International

ARGENTINA

The Argentinean Section of the Pierre Fauchard Academy met on the evening of November 5, 2009, in the Sheraton Hotel in Buenos Aires in conjunction with the Argentinean Dental Association (AOA) Annual Session. There were 225 people in attendance.

Prior to the PFA induction ceremony on Wednesday, November 4, the Journals of the Argentinean Dental Association held its opening ceremony in celebration for its 35th year. This same evening also marked the first meeting of Latin America Leaders in which PFA President Steven Hedlund and Region 7 Trustee Ernesto Acuña attended, representing the Academy. A cocktail reception was held immediately following these events, at which time Drs. Hedlund and Acuña were interviewed by Argentinean national television regarding the PFA worldwide activities.

Section Chairman Norberto Montheil presided over the ceremony. Also in attendance were Immediate Past President Charles Eller, PFA Vice President Joseph Harris, AOA President Dr. Eduardo Maiucci, and Executive Chairman of the Jornadas Internacionales de AOA Dr. Eduardo Ceccotti.

The 2010 Elmer S. Best Award was presented to Dr. Jose Carlos Elgoyhen of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Thirty-two new Fellows from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and the Dominican Republic were inducted by President Hedlund, Dr. Eller, Dr. Harris, and Dr. Acuña. Dr. Maiucci, a PFA Fellow, was given the honor of placing the PFA medal on his incoming brother. Dr. Elgoyhen, also a PFA Fellow, gave the same honor to his incoming daughter. These moments were very emotional for all persons present. A splendid dinner reception was given for the inductees following the ceremony.

After four years of valiant service, Dr. Montheil passed the Argentine Section Chairmanship to the very capable hands of Dr. Roberto Rossi of Buenos Aires. It was a glorious night in the history of the Academy.

--Submitted by Dr. Ernesto E. Acuña, PFA Trustee, 
Region 7

CANADA

PFA Canada will be holding its Annual Awards and Induction Dinner during the joint CDA-ODQ meetings in Montreal on May 30, 2010. The Montreal meeting will be held at the Hotel Nelligan in the old port and promises to be an extraordinary event. PFA Canada will be distributing close to $100,000 in grants and scholarships. Dr. Tom Breneman will preside over his first national event as Trustee for Region 6. Dr. Sam Sgro will receive the Past Section Plaque for his years of support. Dr. Jerry Dushkin will now represent Quebec as the new Quebec Section Chair. Two Quebec PFA fellows will be honoured for their distinguished service, Dr. Paul Germain and Dr. Diane Legault. An Honourary PFA Fellowship will presented to Maitre Caroline Daoust.

INDIA

The 23rd Annual Convocation and Awards Ceremony of the Pierre Fauchard Academy of the India Section was held at Saveetha Dental College, Chennai, on Saturday, December 19, 2009, at 11 am.

The Convocation was preceded by a Continuing Dental Education Programme at 9 am by Fellow Dr. Ashok Dhoble on the subject of "Practice Management" and at 10:00 am by Fellow Dr. Vijailakshmi Acharya on the topic "Presently in the Future."

The 23rd Annual Convocation and Awards Ceremony started with prayer. After the Chairman, Dr. C. Krishnarjun Rao, was adorned with the Chairman's Collar, he declared the Convocation and Awards Ceremony "Open." He welcomed the Chief Guest, Guest of Honour, Guests, Fellows, Awardees, and New Inductees and traced the history of PFA and the contributions of Dr. Pierre Fauchard. Dr. Ashok Dhoble, 1st Vice Chairman of PFA, introduced the Chief Guest, Dr. N. M. Veeraiyan, Chancellor of Saveetha University and the Guest of Honour, Dr. R. Rajagopal, Pro-Chancellor of Saveetha University. After the Secretary, Dr. T. Samraj, introduced the 16 new inductees, the Chairman administered the Pledge of PFA India Section to them. The new Inductees were awarded the PFA India Section Fellowship certificates by the Chief Guest, the PFA medallions by the Chairman, the PFA pins by the 1st Vice Chairman, and the PFA pens by the Chief Editor, Dr. V. P. Jalili. The Chief Editor brought the December 2009 issue of the Journal of Pierre Fauchard Academy, which was released by the Guest of Honour.

Sixteen new Fellows were inducted into the PFA India Section: Dr. Balaji Manohar, Dr. Karthik Venkataraghavan, Dr. Murali Rao, Dr. James Sunny P, Dr. Sharn Pal Sandhu, Dr. Allwyn Matias De Menezes, Dr. Piedade Fernandes, Dr. G.Venkateswara Rao, Dr. Saee Shrikant Deshpande, Dr. C. V. Padma Priya, Dr. Vikas Jindal Ludhiana, Dr. Sameer Kaura, Dr. Amitangshu Sikdar, Dr. M. C. Sainath, Dr. K. Bakyalakshmi, and Dr. G. S. Kumar.

This induction ceremony was followed by an inspiring address by the Chief Guest to the newly inducted Fellows, in which he challenged them to emulate the high professional and ethical standards of Dr. Pierre Fauchard. On behalf of the new Fellows, Dr. M. C. Sainath responded. The Chairman announced the name of Dr. Brig. S. C. Anand from Haryana as the 4th Vice Chairman. After a Vote of Thanks by the Secretary and the National Anthem, the Chairman declared the Convocation and Awards Ceremony "Closed." Ms. Bavithra Bakthavatchalam was the Master of Ceremony. Two hundred delegates attended the ceremony, and 150 delegates attended the 
lunch.

Twenty dental colleges participated in the 2009 Student Dental Awards ceremony at the 23rd Annual Convocation in India, held at Saveetha Dental College, Chennai, on Saturday, December 19, 2009.

The Chief Guest of the PFA India Section, Dr. N.M. Veeraiyan, announced the Student Awards. The PFA Best Outgoing Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) Student Award was given at these colleges to the following 
students:

Bapuji Dental College, Davangere: Ms. Gandha Kinikar
Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi: Ms. Shalini Suryavanshi
College of Dentistry, Indore: Mr. Arun Dev Sharma

College of Dental Sciences, Davangere: Ms. Bhavana S. Bagalad
Modern Dental College, Indore: Ms. Sonal Mundhra
VMS Dental College, Salem: Ms. B. Saranya
J.K.K. Nataraja Dental College, Komarapalayam: 
Ms. M. Jenitha
D.J. College of Dental Sciences, Modinagar: Ms. Swatee Agarwal
The PFA International Senior Student Award was given to these students:
Institute of Dental Studies & Technologies, Modinagar: 
Mr. Saurabh Lall
Sri Ramachandra Dental College, Chennai: Mr. Ram Sabarish
College of Dental Sciences, Davangere: Mr. Vijayvargia Suryaprakash Nanalal
J.K.K. Nataraja Dental College, Komarapalayam: Mr. R. Arun Jaikumar
K.M. Shah Dental College, Vadodara: Mr. Dhruvin Rajendra Patel
The PFA International Dental Student Scholarship Award was given at the Christian Dental College, Ludhiana, to Ms. Sucratha Susie John, II BDS.
The PFA Student Undergraduate Certificate of Merit was given at the M.S. Ramiah Dental College, Bangalore, to Ms. Antarmayee Panigrahi.

--Submitted by Dr. T. Samraj
Secretary & Treasurer, PFA India Section

UNITED STATES

Illinois

PFA President Steve Hedlund attended the Section meeting. Past President William Kort attended the last section meeting and said that he plans to be in Orlando. Section Chair Dr. Christos Baboulos presented the Distinguished Dentist of the Year Award, and two new Fellows were inducted into the Academy.

Kentucky

Our PFA meeting was held at noon on April 10 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Louisville during the Kentucky Dental Association's 150-year Celebration Meeting. The luncheon was held with the ACD and ICD. We honored the PFA new members and the PFA student scholarship and leadership awardees.

--Submitted by Dr. Karl Lange, Kentucky Section Chairperson

Massachusetts

Michigan

The Michigan Section met in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Michigan Dental Association on April 17, 2010, at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, MI. The meeting commenced at 7:00 am with 73 persons in attendance. The Invocation was given by Dr. Joe C. Harris, PFA International Vice President. Guests in attendance were Dr. David Campbell, Past President of the Academy; Dr. Joe C. Harris; Dr. Cheri Newman, District 4 Trustee; Ms. Nicole Lauer, daughter of Mrs. Sheri Doig Honorary Awardee Dr. Neelum Aggarwal, and her two sons, daughter and grandsons of new Inductee Dr. Daman Thanik; Dr. Bill Burkowski, UDM Dental School Liaison to the Michigan Section; 17 dental students; and one dental resident. The Treasurer, Dr. Danielle Ruskin, gave her report and also received her Certificate of Fellowship.

The Section Board members were introduced: Dr. Danielle Ruskin, Dr. Jehan Wakeem, Dr. Pat Boyle, and Dr. Mike Maihofer. A special award was given to Dr. Edward Sarkisian, past Treasurer of the Section, for his 13 years of service. 
Dr. Hirsch introduced the new Fellows-elect: Dr. Brian Cilla, Dr. Rhonda Hennessey, Dr. Eric Knudsen, Dr. Rob Lovell, Dr. Scott Meldrum, Dr. Stephen Meraw, Dr. Aaron Ruskin, Dr. Lisandra Soto, and Dr. Daman Thanik.

The Fellowship charge was read by the Secretary, Dr. Wakeem, and the certificates were presented along with their keys and lapel pins. Dr. Hirsch introduced the awards nominee, Ms. Sheri Doig, Executive Director of the Detroit District Dental Society, the largest component of the Michigan Dental Association. Ms. Doig was made an Honorary Member of the Academy and was presented with a large framed certificate, key, and lapel pins. Dr. Hirsch explained that at the November meeting, along with our usual agenda, we were going to honor all of the Retired Life members of the Section. We discussed mentoring, and the charge to the members present was to mentor students and recent graduates. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 am so that members could attend the caucus meetings.

--Submitted by Dr. Edward Hirsch
Michigan Section Chairperson

South Carolina

South Carolina's Annual Luncheon and Induction was held on Saturday, February 27, 2010, in Charleston. Chair Dr. Monica Cayouette organized a well-attended program held in conjunction with the grand opening of the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine Clinical Facility. After a short dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony, attendees had the opportunity to tour this beautiful, comfortable, efficient, state-of-the-art, six-story facility.

South Carolina PFA Foundation Scholar Mr. Michael Ammons and his wife were invited guests, and Mr. Ammons was recognized for his leadership and scholarship activity.

Dr. Angela Chi and Dr. Chris Caputo of Charleston, Dr. Dale Finkbine of Summervillle, and Dr. Dana Parker of Easley were inducted as new Fellows. Dr. Cayouette presented the Section's Outstanding Dentist of the Year Award to Dr. Carter Brown, a Past President of the SCDA, current AGD Region 19 Trustee, and Founder of South Carolina's Dental Access Days (DAD) program. During the business meeting, the Section voted to donate $1500 to the SCDA DAD project and to host a half-day continuing education course in Columbia on June 18, 2010.

Dr. Monica Cayouette presented the Section Chair plaque to Immediate Past Chair Dr. Staci Gaffos and installed the new officers: Dr. John Reese as the 2010-2011 Section Chair, Dr. David Dedmon as the Chair-elect, and Dr. Chris Griffin as Vice Chair. Dr. Craig Draffin will continue as the Secretary/Treasurer.

The South Carolina Section continues to be a well-organized and dynamic group with excellent participation of Fellows in multiple activities; they were especially well represented as leaders and volunteers in the SCDA's DAD program.

--Submitted by Dr. Karyn Stockwell
USA Southeast Region Trustee

Utah

The Utah Section of the Pierre Fauchard Academy met on February 18, 2010, in conjunction with the Utah Dental Association Annual Meeting. Distinguished visitors included Past PFA President Dr. Gary Lowder, Utah ICD Section Chair Dr. Norman K. Rounds, and several past and present Utah Dental Association Officers. Section Co-chairman Dr. Richard Engar conducted the meeting and welcomed the 35 Section Members and guests in attendance. Dr. Lowder discussed the PFA Foundation and described how grants are available for humanitarian service through the Academy. Fellow Dr. Ken Versman of Colorado, the ADA District 14 Trustee, gave a brief report on the state of the ADA. Fellow Dr. G. Lynn Powell gave a report on the status of the formation process of a new dental school at the University of Utah. Section Co-chairman Dr. Richard O. Petty read the Charge to two new inductees into the Utah section, Drs. Mark H. Blaisdell and Jay E. Lieberman. Scholarship plans and other future activities of the Utah Section were also presented.

--Submitted by Richard C. Engar
Utah Section Co-chair