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Section Chair Caucus Report
Nineteen Section Chairs attended the Annual Section Chair Caucus during the PFA International Meeting on 1 October 2004, as chaired by Dr. Dan Castagna. As in prior years, various Section programs. Membership issues, idea exchanges, and other concerns were openly presented and discussed during the two-hour session. These topics were then voiced directly to the full International Board later in the day.
Section Chairs’ Caucus Chairman
Dan Castagna
The following items were discussed and noted, but are not listed here in any particular order of importance:
• Dr. Karyn Stockwell, Georgia Section Chair, reported a need to increase membership and enhance membership retention by helping to increase perceived value in PFA. A members newsletter with current Section information would not only inform the existing members, but help solicit potential members. Her Section has created one. A new membership packet with the PFA logo gives much information. Her Section sponsored a membership/leadership conference this past year. And they initiated local dues to help defray the costs of the luncheon and sponsored activities.
• Dr. Norman Becker, Massachusetts Section Chair, noted that they continue to participate in the Massachusetts State Children’s Identification Program. They have also developed a local membership retention letter informing the Fellows of Section activities.
• Dr. Joseph Harris of Michigan reports that at their annual Section Breakfast that they hold the PFA Scholarship Award recipients are also invited. An ongoing mentorship program works closely with the Deans. And his Section Fellows help with the Donated Dental Services program ($8000 worth) at a children’s camp.
• Dr. David Stahl, New Hampshire Chair, notes that the city of Manchester has fluoridated their water, which was voted in four years ago. This has come up again for voter reconsideration and the PFA Fellows were involved to stop this. He also reports that the PFA Foundation was requested to help on a grant, but the response was not timely enough to help out on the third voter initiative.
• Dr. Howard Mark, International Vice President from Connecticut, stated that their ongoing mentorship program with the University of Connecticut has been working well. An annual Section Meeting was held during the Connecticut State Meeting and was well attended. He is recruiting new PFA leadership in his Section.
• Dr. William Goodman, Oklahoma Section Chair, has had good attendance at their annual Section Meeting held separately from ICD and ACD.
• Dr. Richard Petty, Utah Section Chair, also reports good attendance at their annual Section Breakfast Meeting. They have a non-dental speaker, which is well received by the members. During that Meeting a Section Award is presented to the top “preclinical” student at Utah. Additionally, a Section grant helps sponsor dental services in Mexico this year.
• Dr. Lynn Halik, New York Section Chair, reported that their annual Section Luncheon occurs during the Greater New York Meeting and is always well attended. She attends these meetings sponsored by PFA to gather information and new ideas for the future.
• Dr. Gary Herbeck, Florida Chair, works closer with ACD/ICD leadership in helping to decrease fragmentation on common group programs that may overlap. The Dean is a new PFA Fellow, so the PFA Scholarships should take on more prominence.
• Dr. Karl Lange, Kentucky Section Chair, holds their Section’s annual Meeting with ACD and ICD. The PFA banner is well known. Ongoing Foundation Grant support has helped with dental screenings at the Special Olympics held annually at the Kentucky State Fair.
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• Dr. W. Kendrick Van Meter of Vermont has a small membership. This year’s goal is to increase that membership. Their Section has a Mentorship Program for new dentists, and they support the Child ID Project.
• Dr. Ashur Chavoor, Washington, DC, Chair, has an ongoing membership drive to increase his area’s Fellowship.
• Dr. Dan Castagna, of Northern California, has a well-attended annual Luncheon Meeting where they honor outstanding Faculty and provide two student scholarships to students from their two local dental schools over and beyond those provided by the Foundation.
• Dr. Pankaj Patel, Section Chair for Kenya, is working on increasing his membership.
• Dr. Ernesto Acuna, Section Chair of Mexico, said that the Foundation Scholarships given at several schools are very well received. Membership in Mexico continues to grow, but more is needed to be done to encourage new Fellow applications.
• Dr. Diampo Lim, Philippines Section Chair, has been reviving the small membership in his Section and recruitment is growing. He thanked PFA for their help after the volcano erupted. Many dental items and other materials were sent to replace the lost ones.
• Dr. Aldo Boccia of Ontario, Canada, noted that PFA received very good publicity for the student scholarships presented to his two dental schools. Mouth guards were fabricated for the Special Olympics this year. With the FDI hosting their annual World Congress in Montreal, they will be hosting a new Fellow Induction Ceremony there.
• Dr. Evelyn McNee of British Columbia has had minimal activity in her area, but hopes to join with ACD on joint projects. The publicity from the student scholarships has helped their cause.
• Dr. Jose Dahan, Belgium Section Chair, has started a Section website connected to the PFA one. Their anti-tobacco program has had success and is being continued.
• Dr. Tsuneaki Kuwahata of Japan has 135 Fellows in his Section. Their main activities are to hold an annual meeting every year and to publish PFA Japan Journal once a year and PFA NEWS twice a year. This year’s annual meeting was held last 30 October. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was scheduled during the Awards Luncheon. The theme of the annual meeting is “To learn new things by studying old things.” Scientific and cultural lectures were also planned. The Japan Section and the Korean Section have a good relationship for 25 years in Region 9.
The Section Chair Caucus Report was submitted to the Board by Dr. Dan Castagna itemizing the following points:
1. Placing the PFA Foundation Section Grant application on the Web site to accelerate applications and make it easier to fill out without the use of typewriters.
2. Suggestions were that U.S. dental school scholarships, whenever possible should go to an “international” student, since we are an international organization.
3. The PFA Board, and perhaps the Foundation, should establish a specific agenda for the Section Chair Caucus to address. Specific items, as needed, that the Boards are interested in would narrow the discussion and focus on mutual interests. Many felt that the Caucus Meeting was not structured enough to be productive. Some felt that their Section Reports submitted to the Board should be made available to the Chairs attending the Caucus as a good resource for ideas that could be shared and implemented in other areas.
4. Suggestions were made that the entire PFA Board participate in the Caucus to directly answer questions that arise, meet the Chairs, discuss their concerns, and pick up on their ideas. (The Academy Board meets at the same time in another room to begin their agenda of business.)
5. The dues rebate idea was well received, as these funds could be useful for multiple activities at the section level.
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