YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN!
This past week was another exciting, active, and revealing week. I worked in my office on Thursday until early in the afternoon, and then drove up to Newton, Mass., to enjoy the company of some of the fabulous Boston fraters, at a lovely dinner with alumni chapter officers, and some student officers. One of my great AO memories is always enjoying watching the three “Boston Millers” do their near-vaudevillian routine at every Convention, of “Dr. Miller,” “Dr. Miller,” “Dr. Miller.” Many of you know Murray for all he’s done for AO both locally and internationally. Brian is a regular Convention “goer,” and has been the driving force behind the great scientific programs that the Boston alumni chapter is known for. The third Dr. Miller is my dear friend Lenny, who was a regular convention attendee for years, and was involved in numerous AO activities for many years, now living in York, Maine.
The Boston alumni chapter should be commended for the relationships that they build with the students in their area. The alumni work very closely with the students, teach them about AO, and create the fraternal feeling that stays with someone for a lifetime. Since many of these students relocate outside the Boston area after graduation, it is really important for the alumni where these young fraters eventually settle, to reach out to them, and get them involved. As witnessed by the fact that both of this year’s ISR’s are from schools in Boston, and Stephanie was the ISR the previous two years, the students from the Boston chapters become really involved and get involved in leadership positions.
Early Friday morning, I drove over to Murray Miller’s home, and our Meritorious Service Award winner acted as my guide, compatriot and chauffer for the day. I have known Murray since I was a student at Tufts, and he is “one of a kind.” His warmth, sincerity, energy and love of everything about Alpha Omega are something we should all strive to emulate! We first proceeded to Boston University Dental School, where Senior AO Dental students gave me a tour of the facilities. I had the opportunity to meet with one of my role models, Alpha Omega’s own Sydell Shaw, who is an active member of the Admission Committee. I have known Sydell since I was a youngster, and I can honestly say that the example she set was one of the factors in my becoming a dentist. On behalf of the Boston Alumni chapter, I presented Sydell with a check for the Dean’s Discretionary Fund. I, also, had the honor to present another check from the Boston alumni chapter to Shawn Groyeski (Chapter President and editor of the AO Articulator) as a recipient of the Chapter Efficiency Award. The Boston chapter is supportive of the students with fraternalism, as well as providing financial support and incentives. ISR Matt Rossen and I then met with several students for a Lunch & Learn about AO International and student involvement.
Next, Murray and I went over to Tufts, and incoming Gamma chapter President John Keating gave us a tour of the new top five stories of the dental school. When we met with Tufts Dean Dr. Lonny Norris, I kidded that the view, 15 floors above Boston, is certainly better than I remembered from my dental school days. We had a wonderful meeting where we discussed Alpha Omega, upcoming events with AO and the Dean, AO leadership at Tufts, etc. Once again, the Boston alumni chapter had a check for me to present for the Tufts Dean’s Discretionary Account.
Our last stop on the Dental School express was to Harvard Dental School, where Dr. Bruce Donoff is Dean. Dr. Donoff is not only extremely supportive of the student chapter, but is an active member of the Boston Alumni chapter. We discussed a number of matters, including the outstanding student leadership at the school, as well as the Harvard Public service programs, that Harvard students participate in. We had a very interesting conversation about the similarities and analogies between the Harvard program and Alpha Omega’s GOHI projects. Dr. Donoff and I even enjoyed playing a little “Jewish geography,” because he is a member of Temple Emanuel in Newton, where Richard and I were married, and my grandfather was the Founder. When I mentioned that, Dr. Donoff even commented that he even knew that my uncle was the first Bar Mitzvah boy at that Temple. He also mentioned seeing my uncle the week before! Many of us know about Harvard’s incredible student leadership in Stephanie and Whitney, but I had the opportunity to witness first-hand how the excellent leadership at this chapter continues, with the energetic and enthusiastic incoming Co-Presidents Rebecca Grammer (who gave us the tour alongside Whitney) and Sabiella Spodek.
The Boston area’s fraternalism continued into Friday evening, when Steve Spitz hosted a Shabbat dinner at his home. Over 40 fraters, families and students enjoyed Fraternalism and Judaism at its finest! I was pleased to see the Hadassah School of Dental Medicine Founded by Alpha Omega Fraternity’s Dean Adam Stabholz, who joined us for Shabbat dinner. Adam was in Boston for the week for a Senior Dental Leadership Conference at Harvard, hosted by Dean Donoff. Amongst the presenters at the Conference was AO’s own Alan Finkelstein. The keynote speaker was our 2010 Achievement Medal Award recipient and CEO of Henry Schein, Stan Bergman. Adam was very thrilled to let me know that Alpha Omega had been mentioned on several occasions, and compliments were given to AO about our generous contribution to the Pan American Health Organization for their Oral Health of Haiti program, our GOHI initiatives, and our being leaders in the initiative for a Public/ private partnership toward improving dental health worldwide.
Despite a record- setting rain (at least it wasn’t snow!) and gale winds, approximately 60 people attended a Sunday brunch. Here, student leadership was installed and new fraters were initiated. When I began my drive back to New York, I thought about how the Boston area’s fraters - - both alumni and students- - work so well together to learn and grow as friends, fraters and leaders. When a student comes to your area from the Boston Alumni chapter’s guidance, you have a worker and a future leader.
Sunday had one more AO activity for me - - the Initiation at Columbia. Under the dynamic, enthusiastic, and fabulous leadership of Columbia chapter president Bobby Geiman, and his fellow officers, they have successfully revived this chapter. Twelve individuals were initiated, and each new member was also given a T-shirt by the Eta chapter. Through the financial support of the New York alumni chapter’s NYACAO (which helps funds the student chapters), a sumptuous Kosher Chinese Buffet was provided. I especially want to thank Sam Unger, Gail Schupak, and Andrew Rutman for their invaluable help for this initiation. What a great culmination to the weekend!
Monday night, Michael Tenenbaum and I had a very constructive conference call with the enthusiastic and active chairpersons, Andrea Heckler, Richard Halpern, and Rachael Davis, and our ISRs, of the SAC (Student Activities Committee). We had a thorough discussion about how alumni and students can work more effectively together, and how the transition from being a student member to an alumni member can be made smoother and more seamless. We created the beginning stages of an action plan to have this committee even be more productive. This committee is extremely hard- working, and very eager.
Tuesday evening was our much anticipated Student Webinar, a first effort into using this type of communication to enhance and improve direct communication with the students. Approximately 60 individuals attended this webinar for Student Leadership, and there appeared to be a high level of enthusiasm. The feedback that we have received is very favorable! Henry Schein is seeking the participation of young leaders as part of an Advisory Board for the Next DDS program. Further information is available at: www.thenextdentist.com.
I am very excited about the upcoming Alumni Webinar this Tuesday, March 23rd, ‘” WE Can Do It”. This is a communication method in its start-up form, and I am hopeful that this will help with our efforts to enhance the Alpha Omega membership experience.
This was a busy week for me and AO.
PLEASE VISIT: www.AmericasToothfairy.org for
TOMORROW's SMILE UPDATES & OPPORTUNITIES
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
THIS WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS!
THIS WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS!
As this week’s blog is being posted, I am in the midst of a busy weekend in the Boston area. I am meeting with the Deans of the three Boston area dental schools as well as Adam Stabholz (dean of the Hebrew University Dental School), the Boards, the student chapters and the Boston alumni chapter. Returning to the Boston chapters as International President of Alpha Omega is like a “return to my roots,” having been born and raised in the Boston area, and beginning my AO experience in the Gamma Chapter at Tufts. I thank all my Boston hosts for treating me like “family.”
This was another fascinating week. Sunday, Richard and I helped the daughter of Dr. William Jacobs of Jamaica, NY, pack up his office equipment. Bill Jacobs is a long retired Alpha Omegan from Columbia University, and Bill was sad to see his equipment packed up, but thrilled to know that it would be utilized at the Dental Clinic , Dentistry For All, in Guatemala, founded and run by Brad Krusky and Shane Fisher. Lots of our members have donated their services and worked there, including two of our SAC (Student Affairs Committee) co-chairs Richard Halpern and Rachel Davis, who just returned from a 10 day volunteer stint .
Monday evening was our monthly Board of Directors (BOD) conference call. Our dedicated Board members call in, and we discuss activities, plans, programs, etc. Among the topics discussed was the transition to our new Management Company, Third Eye, led by Executive Director Marty Zimmerman. The Third Eye Group is now answering our Headquarters office telephones, responding to e-mails and mail. The best e-mail address to reach headquarters at remains: headquarters@ao.org.
Wednesday night, our Global Corporate Task Force, held a conference call, to continue developing plans where our corporate partners and Alpha Omega can work together, enhancing AO’s image, and striving to achieve the goals and missions of our Fraternity . An exciting GOHI project program is in the “works”, so keep a keen eye out for future details in the Alpha Omegan .
With the assistance of our Corporate partners and our Board member Steve Kess , we have been finalizing the finishing touches for our March 16th Student Leaders Web/Seminar, and our March 23rd Alumni Webinar. All those who signed up are in for a knowledge packed hour of information.
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to speak to Stephanie Rashewsky, who will be graduating from Harvard in June. Stephanie, who served AO as ISR for two stellar years, is more enthusiastic about dentistry now than I have ever heard her before. She absolutely loves her externship at a Harvard-run dental clinic for the homeless, and is looking forward to moving on to her Residency in Anesthesiology at Stony Brook this summer. All of us in the New York area are thrilled to be welcoming her into the area, and I look forward to having her join us for the High Holidays this fall, the table is already set .
We continue to be proud of our involvement with many philanthropic organizations, such as DVI (Dental Volunteers for Israel). DVI’s Trudi Birger Dental Clinic is the only free facility in Jerusalem, and without it, thousands of children would have no access to dental care. We encourage fraters to consider DVI as a “volunteering opportunity.” Our own D. Walter Cohen is DVI’s Honorary Chairman, and International Editor Fred Margolis is a member of their Board of Directors.
I urge you to take advantage of all Alpha Omega has to offer, as well as participating in the many activities of your Fraternity. Examples include: Webinars; our enhanced Member benefits program; our upcoming Leadership Seminar in Seattle April 30-May1 (check the web site AO.org for details ); and our fabulous value-packed, events-driven, “family”-oriented, Alpha Omega International Convention December 25th to January 1st at the Hyatt Mission Bay in San Diego.
This blog is also going to be “picked up” by Tomorrows Smiles “Blog Locator,”giving even more exposure to our Fraternity’s causes. The more people know about AO ,the more recognition we will have as an organization. As always, I look forward to hearing from you with your comments, feedbacks and ideas, and hopefully will see many of you, either during my Presidential travels, or at the Convention in San Diego.
As this week’s blog is being posted, I am in the midst of a busy weekend in the Boston area. I am meeting with the Deans of the three Boston area dental schools as well as Adam Stabholz (dean of the Hebrew University Dental School), the Boards, the student chapters and the Boston alumni chapter. Returning to the Boston chapters as International President of Alpha Omega is like a “return to my roots,” having been born and raised in the Boston area, and beginning my AO experience in the Gamma Chapter at Tufts. I thank all my Boston hosts for treating me like “family.”
This was another fascinating week. Sunday, Richard and I helped the daughter of Dr. William Jacobs of Jamaica, NY, pack up his office equipment. Bill Jacobs is a long retired Alpha Omegan from Columbia University, and Bill was sad to see his equipment packed up, but thrilled to know that it would be utilized at the Dental Clinic , Dentistry For All, in Guatemala, founded and run by Brad Krusky and Shane Fisher. Lots of our members have donated their services and worked there, including two of our SAC (Student Affairs Committee) co-chairs Richard Halpern and Rachel Davis, who just returned from a 10 day volunteer stint .
Monday evening was our monthly Board of Directors (BOD) conference call. Our dedicated Board members call in, and we discuss activities, plans, programs, etc. Among the topics discussed was the transition to our new Management Company, Third Eye, led by Executive Director Marty Zimmerman. The Third Eye Group is now answering our Headquarters office telephones, responding to e-mails and mail. The best e-mail address to reach headquarters at remains: headquarters@ao.org.
Wednesday night, our Global Corporate Task Force, held a conference call, to continue developing plans where our corporate partners and Alpha Omega can work together, enhancing AO’s image, and striving to achieve the goals and missions of our Fraternity . An exciting GOHI project program is in the “works”, so keep a keen eye out for future details in the Alpha Omegan .
With the assistance of our Corporate partners and our Board member Steve Kess , we have been finalizing the finishing touches for our March 16th Student Leaders Web/Seminar, and our March 23rd Alumni Webinar. All those who signed up are in for a knowledge packed hour of information.
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to speak to Stephanie Rashewsky, who will be graduating from Harvard in June. Stephanie, who served AO as ISR for two stellar years, is more enthusiastic about dentistry now than I have ever heard her before. She absolutely loves her externship at a Harvard-run dental clinic for the homeless, and is looking forward to moving on to her Residency in Anesthesiology at Stony Brook this summer. All of us in the New York area are thrilled to be welcoming her into the area, and I look forward to having her join us for the High Holidays this fall, the table is already set .
We continue to be proud of our involvement with many philanthropic organizations, such as DVI (Dental Volunteers for Israel). DVI’s Trudi Birger Dental Clinic is the only free facility in Jerusalem, and without it, thousands of children would have no access to dental care. We encourage fraters to consider DVI as a “volunteering opportunity.” Our own D. Walter Cohen is DVI’s Honorary Chairman, and International Editor Fred Margolis is a member of their Board of Directors.
I urge you to take advantage of all Alpha Omega has to offer, as well as participating in the many activities of your Fraternity. Examples include: Webinars; our enhanced Member benefits program; our upcoming Leadership Seminar in Seattle April 30-May1 (check the web site AO.org for details ); and our fabulous value-packed, events-driven, “family”-oriented, Alpha Omega International Convention December 25th to January 1st at the Hyatt Mission Bay in San Diego.
This blog is also going to be “picked up” by Tomorrows Smiles “Blog Locator,”giving even more exposure to our Fraternity’s causes. The more people know about AO ,the more recognition we will have as an organization. As always, I look forward to hearing from you with your comments, feedbacks and ideas, and hopefully will see many of you, either during my Presidential travels, or at the Convention in San Diego.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Great News for AO from the Windy (and warm) City
BUSY and VERY PRODUCTIVE VISIT TO CHICAGO
I should have known it was going to be a great, productive and full filled few days in Chicago. Departing New York’s LaGuardia Airport on the 6:55 AM flight into Chicago’s Midway Airport, my flight departed and arrived on schedule. Considering that the meteorologists were predicting a major storm in the New York metro area beginning sometime Thursday and expected to last more than 24 hours, I was lucky to have left before the storm and returned back to New York on Saturday afternoon after the storm, to 40 degree temperatures. The 48 hours in-between were packed full of activities and positive situations for Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity.
My Chicago chapter hosts, led by IPIP Dan Uditsky, and International Editor Fred Margolis, were warm, friendly and involved. On Thursday evening, Milt Salzer organized a truly fraternal dinner, that attracted over 60 members and spouses. This is the Chicago chapter’s annual “Essen and Fressen” dinner gathering, where both local Chicago fraters as well as fraters traveling from all over to attend the magnificent Chicago Midwinter Dental Meeting, gather together to eat, discuss, and be fraternal. The Chicago dinner provides Alpha Omega with a great presence at the meeting. The Illinois chapter hosted an Alpha Omega hospitality late Friday afternoon at the McCormick Center. It was very gratifying to see so many Alpha Omegans, from Toronto, Montreal, England and the lower 48.
After dropping my bags off at the hotel on Thursday morning, I immediately jumped on the shuttle bus to the McCormick Center. Much of Thursday was spent in a variety of meetings to discuss and explore several possibilities to enhance Alpha Omega’s Member Benefits program. Fred Margolis and Mike Stern accompanied me for a number of these discussions, and I am very optimistic that some great new, improved or enhanced member benefits will be introduced shortly, as a result of some very good and frank discussions. Tune in for future announcements!
After meetings virtually all day Thursday at the McCormick Center, I returned to Harry Carey’s for dinner with fraters. I would like to mention just a few of the fraters in attendance that exemplify the quality and professionalism of our fraters. I had the opportunity to have a great conversation with Dr. Sam Wexler and his wife Charlene (I knew I’d like her because she had such a great first name!). Sam Wexler is a dental historian, who has set up historic dental operatories at such places as the Samuel B Harris Dental Museum (Baltimore), and in Israel at the Hadassah School of Dental Medicine founded by Alpha Omega International Dental Fraterniy. Sam described himself as a “collector of antique dental stuff.” He will be on hand for the opening of on of these exhibits in Israel in May.
Gerald Landes is the President of the Indianapolis chapter, who are a great group of fraters that meet every month for a fraternal and professional program. This year’s focus is implants. Gerald is also an excellent photographer who has attended numerous conventions, and demonstrated his tremendous loyalty and affinity for Alpha Omega, on both the local and international level. He is a funloving frater and I know you will like him when you meet him at the convention .
After hearing people repeatedly discussing obstacles facing Alpha Omega, and our need to attract younger, active members, I was very gratified to see what is going on in Chicago. The Chicago area fraters consists of lots of young dentists and families, with new practices and becoming associates. The Chicago chapter is very fortunate to have these young members ready to step up into leadership positions,helped and guided by Laurie Gordon-Shaw and Allen Moltz. Laurie is on the AO Foundation Board, and is very involved in running the annual Foundation auction fundraiser at our International Convention. This year’s will be held in conjunction with a Dessert Hospitality on Monday evening, Dec 27th in the evening, and the auction always has an interesting selection of items available to bid on (both a Silent Auction as well as a Live Auction). Allen is actively involved as a member of AO’s Board of Directors, and Chairperson of Non due revenue Committee which is working to enhance member benefits.
Rochelle Shaw will be benefiting from the two young dentists that I met, that are getting married and moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico to assist in “growing” that chapter.
Friday was another busy and productive day. The Global Corporate Marketing Task Force began with an “Omelets and AO” breakfast. Steve Kess, our corporate board member ,chairs this committee. The charge of this task force is to help determine the implementation for the Alpha Omega marketing plan. This committee is intended to begin a Corporate/Fraternity partnership, and to assist in raising funds for all global activities. Some very exciting ideas and concepts were discussed, and we hopefully soon, will be able to announce some major initiatives.
The Tree of Peace task force is working on producing brochures and supporting literature to assist the efforts of the AO Foundation of US, The Canadian AO Foundation, and the London Charitable Trust in this joint venture. It is hoped that this program will enhance AO’s image, create much-needed “buzz,” and assist in bringing some very important ideas to fruition. This committee had a brief meeting in Chicago after breakfast.
I had a very important meeting and conversation regarding the Tomorrow’s Smiles program. This program was created, founded and the initial funding was underwritten by PIP Ron Goldstein. Ron started this because he wanted to create something that would encourage under-served children to enhance their dental appearance, thus improving their self image. The program calls for school involvement in identifying candidates for the program, and the candidates agreeing to “give back” by encouraging younger children to use better oral hygiene. Alpha Omega is partnering in this program, by providing ‘volunteers” that will provide the dental care for these individuals. This is a great example of philanthropy not having to spending money, but volunteering in a dental version of “tikun olam.” I hope many of you decide to get involved in this volunteer effort, and I encourage you to contact: Jennifer Drake, Program Administrator, at: jdrake@ncohf.org, to get more information, and to get involved.
Mike Stern, accompanied by the publisher of the Alpha Omegan, walked the convention floor soliciting ads for our publication. As most of us realize, printing and mailing costs for our publication continues to increase, and we are evaluating all ways possible to maintain and enhance the publication’s prestige and appeal, while controlling our costs.
After greeting so many fraters at the hospitality at the McCormick Center late Friday afternoon, I had the pleasure of having dinner with several fraters, Board members, and the Dean of Kings College in London. We enjoyed a sumptuous dinner and lively conversation, discussing the future of dentistry, and the vital role that Alpha Omega should and could play in it.
I left Chicago on Saturday mid-day, and felt some important things had been accomplished, and even more had begun. Alpha Omega must continue to evolve and progress if we are to maintain our mission statement, and demonstrate our relevancy. I hope that by explaining some of efforts we are doing behind the scenes,you ,too, may want to get involved. You should be excitement in knowing all your Fraternity is doing for you .We are involved in creating a vitality for the next 103 years.
I should have known it was going to be a great, productive and full filled few days in Chicago. Departing New York’s LaGuardia Airport on the 6:55 AM flight into Chicago’s Midway Airport, my flight departed and arrived on schedule. Considering that the meteorologists were predicting a major storm in the New York metro area beginning sometime Thursday and expected to last more than 24 hours, I was lucky to have left before the storm and returned back to New York on Saturday afternoon after the storm, to 40 degree temperatures. The 48 hours in-between were packed full of activities and positive situations for Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity.
My Chicago chapter hosts, led by IPIP Dan Uditsky, and International Editor Fred Margolis, were warm, friendly and involved. On Thursday evening, Milt Salzer organized a truly fraternal dinner, that attracted over 60 members and spouses. This is the Chicago chapter’s annual “Essen and Fressen” dinner gathering, where both local Chicago fraters as well as fraters traveling from all over to attend the magnificent Chicago Midwinter Dental Meeting, gather together to eat, discuss, and be fraternal. The Chicago dinner provides Alpha Omega with a great presence at the meeting. The Illinois chapter hosted an Alpha Omega hospitality late Friday afternoon at the McCormick Center. It was very gratifying to see so many Alpha Omegans, from Toronto, Montreal, England and the lower 48.
After dropping my bags off at the hotel on Thursday morning, I immediately jumped on the shuttle bus to the McCormick Center. Much of Thursday was spent in a variety of meetings to discuss and explore several possibilities to enhance Alpha Omega’s Member Benefits program. Fred Margolis and Mike Stern accompanied me for a number of these discussions, and I am very optimistic that some great new, improved or enhanced member benefits will be introduced shortly, as a result of some very good and frank discussions. Tune in for future announcements!
After meetings virtually all day Thursday at the McCormick Center, I returned to Harry Carey’s for dinner with fraters. I would like to mention just a few of the fraters in attendance that exemplify the quality and professionalism of our fraters. I had the opportunity to have a great conversation with Dr. Sam Wexler and his wife Charlene (I knew I’d like her because she had such a great first name!). Sam Wexler is a dental historian, who has set up historic dental operatories at such places as the Samuel B Harris Dental Museum (Baltimore), and in Israel at the Hadassah School of Dental Medicine founded by Alpha Omega International Dental Fraterniy. Sam described himself as a “collector of antique dental stuff.” He will be on hand for the opening of on of these exhibits in Israel in May.
Gerald Landes is the President of the Indianapolis chapter, who are a great group of fraters that meet every month for a fraternal and professional program. This year’s focus is implants. Gerald is also an excellent photographer who has attended numerous conventions, and demonstrated his tremendous loyalty and affinity for Alpha Omega, on both the local and international level. He is a funloving frater and I know you will like him when you meet him at the convention .
After hearing people repeatedly discussing obstacles facing Alpha Omega, and our need to attract younger, active members, I was very gratified to see what is going on in Chicago. The Chicago area fraters consists of lots of young dentists and families, with new practices and becoming associates. The Chicago chapter is very fortunate to have these young members ready to step up into leadership positions,helped and guided by Laurie Gordon-Shaw and Allen Moltz. Laurie is on the AO Foundation Board, and is very involved in running the annual Foundation auction fundraiser at our International Convention. This year’s will be held in conjunction with a Dessert Hospitality on Monday evening, Dec 27th in the evening, and the auction always has an interesting selection of items available to bid on (both a Silent Auction as well as a Live Auction). Allen is actively involved as a member of AO’s Board of Directors, and Chairperson of Non due revenue Committee which is working to enhance member benefits.
Rochelle Shaw will be benefiting from the two young dentists that I met, that are getting married and moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico to assist in “growing” that chapter.
Friday was another busy and productive day. The Global Corporate Marketing Task Force began with an “Omelets and AO” breakfast. Steve Kess, our corporate board member ,chairs this committee. The charge of this task force is to help determine the implementation for the Alpha Omega marketing plan. This committee is intended to begin a Corporate/Fraternity partnership, and to assist in raising funds for all global activities. Some very exciting ideas and concepts were discussed, and we hopefully soon, will be able to announce some major initiatives.
The Tree of Peace task force is working on producing brochures and supporting literature to assist the efforts of the AO Foundation of US, The Canadian AO Foundation, and the London Charitable Trust in this joint venture. It is hoped that this program will enhance AO’s image, create much-needed “buzz,” and assist in bringing some very important ideas to fruition. This committee had a brief meeting in Chicago after breakfast.
I had a very important meeting and conversation regarding the Tomorrow’s Smiles program. This program was created, founded and the initial funding was underwritten by PIP Ron Goldstein. Ron started this because he wanted to create something that would encourage under-served children to enhance their dental appearance, thus improving their self image. The program calls for school involvement in identifying candidates for the program, and the candidates agreeing to “give back” by encouraging younger children to use better oral hygiene. Alpha Omega is partnering in this program, by providing ‘volunteers” that will provide the dental care for these individuals. This is a great example of philanthropy not having to spending money, but volunteering in a dental version of “tikun olam.” I hope many of you decide to get involved in this volunteer effort, and I encourage you to contact: Jennifer Drake, Program Administrator, at: jdrake@ncohf.org, to get more information, and to get involved.
Mike Stern, accompanied by the publisher of the Alpha Omegan, walked the convention floor soliciting ads for our publication. As most of us realize, printing and mailing costs for our publication continues to increase, and we are evaluating all ways possible to maintain and enhance the publication’s prestige and appeal, while controlling our costs.
After greeting so many fraters at the hospitality at the McCormick Center late Friday afternoon, I had the pleasure of having dinner with several fraters, Board members, and the Dean of Kings College in London. We enjoyed a sumptuous dinner and lively conversation, discussing the future of dentistry, and the vital role that Alpha Omega should and could play in it.
I left Chicago on Saturday mid-day, and felt some important things had been accomplished, and even more had begun. Alpha Omega must continue to evolve and progress if we are to maintain our mission statement, and demonstrate our relevancy. I hope that by explaining some of efforts we are doing behind the scenes,you ,too, may want to get involved. You should be excitement in knowing all your Fraternity is doing for you .We are involved in creating a vitality for the next 103 years.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
"WE ARE FAMILY"
This week’s blog should be subtitled, “We are family,” because the Alpha Omega family is an international fraternity with both alumni and student chapters. All fraters, whether they are students or alumni are equal fraters. Some students are not fully aware of the full nature and scope of Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity, and it is for that reason, and because we are indeed one big family, that our alumni and our alumni chapters need to do certain things for our students and student chapters.
Here are just a sampling of some of the things that our Alumni chapters can do to help our Student chapters:
(1) Educate them about Alpha Omega International
(2) Invite them to all alumni chapters functions without charge
(3) Participate in “Lunch & Learn” programs, where alumni take students out to lunch (doesn’t need to be fancy- pizza or a sub are fine!) and conversation. Bring in some relevant alumni clinicians to give students another look at the dental profession and help educate them
(4) Invite students to participate in all community service programs
(5) Invite students to participate in Holiday functions. Invite them over to your home!
(6) Familiarize students with the AO Externship program
(7) Advise and help them with the post-grad and job placement process.
(8) Have your chapter subsidize or partially subsidize a student’s convention tax, and invite and encourage them to attend Convention. Teach them what AO Conventions are all about
(9) Invite their spouses or significant others, if they have one, because “We Are Family.”
THESE ARE ONLY SOME SUGGESTIONS AS TO HOW TO ENHANCE AND IMPROVE ALUMNI-STUDENT RELATIONS. NO ONE PERSON HAS ALL THE ANSWERS, AND I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO GATHER A “BEST PRACTICES” ALUMNI-STUDENT RELATIONS GUIDE. Please forward anything your chapter uses, or any ideas you think would help this process to me at: csberkman@aol.com, and I will update this list with the suggestions I receive!
On the day this is being posted, I am in Chicago at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting, involved in a busy schedule of meeting and greeting fraters, speaking to vendors, and attending a series of meetings. One of the meetings is the Corporate Advisory Board meeting, where we are working on introducing a series of enhanced member benefits that will make the AO Brand a global one. I want to thank Steve Kess, chair of this committee, (our own Board of Director) and Michele Penrose from the Henry Schein Co. for all their efforts in coordinating this important meeting. It is our desire to develop strategic partnerships that benefit our members, AO, and our corporate partners.
On March 16th for the students, and on March 23rd for the alumni, we are hosting our first attempt of the year at utilizing Webinars for both discussing relevant professional resources available, as well as having a discussion of important, timely AO news. As some of you might remember, several years ago. PIP Howard Pranikoff was instrumental in initiating a CE Webcast program. This was years ahead of the pack, and before the web was universally used for educational programs, and therefore enjoyed modest success. This program is NOT intended for CE purposes - - this is the first time we are using the Webinar technique to enhance member benefits and member communication and information.
I look forward to reporting next week on the events at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting, my visit with the Illinois Alumni Chapter and what my activities of the week will mean for Alpha Omega.
Here are just a sampling of some of the things that our Alumni chapters can do to help our Student chapters:
(1) Educate them about Alpha Omega International
(2) Invite them to all alumni chapters functions without charge
(3) Participate in “Lunch & Learn” programs, where alumni take students out to lunch (doesn’t need to be fancy- pizza or a sub are fine!) and conversation. Bring in some relevant alumni clinicians to give students another look at the dental profession and help educate them
(4) Invite students to participate in all community service programs
(5) Invite students to participate in Holiday functions. Invite them over to your home!
(6) Familiarize students with the AO Externship program
(7) Advise and help them with the post-grad and job placement process.
(8) Have your chapter subsidize or partially subsidize a student’s convention tax, and invite and encourage them to attend Convention. Teach them what AO Conventions are all about
(9) Invite their spouses or significant others, if they have one, because “We Are Family.”
THESE ARE ONLY SOME SUGGESTIONS AS TO HOW TO ENHANCE AND IMPROVE ALUMNI-STUDENT RELATIONS. NO ONE PERSON HAS ALL THE ANSWERS, AND I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO GATHER A “BEST PRACTICES” ALUMNI-STUDENT RELATIONS GUIDE. Please forward anything your chapter uses, or any ideas you think would help this process to me at: csberkman@aol.com, and I will update this list with the suggestions I receive!
On the day this is being posted, I am in Chicago at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting, involved in a busy schedule of meeting and greeting fraters, speaking to vendors, and attending a series of meetings. One of the meetings is the Corporate Advisory Board meeting, where we are working on introducing a series of enhanced member benefits that will make the AO Brand a global one. I want to thank Steve Kess, chair of this committee, (our own Board of Director) and Michele Penrose from the Henry Schein Co. for all their efforts in coordinating this important meeting. It is our desire to develop strategic partnerships that benefit our members, AO, and our corporate partners.
On March 16th for the students, and on March 23rd for the alumni, we are hosting our first attempt of the year at utilizing Webinars for both discussing relevant professional resources available, as well as having a discussion of important, timely AO news. As some of you might remember, several years ago. PIP Howard Pranikoff was instrumental in initiating a CE Webcast program. This was years ahead of the pack, and before the web was universally used for educational programs, and therefore enjoyed modest success. This program is NOT intended for CE purposes - - this is the first time we are using the Webinar technique to enhance member benefits and member communication and information.
I look forward to reporting next week on the events at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting, my visit with the Illinois Alumni Chapter and what my activities of the week will mean for Alpha Omega.
Friday, February 19, 2010
AO Leadership Seminar April 30-May 1
As most of us were finally having seasonable weather instead of storms, last night I enjoyed an evening of unparalleled laughs and entertainment. I went to the Smithtown Theater for the Performing Arts, and enjoyed a “laugh-out-loud” funny version of “The 25th Annual Putnam Valley Spelling Bee.” The show was totally entertaining, and for me, the highlight was that my husband, Richard, was chosen as an audience spelling bee contestant. Richard not only is a great speller, but “got into” the silliness and extravagance of the show, participating, dancing, laughing and shaking. What a great way to relax!
International President-Elect Michael Tenenbaum has been extremely busy working with Wendy Spektor, arranging for an AO Leadership weekend April 30th and May 1st, in Seattle, Washington. On April 30th, Wendy and her Seattle chapter committee have arranged for our own Board of Director Member Steve Anderson to present a full day seminar. If you have never seen or heard one of Steve’s seminars, it is a positive, uplifting, informative and valuable experience. On May 1st, Michael Tenenbaum has been busy planning a dynamite AO leadership program, facilitated by our new Executive Director Marty Zimmerman. This program is intended for past, present and future fraternity leaders! Details and information, as well as registration, is available from the website at www.ao.org.
Student leaders should put aside March 16th at 9PM Eastern, for a Webinar featuring both the NextDDS program, as well as important AO leadership info. This is the first event of this kind and AO will learn as we go about new electronic communication.
Alumni chapter leaders should save March 23rd at 8PM Eastern for a great webinar, “We Can Do That.” Details will follow. All our new member benefits and the latest in AO news will be presented to our local leaders. This is the first effort at mass electronic communication to better inform our membership in a timely manner. We are trying many new things this year, so I hope you are as excited as I am!
I have been busy prepping for the Chicago Midwinter Meeting next week. I have a “packed” schedule full of meetings and events, where AO will make great additional strides in several areas, specifically member benefits. All of us owe Board of Director member Alan Moltz and his committee an incredible amount of thanks for all their preparation, research, and hard work! Stay tuned for details to follow!
I want to thank and commend International Editor Fred Margolis, who has put together a brief Power Point presentation on our annual convention this December in San Diego. I will be able to show it to fraters as I go on my Presidential visitations. This Convention is sure to be a value-oriented, fun-packed, event-driven, truly fraternal experience, with lots of CE available. Our AO Foundation has arranged a great Foundation Evening event, which is a perfect complement to our convention! Attend a Convention once, and you’ll come back again! Look forward to seeing many of you there! Details are available from ao.org.
International President-Elect Michael Tenenbaum has been extremely busy working with Wendy Spektor, arranging for an AO Leadership weekend April 30th and May 1st, in Seattle, Washington. On April 30th, Wendy and her Seattle chapter committee have arranged for our own Board of Director Member Steve Anderson to present a full day seminar. If you have never seen or heard one of Steve’s seminars, it is a positive, uplifting, informative and valuable experience. On May 1st, Michael Tenenbaum has been busy planning a dynamite AO leadership program, facilitated by our new Executive Director Marty Zimmerman. This program is intended for past, present and future fraternity leaders! Details and information, as well as registration, is available from the website at www.ao.org.
Student leaders should put aside March 16th at 9PM Eastern, for a Webinar featuring both the NextDDS program, as well as important AO leadership info. This is the first event of this kind and AO will learn as we go about new electronic communication.
Alumni chapter leaders should save March 23rd at 8PM Eastern for a great webinar, “We Can Do That.” Details will follow. All our new member benefits and the latest in AO news will be presented to our local leaders. This is the first effort at mass electronic communication to better inform our membership in a timely manner. We are trying many new things this year, so I hope you are as excited as I am!
I have been busy prepping for the Chicago Midwinter Meeting next week. I have a “packed” schedule full of meetings and events, where AO will make great additional strides in several areas, specifically member benefits. All of us owe Board of Director member Alan Moltz and his committee an incredible amount of thanks for all their preparation, research, and hard work! Stay tuned for details to follow!
I want to thank and commend International Editor Fred Margolis, who has put together a brief Power Point presentation on our annual convention this December in San Diego. I will be able to show it to fraters as I go on my Presidential visitations. This Convention is sure to be a value-oriented, fun-packed, event-driven, truly fraternal experience, with lots of CE available. Our AO Foundation has arranged a great Foundation Evening event, which is a perfect complement to our convention! Attend a Convention once, and you’ll come back again! Look forward to seeing many of you there! Details are available from ao.org.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
SNOW, SNOW, SNOW- But this is no "snow job"
Let me begin this week’s blog by thanking all of you who are reading the blog, and especially those of you who have sent me comments and suggestions. I decided to do a weekly blog during my Presidential year in order to enhance communication with Fraters, and not to be any type of substitute for our more formal communications including our website, AO Now, our printed journals, etc. The advantage of a blog is that it can disseminate information quickly and casually. Dictionary.com defines a blog as an “online diary or personal journal,” and that is precisely what I hope to accomplish with this blog. My blog will permit Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity’s members to read about what I consider relevant and timely thoughts, as well as issues that might be timely. In order to keep this as timely as possible, I am writing this on Thursday evenings, so that our members will have the opportunity to read my latest “ramblings.” Because of that, it is important to understand that, almost by definition, a blog is not intended to be highly polished or edited - - think of my blog as my weekly AO diary for the age of technology.
These past two weeks certainly were “all about the snow.” First, there was the snowstorm that hit the Middle Atlantic States, particularly from the DC area to the Carolinas, on January 30th. My vivid image of that snowstorm was watching our International Treasurer David Schneider struggling to try to get flights home (for his birthday celebration) from our Admin meetings in San Diego. Fortunately, David got home safely, but not without a lot of angst. Then the first of the two Middle Atlantic snowstorms hit last week, bombarding the areas around Philadelphia, Southern NJ, and the Washington DC area. Record or near-record snowfalls hit in these areas, paralyzing the Washington DC area, and even closing down our US government federal offices. We were all very deeply worried about our fraters in the DC area, and were concerned for their well-being. Some examples included: Our AO Foundation Chair, Sam Blum had no heat or electric for 13+ hours, and was snowed-in; David Schneider ‘s lack of heat and electricity forced he and his family to temporarily move into a hotel (and he was fortunate to find a room); and Ben Williamowsky, who reported being “safe, but not shoveled or plowed, but had plenty of toilet paper as instructed by the TV news.” I am glad to let you know that they are all well. We, in Long Island, NY, were very fortunate about this second storm, but not as lucky when it came to the storm a few days later. While we got snow this time, it was certainly not as bad as elsewhere, nor as bad as forecast, and we luckily avoided getting the blizzard that we were told to expect. This e-mail and phone communication with our stranded fraters points to our Fraternalism. When I stayed home for one day when we got our snowstorm, and had no place to go, it was wonderful to read a great AO exchange discussion that was better than many CE courses I’ve attended. There’s a great example of our Professionalism, because we were able to take advantage of the expertise of several of our knowledgeable clinicians. With that in mind, International Editor Fred Margolis is always looking for great clinicians as contributors for the Alpha Omegan (contact Fred at: kidzdr@comcast.net).
In updating our records and trying to improve our member outreach, we realized that we needed some help in locating certain information about some of our Israeli fraters. Although currently serving in the Israeli Army, and no longer a student, Vladi Dvoyris stepped forward and helped in that effort. His e-mails now come from his army post. That is real commitment!
Our Global Oral Health Initiative (GOHI) is something that we are proud to point to as an example of our commitment to the Judaic value of “tikun olam” (healing the world). With that in mind, our fraters in the Washington DC area are conducting an Oral Cancer screening program. Kudos to these fraters, their worthwhile project, and commitment! I am sure that there are many other chapters doing many similar projects, and I would urge them to publicize them so that others follow suit. Please forward any GOHI project information or reports to Fred Margolis, who is gathering data for a future Alpha Omegan issue.
Our new ISR’s Whitney Mostafiz and Matt Rossen, along with our fabulous Student Activities Committee (SAC), have been very busy contacting individuals and chapters, organizing efforts, and reaching out in any way they can. I urge all alumni to reach out to the students in your area, and urge all students to reach out to your local alumni. Remember that we are in this together!
I am really pleased to let you know that the latest Convention flowsheet for the San Diego convention is now available on the www.ao.org website. You can register, see the flow sheet, and even see the Optional Tours available on that site. If you’ve never been to an AO convention, you’re missing something. This year’s convention is a fun-packed, CE loaded, event driven, value-oriented convention, where you’ll get to meet and greet fraters from around the world! I hope to see many of you there!
This weekend, I am doing something very “un-AO-ish.” Richard and I are heading to Boston to celebrate my brother-in-law Mike’s 60th birthday. Yes, this is the same brother-in-law who attended our cruise convention. Thank you to all the cruise-going Alpha Omegans for being so kind, warm and hospitable to my family during the convention. My brother-in-law, who lives around the block from us, recently underwent major surgery - - again thanks to all who expressed well wishes for his recovery.
My third brother-in-law, from Rockville, Maryland, very recently retired, and since he’s retired, the DC area has had three major snow storms. We always said it would be a cold day in H_ _ _ when he retired. Sorry Washington DC area for inadvertently wishing this weather on you!
Our corporate partner, Henry Schein, has arranged for us to take advantage of free webinars that they are sponsoring, to allow us to take advantage of an additional way to communicate, and to introduce member benefits and 2010 projects. Chapter Officers and leaders should save the date of March 23th at 8PM EST, and AO student leaders should reserve March 16rd at 9PM EST. These webinars will be an interactive opportunity to evolve AO even more. More complete details to follow!
As International President for 2010, I have declared this “The Year For Our Members.” These are not simply empty words, but a commitment on my part, and on your fraternity’s part, to build upon what we have done in the past, but enhance it for our members benefit. I hope, in the not too distant future, to be able to inform you of innovative and enhanced benefits, and to further demonstrate Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity’s commitment to our Fraters ---- YOU!
I welcome any questions, comments, suggestions, or sharing of ideas, through either the AO exchange, by telephone, or by e-mail to me at csberkman@aol.com. If we all work together, AO’s potential is limitless!
These past two weeks certainly were “all about the snow.” First, there was the snowstorm that hit the Middle Atlantic States, particularly from the DC area to the Carolinas, on January 30th. My vivid image of that snowstorm was watching our International Treasurer David Schneider struggling to try to get flights home (for his birthday celebration) from our Admin meetings in San Diego. Fortunately, David got home safely, but not without a lot of angst. Then the first of the two Middle Atlantic snowstorms hit last week, bombarding the areas around Philadelphia, Southern NJ, and the Washington DC area. Record or near-record snowfalls hit in these areas, paralyzing the Washington DC area, and even closing down our US government federal offices. We were all very deeply worried about our fraters in the DC area, and were concerned for their well-being. Some examples included: Our AO Foundation Chair, Sam Blum had no heat or electric for 13+ hours, and was snowed-in; David Schneider ‘s lack of heat and electricity forced he and his family to temporarily move into a hotel (and he was fortunate to find a room); and Ben Williamowsky, who reported being “safe, but not shoveled or plowed, but had plenty of toilet paper as instructed by the TV news.” I am glad to let you know that they are all well. We, in Long Island, NY, were very fortunate about this second storm, but not as lucky when it came to the storm a few days later. While we got snow this time, it was certainly not as bad as elsewhere, nor as bad as forecast, and we luckily avoided getting the blizzard that we were told to expect. This e-mail and phone communication with our stranded fraters points to our Fraternalism. When I stayed home for one day when we got our snowstorm, and had no place to go, it was wonderful to read a great AO exchange discussion that was better than many CE courses I’ve attended. There’s a great example of our Professionalism, because we were able to take advantage of the expertise of several of our knowledgeable clinicians. With that in mind, International Editor Fred Margolis is always looking for great clinicians as contributors for the Alpha Omegan (contact Fred at: kidzdr@comcast.net).
In updating our records and trying to improve our member outreach, we realized that we needed some help in locating certain information about some of our Israeli fraters. Although currently serving in the Israeli Army, and no longer a student, Vladi Dvoyris stepped forward and helped in that effort. His e-mails now come from his army post. That is real commitment!
Our Global Oral Health Initiative (GOHI) is something that we are proud to point to as an example of our commitment to the Judaic value of “tikun olam” (healing the world). With that in mind, our fraters in the Washington DC area are conducting an Oral Cancer screening program. Kudos to these fraters, their worthwhile project, and commitment! I am sure that there are many other chapters doing many similar projects, and I would urge them to publicize them so that others follow suit. Please forward any GOHI project information or reports to Fred Margolis, who is gathering data for a future Alpha Omegan issue.
Our new ISR’s Whitney Mostafiz and Matt Rossen, along with our fabulous Student Activities Committee (SAC), have been very busy contacting individuals and chapters, organizing efforts, and reaching out in any way they can. I urge all alumni to reach out to the students in your area, and urge all students to reach out to your local alumni. Remember that we are in this together!
I am really pleased to let you know that the latest Convention flowsheet for the San Diego convention is now available on the www.ao.org website. You can register, see the flow sheet, and even see the Optional Tours available on that site. If you’ve never been to an AO convention, you’re missing something. This year’s convention is a fun-packed, CE loaded, event driven, value-oriented convention, where you’ll get to meet and greet fraters from around the world! I hope to see many of you there!
This weekend, I am doing something very “un-AO-ish.” Richard and I are heading to Boston to celebrate my brother-in-law Mike’s 60th birthday. Yes, this is the same brother-in-law who attended our cruise convention. Thank you to all the cruise-going Alpha Omegans for being so kind, warm and hospitable to my family during the convention. My brother-in-law, who lives around the block from us, recently underwent major surgery - - again thanks to all who expressed well wishes for his recovery.
My third brother-in-law, from Rockville, Maryland, very recently retired, and since he’s retired, the DC area has had three major snow storms. We always said it would be a cold day in H_ _ _ when he retired. Sorry Washington DC area for inadvertently wishing this weather on you!
Our corporate partner, Henry Schein, has arranged for us to take advantage of free webinars that they are sponsoring, to allow us to take advantage of an additional way to communicate, and to introduce member benefits and 2010 projects. Chapter Officers and leaders should save the date of March 23th at 8PM EST, and AO student leaders should reserve March 16rd at 9PM EST. These webinars will be an interactive opportunity to evolve AO even more. More complete details to follow!
As International President for 2010, I have declared this “The Year For Our Members.” These are not simply empty words, but a commitment on my part, and on your fraternity’s part, to build upon what we have done in the past, but enhance it for our members benefit. I hope, in the not too distant future, to be able to inform you of innovative and enhanced benefits, and to further demonstrate Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity’s commitment to our Fraters ---- YOU!
I welcome any questions, comments, suggestions, or sharing of ideas, through either the AO exchange, by telephone, or by e-mail to me at csberkman@aol.com. If we all work together, AO’s potential is limitless!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Great Leaders do not wait for things to happen...
Your Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity Administrative Committee met from Thursday, January 28th through Saturday, January 30th, for marathon sessions of Alpha Omega meetings and events, and a site review for the our Convention hotel, at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay in San Diego, California. Meeting with our AO International leadership who are so dedicated to the success of Alpha Omega makes me even more enthusiastic and optimistic about the future of our fraternity.
Our Thursday and Friday meetings were spent with the International Line Officers: President- Elect Michael Tenenbaum, Editor Fred Margoles, Secretary Marcy Schwartzman, Treasurer David Schneider, and IPIP Dan Uditsky; as well as PIP Advisory Member Michael Kampel, and representatives of our new management group, Third Eye Group; joining me in in-depth discussions of past, present and future planning for Alpha Omega. These meetings were true working meetings, where we continued working through breakfast and lunch, and attempted to address strengths and challenges that we face, and how to make the organization stronger. I emphasized my goal for 2010 to dedicate the year as the “Year for our Member.” Michael Tenenbaum demonstrated his incredible commitment to AO and his wise counsel, as well as discussing the year’s Leadership programs, and his goals. Fred Margoles continues to impress me with his attention to detail, and commitment to make the communications end of AO more accessible and valuable to our members. Fred reviewed numerous options for our communication vehicles. Marcy Schwartzman has worked diligently to enable our management team transition to be as smooth and seamless as possible, and has been tireless in her pursuit. David Schneider has stepped in at full speed to fill the difficult-to-fill shoes of Michael Tenenbaum, and is the first International Treasurer to also be serving as Treasurer for the Convention. David’s attention to detail and excellent evaluative skills should prove invaluable for AO. Dan Uditsky continues to give us valuable input and perspective. The PIP’s selection of Michael Kampel as their representative has proven to be a very wise one, and Mike gave us both historic perspective, his wisdom, and is someone who has a practical, pragmatic eye on getting things done. Three representatives from Third Eye Group joined our meetings- their owner Nicole, Office Coordinator Yolanda, and our new Executive Director Marty Zimmerman demonstrated keen insight and gave us valuable input. We look forward to a long and productive relationship with The Third Eye Group.
Thursday evening we met with our Trudi Birger Humanitarian Award winner Irvin Silverstein and the Dean of Detroit Mercy Dental School, followed by having the opportunity to visit with over 100 of the students that are involved in the UCSD Pre-Dental Organization. This group of college students devote numerous hours working with Irvin and volunteer dentists to run three free dental clinics for the under-served. What an awesome experience. I had the pleasure of speaking to them and we showed the Centennial CD. The idea of fighting discrimination resonated with this diverse group of students.
After a full day of meetings on Friday, we had Shabbat dinner at a local restaurant with about a dozen fraters from the San Diego area. All of these individuals have warm feelings for Alpha Omega, although there has not been a formal chapter in San Diego in some time. I learned that making personal calls is the most effective way to invite people, and not to rely on electronic communication, as I had called them, snail mailed and e-mailed them the weeks before our visit. Many of these fraters expressed an interest in getting involved with and attending our International Convention in San Diego in December.
Our meetings on Saturday were devoted to overall discussions about Conventions, and especially the upcoming San Diego convention and next year’s Ft. Lauderdale convention. Marshal Bob Simon and Spouse’s Marshal Larry Vinegar have molded an action packed schedule that will certainly make this one of the best conventions in history. We did a thorough site visitation to make the Convention even better! Special events have been planned including: a Dinner and Cocktail Reception and Tour on the historic USS Midway; a Spouses event on the Hornblower Cruises, enjoying a fabulous Champagne Brunch Tour of San Diego harbor; great functions at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay including a terrific Welcome Buffet, fabulous Honors night, Shabbat dinner and New Year’s Eve party; and a GOHI project on Dec 25 to “give back” to the community, as well as a great CE program. Our AO Foundation has arranged a great evening at the historic Abbey. The Hyatt Regency Mission Bay is offering us deeply discounted rooms at only $149 per night (approximately $100 below the regular rates). I urge you to go to our website, www.ao.org, and click on the 2010 San Diego convention, and look at the great fun- filled flow sheet, and want you to make your plans by registering to come to this year’s convention. Once you come to one convention, you’ll feel how the three sides of AO’s triangle really come into place. It is great to spend the time with your AO Family.
Getting home on Sunday was more challenging for some of us due to the snow storms along the east coast, but it was worth the effort to be a part of this motivated group. I personally got my H1N1 vaccine while waiting for my plane from San Diego, as the true multi-tasker that I am.
My first month as International President has been quite active, and I feel we are on our way to evolving our beloved fraternity and positioning it to be even more relevant for the next 100 years. Together, Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity will grow and fulfill its important purposes and missions.
Our Thursday and Friday meetings were spent with the International Line Officers: President- Elect Michael Tenenbaum, Editor Fred Margoles, Secretary Marcy Schwartzman, Treasurer David Schneider, and IPIP Dan Uditsky; as well as PIP Advisory Member Michael Kampel, and representatives of our new management group, Third Eye Group; joining me in in-depth discussions of past, present and future planning for Alpha Omega. These meetings were true working meetings, where we continued working through breakfast and lunch, and attempted to address strengths and challenges that we face, and how to make the organization stronger. I emphasized my goal for 2010 to dedicate the year as the “Year for our Member.” Michael Tenenbaum demonstrated his incredible commitment to AO and his wise counsel, as well as discussing the year’s Leadership programs, and his goals. Fred Margoles continues to impress me with his attention to detail, and commitment to make the communications end of AO more accessible and valuable to our members. Fred reviewed numerous options for our communication vehicles. Marcy Schwartzman has worked diligently to enable our management team transition to be as smooth and seamless as possible, and has been tireless in her pursuit. David Schneider has stepped in at full speed to fill the difficult-to-fill shoes of Michael Tenenbaum, and is the first International Treasurer to also be serving as Treasurer for the Convention. David’s attention to detail and excellent evaluative skills should prove invaluable for AO. Dan Uditsky continues to give us valuable input and perspective. The PIP’s selection of Michael Kampel as their representative has proven to be a very wise one, and Mike gave us both historic perspective, his wisdom, and is someone who has a practical, pragmatic eye on getting things done. Three representatives from Third Eye Group joined our meetings- their owner Nicole, Office Coordinator Yolanda, and our new Executive Director Marty Zimmerman demonstrated keen insight and gave us valuable input. We look forward to a long and productive relationship with The Third Eye Group.
Thursday evening we met with our Trudi Birger Humanitarian Award winner Irvin Silverstein and the Dean of Detroit Mercy Dental School, followed by having the opportunity to visit with over 100 of the students that are involved in the UCSD Pre-Dental Organization. This group of college students devote numerous hours working with Irvin and volunteer dentists to run three free dental clinics for the under-served. What an awesome experience. I had the pleasure of speaking to them and we showed the Centennial CD. The idea of fighting discrimination resonated with this diverse group of students.
After a full day of meetings on Friday, we had Shabbat dinner at a local restaurant with about a dozen fraters from the San Diego area. All of these individuals have warm feelings for Alpha Omega, although there has not been a formal chapter in San Diego in some time. I learned that making personal calls is the most effective way to invite people, and not to rely on electronic communication, as I had called them, snail mailed and e-mailed them the weeks before our visit. Many of these fraters expressed an interest in getting involved with and attending our International Convention in San Diego in December.
Our meetings on Saturday were devoted to overall discussions about Conventions, and especially the upcoming San Diego convention and next year’s Ft. Lauderdale convention. Marshal Bob Simon and Spouse’s Marshal Larry Vinegar have molded an action packed schedule that will certainly make this one of the best conventions in history. We did a thorough site visitation to make the Convention even better! Special events have been planned including: a Dinner and Cocktail Reception and Tour on the historic USS Midway; a Spouses event on the Hornblower Cruises, enjoying a fabulous Champagne Brunch Tour of San Diego harbor; great functions at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay including a terrific Welcome Buffet, fabulous Honors night, Shabbat dinner and New Year’s Eve party; and a GOHI project on Dec 25 to “give back” to the community, as well as a great CE program. Our AO Foundation has arranged a great evening at the historic Abbey. The Hyatt Regency Mission Bay is offering us deeply discounted rooms at only $149 per night (approximately $100 below the regular rates). I urge you to go to our website, www.ao.org, and click on the 2010 San Diego convention, and look at the great fun- filled flow sheet, and want you to make your plans by registering to come to this year’s convention. Once you come to one convention, you’ll feel how the three sides of AO’s triangle really come into place. It is great to spend the time with your AO Family.
Getting home on Sunday was more challenging for some of us due to the snow storms along the east coast, but it was worth the effort to be a part of this motivated group. I personally got my H1N1 vaccine while waiting for my plane from San Diego, as the true multi-tasker that I am.
My first month as International President has been quite active, and I feel we are on our way to evolving our beloved fraternity and positioning it to be even more relevant for the next 100 years. Together, Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity will grow and fulfill its important purposes and missions.
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