Dr. William Trice Profile
The Trices at PDA Annual Session in 1980.
Bill started his practice of general dentistry in Erie in 1953
and retired last year after 62 years, spending the last half
of those years practicing beside his daughter Angela. I still
recall Bill giving me a call in February 2015 and letting me
know he was hanging up his white coat. He told me the
hands are still good, but he was starting to have some
problems with his eyes. I know it had to be a very difficult
decision to step away. Bill loves dentistry and will tell
anyone who listens what an amazing career it was for him
and how many opportunities it presented him.
I knew Bill was Mr. Organized Dentistry from the years of
listening to him report on his various activities at our local
Erie County Dental Association (ECDA) meetings, but I
wanted to know how he got his start. It was not unlike
many of us. He was invited to attend a local meeting by a
colleague, Dr. Barrett, and he was immediately impressed
by the fellowship of the ECDA members. Shortly after
joining the dental association he was recruited by Drs. Chet
Bixby and Larry Veihdeffer to join the board of directors.
The fuse was now lit on Bill’s rocket rise through organized dentistry. After the ECDA, it was on to the Ninth
District, serving two terms as the president, and then
PDA, being elected president-elect and serving his term
as president in 1979-80. What was unique about that
election is that Bill had not previously served as a trustee
or officer, and he is believed to be the first African-American president in our association. Not that he would care
about that. Bill would tell you he never played the “race
card,” he was just a member dentist.
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J U LY / A U G 2 0 1 6 | P E N N S Y LVA N I A D E N TA L J O U R N A L
After his presidency concluded, Bill decided to run for
ADA Third District trustee to replace Dr. John Bomba.
Unfortunately another member of the Ninth District also
wanted to run for trustee. The district would have its
meeting to vote on who would be endorsed by the
district. ECDA, wanting to support Bill, rented a bus,
loaded it up with our members and headed south for the
meeting and the vote. Dr. Bill Booth won the endorsement
of the district, but both Bills ran anyway, and in a three-way
race with Dr. Alex McKechnie, neither Bill won. So that is a
bit of the famous “bus” story some of you may have heard
and the start of Bill’s ADA journey. As ADA trustee, Alex
chose Bill to be the representative of the Third District on
the Council on Legislative Affairs. In his last year on the
council Bill was elected chair and with then ADA president,
Dr. Arthur Dugoni, was scheduled to meet with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Louis Sullivan
to discuss some ADA advocacy issues. To make a long
story short, both Bill and Dr. Sullivan were both born in
Georgia and members of the powerful black fraternity,
Alpha Phi Alpha. They hit it off immediately, and in the
end ADA got what it came for! Ladies and gentlemen you
can’t make this stuff up and it is just one of the amazing
stories I and many others who have been fortunate to
know Bill have heard over the years. Bill later ran for and
was elected ADA First vice president, serving from
1991-1992.