President Dr. Bruce Terry Addresses
the PDA Business Meeting
Good afternoon everyone, and thank you for attending the 149 th Pennsylvania’s
Dental Meeting. I am honored to stand before you today as your president, but
more important than me are the faces and voices that fill this room today. Many
of you either current or former leaders have helped shape our PDA. Each of you
has put in countless volunteer hours and selfless time to help organized dentistry.
I would like to thank each and everyone for your many years of services.
Word on the street is we are an organization fighting for meaning and survival.
Someone eloquently said recently, “What does the PDA want to be when it grows
up?” For those that know me, I am the glass is half full guy rather than the half
empty guy, so let's examine some facts.
On the plus side, we have eager and hardworking staff, and programs that benefit our members.
We have a current group of leaders who are engaged. We have volunteers from around the state
who have strong opinions and suggestions. We have advocacy efforts in Harrisburg. We have a
lobbyist and we do have legislative successes.
On the minus side we have a tight budget and a decreasing income stream. We have members but
the membership is shrinking. We have recent graduates entering the dental profession who don't
see value in organized dentistry. We have a new governance model, but it’s not universally liked.
We have members who wish for us to fight the big insurance companies and their unfriendly
practices, but our hands are tied.
What we need is a little focus. We have been devoting so much time to increasing membership
that we may have lost our way. It’s not working to beg non-members to join. We have tried it time
and time again. We need to redirect ourselves to providing the best membership experience we
can to our existing members. It’s time we reaffirm our commitment to you and show you that we
truly “have your back.” If we can prove our value to our members I suspect others will want to join.
That’s the real magic.
In order to make this happen I am calling upon all leaders, Board members, Council of Presidents,
committee and advisory groups, as well as all general members to tell us what would bring you
value. With your ideas we can forge a path that others will want to follow.
We are currently exploring ideas like online CE for some of the state required certifications. We are
doubling down on our legislative and advocacy efforts. We are pushing the Insurance Commission
as much as we can. But the focus is “bringing value to you, the members.”
If we keep our focus simple and our message short, “How can we help you succeed?” – we may
be able to survive. Some have said that the younger dentists don’t value the same things that older
dentists hold true. Younger dentists want things immediately and electronically. They have busy
lives and incredible debt. How we bring them value and relevance will determine our survival
and our future.
Help me this year as we narrow our focus and provide the best membership value we can to
all our members.
Thank you.
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