It S Back to School Time!

President’s Message

August, 2013

It’s Back To School Time!

Not only for the kids in our lives, but ourselves. Is it just me or has there been a larger than usual number of CE offers that come across my desk lately? Four alone are due to the efforts of your local Societies.

October 4 the 4th District Dental Society, which includes Berks County has Dr. Tammy Balatgek speaking on “Beyond the Teeth…” from 9 until noon at Galen Hall. 3 free CE’s for members, including breakfast & lunch.
October 11, in a combined effort with the Berks-Schuylkill Dental Hygienists Association, we have Dr. Brian Novy speaking on “’Offensive’ Dentistry” from 9-4 at The Highlands at Wyomissing. 6 CE’s for members for $85 including breakfast and lunch.
October 18, with the help of PDAIS, attorney Tom Weber will be presenting “The High Cost of Short Cuts”, a 3 CE course on risk management also at The Highlands of Wyomissing from 9- noon, including breakfast for $25 a member.
December 13, with the help of the PDA and PDAIS, there is Dr. Dale Miles speaking on “Dental X-Rays: Risky Business and Signs of Systemic Disease”, from 9 – 4:30. 6 CE’s for $145 including breakfast and lunch. This course will also serve towards the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s new CE requirements.

If my math holds out, BCDS members can earn 18 CE’s for $255, plus get 4 breakfasts and 3 lunches all without leaving the county! That is more than half of what is needed for your license renewal and only up to December. The best part of these courses is that the monies collected stay local. Registration deadlines are approaching soon, so do not delay. As always, if you have misplaced your registration information, you can download a new one from the website, Click the link on the date on the calendar.

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By now everyone should have received a notice concerning the proposed Constitution and By-Laws changes. These changes have been needed for many years for many reasons. Countless hours have been spent, not only on the proposed changes, but to convert our current Constitution and By-Laws from the printed paper version to a digital version so future revisions can more easily be made. According to the By-Laws, any proposed changes need to be discussed with the membership at least 30 prior to any vote. A Special Meeting to discuss the proposed changes has been called and scheduled for Tuesday, August 27, 2013, at 6:30 pm at St. Joseph’s Hospital Franciscan Room. Light sandwiches and drinks will be provided – please reply to Marie so we can assure we have enough. The final discussions and vote will start at 5pm Friday, September 27, 2013 between the golf outing and the annual picnic at Galen Hall. To be able to put this all behind us, we need at least 30 members present for the vote. You do not have to golf or attend the picnic to be able to come and voice your opinion and vote as a member. (Of course you can always change your mind and stay afterwards for the entertainment and taste entries for the Alliance’s “Cavity Award” dessert contest.)

Speaking of the Golf Outing, we have brought it back. Scheduled for Friday, September 27, 2013, 1pm shotgun start. If there is enough interest, there will be both a scramble and an individual play tournament. Please indicate your preference on your registration form if you remember. We have secured corporate sponsorship for most of the holes – still a couple holes left if you know someone. There will be 4 hole-in-1 opportunities with these prizes:

Vacation up to $5000
Golf equipment package
Electronics package
Airline tickets to anywhere in the continental US

There will be a couple “Pot-of-Gold” holes; a 50/50 drawing; Gift certificates and cash prizes. The more that sign up, the better the prizes.

The night will be capped off with our 3rd Annual Picnic. We will have Game2U bringing their Wii and Hamster balls for the kids of all ages. The Roof Rockers will play live music from the 70’s & 80’s, 6:30 - 9:30 from the deck. Bring your favorite dessert, homemade or not, for the 3rd Annual Alliance “Cavity Award” for the best desserts. Of course there will be picnic food, a cash bar.

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One final note: We are again in need of volunteers to fill vacant offices. We currently have 4 people doing the work of 7. Marie is going over on her hours every week to help make up the difference, but that eats into our budget (Read: your dues dollars) leaving little leftover for programs. The duties of the officers are listed in the By-Laws change, both the current duties as well as the new ones if they pass. We also need a PDA Alternate Delegate since Dr. Nipa Thakkar had to resign when she moved from the area. Please find a way to help. When we have a full slate of volunteers, the time commitment goes down for everyone.

See you at these events!

Dave Schwartz, DDS