Happy New Year to all my friends and colleagues in dentistry. I hope you enjoyed your family and friends during our recent holiday time. I know I did. Some of you are probably feeling completely exhausted by all the activities and preparations for your family and office while others are feeling refreshed and ready to start a new year with all the excitement it holds. No matter what group you fall into, there is something stimulating and renewing about the beginning of a new year. We get to start over! A clean slate! Throw away those To Do Lists and begin others. Open a new calendar and vow to be organized this year. You are not alone. Your American Association of Women Dentists is doing the same thing!
2015 was a difficult year for our group. We met in Chicago in February and had a wonderful Strategic Planning Meeting that was organized by Dr. Sheri Doniger and facilitated by Mariah Kraner of ADEC. We wrote out goals and ideas for several years. Then reality hit. We found ourselves without a management firm and a long search for a new company ensued. You can be very proud of your elected officers and board of directors. We all worked daily to keep the day to day functions of the organization going while the Search Committee completed its task. We now have a great company to work with and an Executive Director named Donna Deans. You will be hearing more about Donna and the International Association Management Company as this year progresses. I am sure you will be pleased with all they have to offer AAWD.
With the onset of the New Year, your board can now continue the work we planned last year during the Strategic Planning for AAWD. We will be working in the areas of membership, advocacy, leadership and community in order to grow our organization to accommodate the influx of new women dentists that graduate today. I am using the title Building Bridges for my year as it fits into all of the categories which we discussed in our planning. I want to build bridges with our local chapters, out student chapters, other organized dental organizations as well as the dental trade association. We want people to know all that our organization has to offer women dentists of all ages and all chosen career paths. Our Board is composed of a very diverse group of women, both young and not so young. We will be leading the new women dentists to a more satisfying career while valuing the input of our experienced leaders and planning for the future.
AAWD will be represented at each of the major dental meetings held this year. Please contact us if you would like someone on our Board to meet with your local or student chapter. This is your organization and we are here for you! Thank you for placing your trust in the AAWD Board and continuing to support women in dentistry.
Sincerely,
Mary E. Martin, DDS, M.Ed.
President, AAWD