dr . Richard Galeone Receives PDA Distinguished Service Award profession . In the process , he has given us a better understanding of not only what our organization presently is , but what it needs to become to be most efficient and effective in the future .

His leadership has impacted numerous other organizations , many of them at the national level . He held every office in the American Association of Dental Editors , including his term as AADE president in 2001-2002 .

In 2004 , the Second District Valley Forge Dental Association presented him with its Annual Recognition Award for distinguished and unselfish service to the dental profession . Currently , he is editor of the USA Section of the International College of Dentists – a position he has held since 2004 .

Just this past fall , the International College of Dentists honored Dr . Galeone at the group ’ s annual journalism awards in Orlando . The award for the 2010 Outstanding International College of Dentists Newsletter went to Dr . Galeone for his work as editor of The College Call , the publication of ICD ’ s publication for Pennsylvania .

There are many of you here today who know Dr . Galeone through his editorials in the Pennsylvania Dental Journal or by simply working beside him here in the House of Delegates . We have all enjoyed his vibrant and refreshing style of writing and his sharp wit and unique sense of humor that serve as the cornerstone of his engaging and upbeat personality . If there is fun and laughter to be had you will often find Rich in the middle of it . For him laughter is truly the best medicine and he shares it with others everyday .

Dr . Galeone : educator , master clinician , philosopher , humanitarian , journalist and editor — he truly is a man of multiple talents who is deeply committed to the profession he loves and , like many of you here , I am proud to call him a friend .

Please join me in giving a warm reception to the recipient of the 2011 Pennsylvania Dental Association Distinguished Service Award , Dr . Richard Galeone .

Dr . Galeone ’ s Remarks : Thank you , Dr . Bullock for that generous introduction . President Spruill , officers , trustees , delegates and guests : I want to thank all of my friends in the Second District for nominating me , and the members of the Annual Awards Committee and its chair , Dr . Craig Eisenhart , for selecting me to be the 63 ^rd recipient of this most prestigious award . I accept it with a deep sense of humility and gratitude .

It ’ s a little daunting to realize that you are receiving the most meaningful honor of your life . For me , this is surely the case . And to receive that honor for doing things that I enjoy makes it all the more special .

Time is a precious thing . It ’ s right up there with family , good health and happiness . Once spent , a person can ’ t get a refund . If it ’ s spilled , one can ’ t get it back into the bottle . But time is the gift that we , all of us in this room , give when we volunteer our service for our patients and our profession . That time , for the most part , we have taken from our families . So , they must share in any recognition we receive . In my case I have consistently been supported and cheered on by my wonderful wife and proofreader , Carolyn , my mother , my daughter , Gwen and my sister , Angela , who are sitting in the back of the room , and , it seems to me , by a Cecile B . DeMille host of a thousand relatives .

They have given me only a few minutes , so I ’ ll try to make the best of them . Although my volunteer life in organized dentistry started out as chairman of the Fluoride Committee , a committee of one , of the Montgomery-Bucks Dental Society , after working my way up through the chairs of that group I was drawn to Dental Journalism and , for me , that turned out to be a good fit . I liked being involved . I liked sharing my opinion . And I liked feeling that I had some say about the course of the profession . Some people agreed with my views , and some didn ’ t . There were phone calls . There were letters . And there were e-mails . I discovered that I wasn ’ t the only one in

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