“ To me it is all about membership , membership , membership .”
- Dr . Radack
“ As I said last year when I became president-elect , my main focus is membership . To me it is all about membership , membership , membership ,” Dr . Radack said . “ I don ’ t think we can stress it enough . I was in Chicago at the ADA Recruitment and Retention Conference [ in April ] and we got the realities of where membership is going , and we have to do a better job at letting folks know what we have to offer and what PDA , ADA and our components can do for them .”
His top priority is to raise PDA ’ s market share from 58.5 percent closer to the 65 percent level . Along with that goal , Dr . Radack knows PDA must do much better with converting recent dental school grads to full members , primarily by forging good relationships during the early years of dental school and making sure they understand the importance of membership .
“ We need to show them that there ’ s a reason to stay involved and get them involved at the local level – I think that ’ s key . I think PDA can help with that effort but that ’ s also going to be crucial on a local level ,” he said . “ My message to them has always been , come to your locals , meet some people , get involved , and bring your friends . It ’ s an opportunity to be with your colleagues . Especially as a solo practitioner , you are alone in your office every day , all day , all week , all month … you might get an opportunity , like we do with Erie County , where there is a monthly membership event , you come together , swap stories and it ’ s a great thing to come to .”
When it comes to building membership numbers , he plans to talk with people all over the state , with the hopes of bringing them together and facilitating a membership summit during his term .
“ We are looking at holding a virtual membership summit and bringing together key stakeholders from the state - new dentists , members of the leadership committee , deans of the three dental schools , a lot of different folks across the commonwealth ,” Dr . Radack said . “ One of the powerful things we need to do is get back into the dental schools . Our conversion rate for dental students is not real great in Pennsylvania and that is the future of the association . If we don ’ t have those people converting over to ADA and PDA membership , we are probably not doing the best job we need to right now .”
In addition to swelling the membership numbers , the second part of that effort will be to spread the spirit of volunteerism and broaden the base of members who seek active roles , and potentially leadership spots . Dr . Radack realizes that will require different approaches in different parts of the state .
“ We are lucky in Erie County that we have always been open to young dentists . Once they come to a meeting , we want them to be involved , we get them to join . Our board – president , presidentelect , secretary and treasurer are all probably 33 years old and under right now – so we have a very youthful board , an energetic group of people who are involved ,” he said . “ That doesn ’ t mean that the older dentists don ’ t come . The more seasoned people still come but it is nice to see that leadership development ,” he said .
“ To try to transition that into the whole state and the different components – I think it ' s different everywhere and I think there are some challenges but there are a lot of components in the state that will develop leaders and encourage them that you have to be involved , you have to be a leader , step up and take some action and know what ' s going on . That ’ s really what it ’ s about .”
Dr . Radack relishes each opportunity to connect with a dental student or a young dentist because his personal story is one that he believes will appeal to all prospective members , in all parts of the state .
“ The gentleman I purchased [ my ] practice from , Dr . Gilbert Steg , took me to my first meeting , and over time you get to know a few more people . Some of my best friends right now are people I met through the Erie County Dental Association , same with my colleagues across the state ,” he said . “ Once you get involved [ locally ], you move on to another level and meet more people . Getting to know the information , getting to know what ' s going on – that is one of the main reasons I have stayed involved . People ask me ‘ why are you still involved ?’ why are you on the board ?’ It ’ s because I want to know what is going on , I want to be part of the action , be someone who is part of the process . It ’ s ok if other people aren ’ t , but you have to have people who want to be part of it .”
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