Impressions
Back to the PDM ! by Dr . Stephen T . Radack III , Editor
It is hard to believe is has already been two weeks since Mary and I packed up the car and headed for the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey to attend Pennsylvania ’ s Dental Meeting ( PDM ). What is even harder for me to believe is that the last time we headed for a PDM was three years ago in Gettysburg . Think of everything that has happened in that time ! It truly boggles the mind .
The last time we met in person , Dr . Jim Boyle was finishing his term as our president and Dr . Charlie Incalcaterra was ready to take the helm as the next president . That meeting was also the last for our former executive director , Camille Kostelac-Cherry , as she would retire soon after . The Annual Meeting Steering Committee was already well into planning the next meeting in 2020 in Mt . Airy . In less than a year the COVID-19 global pandemic had ground the world and our profession to a halt . The PDM was of course cancelled , as was every in-person meeting . In 2021 the PDA partnered with the Arizona Dental Association in their virtual annual meeting after cancelling the in-person PDM in Pittsburgh . Meanwhile , our Annual Meeting Steering Committee continued to plan for an in-person meeting going forward , continuing to hope an in-person meeting would be a reality .
Now , here we were driving on the familiar stretches of I-79 , I-80 and US 322 on our way to SEE our friends and colleagues again . Once we arrived at the hotel to check in , we ran into our executive director , Ward Blackwell , and the new ADA executive director , Dr . Ray Cohlmia . No facemasks , smiling faces and a hearty handshake greeting from both was exactly what I had hoped for . We were off to a great start . Both days were packed full of meetings and Continuing Education as well as the signature event , the President ’ s Dinner . I was eager to see who would be here .
I attended the Council of Districts meeting representing the Ninth District on Friday afternoon . I would say about half of the districts were represented . There was a cocktail party before dinner and this was a great chance to see so many folks . The best part of this event was seeing people ’ s faces again ( almost everyone smiling ), shaking a hand , or even better , hugging someone you hadn ’ t seen in person for almost three years . It was really great to catch up with everyone and learn how life has been treating them . Once the cocktail party concluded , it was off to the main event . I must admit Mary and I were looking forward to this for selfish reasons . I was going to be honored with the 2022 PDA Distinguished Service award . It was very humbling to receive this and have my name added to list of PDA members who been singled out for their service to organized dentistry . What made this event even more special was being able to honor the recipients of the 2020 and 2021 PDA awards as well as the two past presidents whose annual meetings were canceled .
Drs . Charlie Incalcaterra and Jim Tauberg , as well our now immediate past president , Gary Davis , all served during the pandemic . Charlie at the end in 2020 , Jim for his entire year 2020-21 and Gary Davis for at least half of his . Some might say all . Jim was the first PDA president who never presided over a board meeting in person , the “ virtual president .” Hopefully he will be the only one . It was especially poignant to be there to hear him deliver his remarks in person and recap his time as our president . All members owe these three men a debt of gratitude for leading our association through this unprecedented time .
Saturday was another busy day full of CE , along with presentations from our lobbyist for a legislative update , the ADA executive director and our for-profit Pennsylvania Enterprise Resource Corporation ( PERC ), as well as the Town Hall meeting . My favorite part of the day was the Former Presidents Lunch . It had been three long years since this august body had been able to meet and consider new members for admittance to the club ! Our chair for this event , Dr . Bernie Dishler , decided to postpone the vote for three new members until 2023 since we only had four past presidents at the lunch . Unfortunately , a few were unable to stay after the Friday night dinner Friday to attend . The group will have an even bigger job next year as it will be considering our new president Dr . Nancy Rosenthal for admittance as her term comes to a close .
How would the 2022 PDM turn out ? GREAT if you ask me ! It would have been hard to predict how many members would attend . I saw members across all generations as well as several dental students from our four dental schools . I was also lucky to have a mini class reunion with Drs . Mike Gans , Jim Mancini and Ted Rockwell ( all current PDA trustees ) who graduated with me from Pitt in 1986 ! It was also great to see the PDA staff in attendance . To me that is always one of the highlights of our meeting . A huge thank you goes out to our Director of Meetings and Administration Rebecca Von Neida and the Annual Meeting Steering Committee for a great meeting in spite of the uncertainty , and for all those who made the time to attend . I look forward to attending the 2023 PDM at the Normandy Farm Hotel and Conference Center in Blue Bell on April 29-30 and hope you will too .
— STR3
MAY / JUNE 2022 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 5