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Dental World®
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JANUARY / FEBRUARY, 2001
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PIERRE FAUCHARD ACADEMY
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| President’s Message |
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The holiday season has now passed and we are well on our way into the New Year. I sincerely hope you all enjoyed a meaningful and joyous holiday season.
During our Annual Meeting in Chicago last October, the Hall of Fame Committee, chaired by Dr. Raymond Klein, made the presentation to our first living honoree, Dr. Robert B. Shira. The reception and dinner were well attended, and the evening was a splendid affair. Some of Dr. Shira’s special friends from the military were present. Major General Patrick Scully, Chief of the Army Dental Corps, and Major General Bill Lefler, retired Chief of the Army Corps, made brief laudatory remarks. It was such a pleasure to honor Dr. Shira, this Renaissance man of dentistry. The Foundation of the Pierre Fauchard Academy has certainly been noticed and appreciated by our profession. This year, we had more than 100 grant applications! Certainly the word is out that the Foundation provides programs that care for the oral health of the needy. We are proud that this Academy is a leader in promoting dental health worldwide. There are many people around the world who would never have had dental care if it were not for this Academy. |
One of the major benefits to the Academy is the contribution of individuals. More of our Fellows are volunteering services in addition to donating funds. You may have noted in your dues statement a $10 voluntary contribution to the Foundation of the Academy. We hope, with your help, to provide more funds for our mission. Dr. Carl Lundgren, Vice President of the Foundation, stated in his report, “The Pierre Fauchard Academy has a membership of 7700 Fellows from 65 countries. The PFA Foundation is now the world’s largest international dental philanthropic organization.” If we each make a donation, what wonders we could achieve! These funds to the Foundation go for student scholarships, research, humanitarian efforts, and patient care. Our overhead is low with only one part-time employee, the Executive Director. All other Fellows volunteer their services.
As Albert Einstein said in The World as I See It, “A hundred times a day, I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based in the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.” Malcolm David Campbell, DDS President |
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Dr. Robert Shira Hall of Fame Dinner
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Sunday evening, 15 October 2000, Swissôtel, Chicago
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The significance of this event was that it was the first International Hall of Fame Installation that was not a memorial. Doctor, Dean, General, President Robert B. Shira was present with his family to receive the accolades of dentistry’s dignitaries from all generations from all over the world. Major Generals, Deans, Presidents, and many others availed themselves of this special opportunity to tell Dr. Shira how much they appreciated his career achievements for dentistry and what he has meant personally in their lives. This was by far the most outstanding International Hall of Fame Installation ever held, whereby the recipient was actually able to hear and appreciate the feelings of his peers and friends.
 Dr. Shira is a humble man. His achievements were what he expected of himself; to do less would have compromised his own standards. To him this was not great but what he needed to do.To the rest of dentistry, to all that this fine man touched in their lives, he is a giant among dentists and his fellow man. Dr. Robert Shira has not just been a dentist, not just a formalizing influence in the specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery, but he has combined his unique talents as a professional with the heart and moral ethics of an angel. While we honor him for his professional achievements, what we are really trying to express was our appreciation for the way he set such high standards as a person caring for others. He has given us an example to look up to and the desire to strive to achieve those standards and walk beside him. But how do you officially honor a saint in dentistry? Our Hall of Fame installation was meager respect for this man, but we have no greater way to say what we feel for Robert B. Shira and his eight decades of dedicated service to world dentistry. Rest on his accolades? Not hardly. As President of the Pierre Fauchard Foundation, Dr. Shira extends his life’s work of helping others by managing the multimillion-dollar funds in the Foundation, determining grants to serve the indigent and offering scholarships to a new generation of dentists. But that alone is not his only charm. He attracts other dental greats to assist him in guiding the benefice afforded by the Foundation. |
How fortunate we all have been to be with this man at a time when his current closest peers wished to honor him in the finest way they know. In reality, though, the greatest honor presented that evening was the unashamed offering of heartfelt respect and love for the man himself. If anyone were to count his life’s stores by awards received, certainly Dr. Shira would win hands down. But to register his professional work in lives touched and made better, there are few saints who could compete. As a teacher in life, his work will be magnified through others for many generations in the future.
Our first Hall of Fame plaque on the wall in Paris is of Pierre Fauchard, the acknowledged founder of professional dentistry. Joining those dental greats who made a real difference in our profession will be Dr. Robert B. Shira. History will judge him as a pivotal individual, not just in promoting professional dentistry but in setting an example for living a highly moral and ethical standard as a dentist. We share with him our profession. Can we live up to his ideals as individuals? That is the challenge his life presents us. That is the meaning we get from Bob Shira. Service as dentists to all our patients is far greater than any pecuniary reward can be. Dr. Robert B. Shira, a dentist for all seasons, for all generations, we offer our thanks for the man you are and for being our inspiration. The Hall of Fame Board unanimously had decided to elevate Dr. Shira to immediate installation. What venue would be appropriate? Because he is a past ADA President, it was felt that the ADA Session in Chicago might afford some opportunity. But the ADA leadership was too busy to accommodate such a request, even though it was offered months in advance. Several regional dental meetings jumped at the chance, and the Yankee Dental Congress where Dr. Shira had been Dean at Tufts University was thought to be an excellent place. But Dr. Shira asked that the venue be in Chicago with his PFA Fellows around him. What a thank-you to the Academy to be so honored. While we were looking for a huge venue to showcase this great man, our friend and mentor reversed the honor. He wished instead to be installed among the Academy Fellows for whom he had served as President in 1984, who had already given him their highest honor in the PFA Gold Medal (1969), and for whom he had served as essayist at the Memorial Luncheon of 1975. And with his usual excellent preparations, Secretary/Treasurer Richard Kozal put on a dinner like no other. While Editor Brophy was photographing this once-in-a-lifetime event, Shirley Brophy, past photographer for the Illinois Dental Journal, was videotaping the entire proceedings for posterity. Formal programs outlined Dr. Shira’s 80 years, not that many needed reminding. |
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Dr. Robert Shira Hall of Fame Dinner- continued
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 Security guard, Secretary/Treasurer Richard Kozal, President impersonator Bill Mellberg During dinner, two security personnel looked over the crowd, and there was the anticipation of a dignitary arriving. After the excellent repast, in came President Clinton, impersonated by Bill Mellberg, who went on to entertain the audience with his comedy renditions of the recent Presidents. |
 Dr. Robert Shira  Major General Patrick Scully The evening sped to morning as Dr. Shira’s many well-wishers paid homage, from Major General Patrick D. Scully, current Chief of the Army Dental Corps, and past Chief of the Army Dental Corps Major General Bill B. Lefler, to past Dean Rafael Suriano of Loyola University’s Chicago College of Dental Surgery, and to past Dean John Montgomery of the University of Iowa School of Dentistry, along with the many PFA Officers holding so many local, state, and national titles in dentistry and in the colleges. It was a perfect evening to remember, and everyone wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible. There will never be another Robert B. Shira, and we were there to know him. |
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PFA Annual Board Meeting
13–15 October 2000 |
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Our Annual Board Meeting and Academy Elections were held in Chicago during the ADA Annual Session. The excitement so particular to Chicago, heart of the Midwest, was evident as the city hosted the Academy for all of the millennium year. It started with our February Leadership Conference and the Interim Meeting during the Chicago Dental Society’s MidWinter Meeting, and it concluded with the our Annual Meeting, the Foundation’s Annual Meeting, our Hall of Fame Recognition Dinner for Dr. Shira, and the ADA Annual Session. Certainly, Chicago is at the heart of organized dentistry as well. President Fred Halik rapped the gavel down at 7:30 am on Friday the 13th to commence the weekend-long proceedings, which finished sometime in the wee hours of Monday morning as we gave tribute to Foundation President Robert B. Shira, the first living member of the International Hall of Fame. Vice President Scott Welch gave the Invocation to give us direction in all our deliberations. And it worked in that President Halik moved the proceedings in a rapid, smooth flow. |
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President’s Report
by Fred Halik |
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I am forever amazed and pleased at the wonderful activities that take place in so many regions and Sections of the Academy all around the PFA world. In May, we attended Canadian Trustee Kevin Roach’s Hall of Fame presentation in Toronto to honor Dr. James B. Willmott, and we assisted Ontario Section Chair Aldo Boccia in inducting new Fellows into the Academy. Then we attended the Mitch Nakayama Memorial Award presentation in Japan. The late Mr. Nakayama was President of the Hakusui Trading Company and a wonderful friend of the Academy. Upon his passing, a memorial award was established in his honor. This year, the Mitch Nakayama Award was presented to Professor Takao Fusayama, who was also elevated to PFA Honorary Fellowship. Mrs. Tomiko Nakayama, who succeeded her husband as President of the Hakasui Company, has continued the tradition of supporting the Academy, even to attending our many functions. Japan Trustee Eiichi Katagiri and Japan Section Chair Sadao Wakamoto represented us at the Asia-Pacific Dental Congress in Tokyo held at the same time. In June, our entourage attended functions arranged by Europe Trustee Pierre Marois. |
In Belgium, Chair Professor Jose Dahan and Brussels Chair Philippe Aubry hosted a continuing education course and convocation to induct new Fellows at a 200-year-old restaurant on the Grand Plaza. In Paris, at Le Conseil National de l’Ordre des Chirurgiens-dentistes, their President André Robert, honored us at our Hall of Fame Ceremony where President Halik, International Trustee Marois, and Hall of Fame Chairman Ray Klein, past PFA President, officially placed the commemorative plaques of Dr. J. B. Willmott of Canada and Dr. L. D. Pankey of Florida on the Wall of Fame at their headquarters. We also conferred Honorary Fellowship to Professor Charles Berenholc, and we were honored by being awarded the French Gold Medal. At this time, President Robert, Trustee Marois, and French Chair Hubert Ouvrard gave us a tour of their “Bus Social Dentaire,” which is in part sponsored by a Foundation grant. In London, we met with Dr. Bryan Parkins to discuss our Section’s progress in the United Kingdom. What is to love (about being President) are all of you great people that I have been involved with and that are toiling so well to keep PFA as one of the great organizations in dentistry. My deepest gratitude to you all. |
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President-Elect’s Report
by Malcolm David Campbell |
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It was an honor to attend the California Southern Section Meeting in Anaheim. Attending these Section Meetings is an important public relations function of our officers. To rely on the President solely to do all the visits is not realistic. |
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Secretary/Treasurer’s Report
by Richard Kozal |
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The Central Office is fully operational in offices at the Community College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas. Our Web site, established in January of 1997, is being reformatted for easier access. Site pages are being added for the Foundation, for the Academy’s Dental Museum at the college, for the Hall of Fame, for our Awards, and for the Mentorship Program. Twenty-two Outstanding Dentist of the Year plaques were sent out along with three Outgoing Section Chairman plaques. The Fellowship neck ribbons are larger with the newly designed PFA key on them. There were 88 Student Award certificates mailed. Fifty-nine qualifying New Life Members were to be added to our enrollment of 1155. |
The Budget and Finance Committee meets quarterly by conference call. The annual review by the independent accounting firm was completed in March, and it reported that the Academy books were in proper order. The Annual Corporate report was filed in Illinois and as a foreign corporation in Nevada. A lock box has been set up to receive dues payments. The address is: PFA, P.O. Box 503642, St Louis, MO, 63150-3642. The purpose of a lock box is to have the checks daily entered on computer and deposited into our account. When this was being done by hand, it took days to do what the Bank of America does daily for us. All invoices have been paid as of 30 September 2000, except the Mosby bill, which is currently being reviewed. |
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Business office: P.O. Box 80330, Las Vegas, NV 89180-0330. (702) 651-5013,
1-800-232-0099, Fax (702) 651-5537; E-mail RKOZAL@aol.comFoundation office: 30 Spruce Ridge, Fairport, N.Y., 14450-4278;
Fax (585) 387-9519
E-Mail: see Foundation link aboveDental World office: 931 Glen Flora, Waukegan, IL 60085. (847) 662-0299
Fax (847) 662-0685; E-mail PFADWJMB@aol.comPFA Web site address: http://www.fauchard.org