FROM THE PDA CEO
Welcome to the 2016 Pennsylvania ’ s Dental Meeting ( PDM )!
I am pleased to report on the state of PDA during the past year with a sense of great accomplishment , but also with hope for a more deliberate pursuit of substantive and objective outcomes that reflect our members ’ wants and needs .
A large portion of the year was focused on governance issues again . Much like our nation ’ s forefathers , PDA leadership continued to shape our new PDA “ nation ,” addressing unexpected challenges along the way .
CAMILLE KOSTELAC-CHERRY ,
ESQ .
• Campaign guidelines were developed and refined to ensure fairness in the election process . The election procedure also was fine-tuned and showed an increase in the number of engaged members who cast votes . It is clear that PDA ’ s message of inclusiveness is being heard .
• At the request of the Council of Presidents , several governance issues were proposed , considered and acted upon .
• Bylaw amendments were adopted to accommodate the governance tweaks that were necessary .
• An extensive analysis of PDA ’ s membership database system was done over a two-year period to consider the suggested conversion to ADA ’ s Aptify database . After careful consideration , the Board of Trustees determined that the Aptify database was not the best fit for PDA .
• At the recommendation of our ADA trustee , the board contracted with Opis LLC to develop a PDA Strategic Plan ( page 5 ) and to conduct a membership survey . These will be the tools your leaders will utilize to move your organization forward .
• The blueprint for future PDM formats and locations has been an ongoing topic of board discussion .
• Monitoring the activities and finances of the PDAIS / Bell acquisition .
Meanwhile , your board maintained a focus on the important substantive initiatives that PDA must develop to remain relevant to our mission and purpose . The new strategic plan was adopted as a framework for constructing those initiatives based on the stated needs and preferences of our members . The three stated goals ( Finance , Membership , Organizational ), as well as the related objectives and strategies , will be shaped by the results of the recent membership survey . The board is committed to ensuring that PDA ’ s efforts are targeted to substance and fit within our strategic plan . Legislative endeavors are also targeted toward member needs , and financial stewardship is a priority at every meeting .
Unfortunately , due in large part to the legislature ’ s difficulty in passing a state budget , legislative initiatives stalled across the board . However , both your leadership and our experienced dentist advocates , along with our lobbyists and government relations staff , have remained steadfast in pursuing PDA ’ s priority items . They have spent countless hours meeting with legislators to keep PDA and the dental profession positioned favorably .
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Financial stewardship has become an increasingly more interesting balancing act for PDA . Declining membership has always been , and continues to be , a predominant theme . However , the Bell acquisition in our for-profit subsidiary has created a ripple effect which negatively impacts the PDA budget , and consequently , much of our programming .