The last time I wrote, I was preparing for my final exams (I had five this semester and three on one day!). Well, I have finished my exams but have not been taking it easy. This past weekend was the Iowa Dental Association Annual Meeting in Iowa City. As the Goodwill Ambassador to the IDA, I was very much involved in several events throughout the weekend.
On Friday night was the Presidential Gala at the Marriot Convention Center. The Gala dinner was held in honor of the outgoing and incoming IDA Presidents (Bill Strohman and my father, David Davidson) and as a fundraiser for the Iowa Mission of Mercy. I know I have talked about the Iowa Mission of Mercy quite a lot in the past, but this is such a wonderful event and deserves to be discussed again. The IMOM is the Iowa Dental Foundation’s annual event in which about 1,500 patients are provided with a total of $1,000,000 of dentistry over the course of one weekend. This year, the event will be held in Sioux City on November 18-19th. The event has not been provided with any federal or state funding, so the $400,000 that is needed to put on the event is done all through private fundraisers and donations. The Presidential Gala was very successful and raised over $14,000 for the IMOM! The event was also a lot of fun with a cruise theme (I was the cruise director). One of my main duties was to sell raffle tickets for a cruise that was given away at the end of the night. I had many people tell me that I am a natural salesperson and while I don’t want to pursue a career in sales, I had a great time making the rounds. Take a look at the pictures!
I was very diligent about my job!
Talking to one of the Presidential Gala guests about purchasing a raffle ticket.
Drawing the name of the winner of the cruise!
Also that night, I was able to meet and talk with the past and present leaders of the IDA. This really is a year for unprecedented access to those who have the ability to help me with my platform and spread the word of the importance of oral health. I met delegates from every member of the 10th District of the ADA (Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa) and many past Presidents of the IDA. A couple photos with the leadership are below.
With Dr. William Calnon, the President-Elect of the American Dental Association. Dr. Calnon joined us from New York.
With Dr. Dan and Vicki Kegler. Dr. Kegler is the newly elected President-Elect of the Iowa Dental Association.
On Saturday, my father officially became the President of the IDA after a vote by the IDA House of Delegates. It was wonderful to attend that meeting and listen to his well-prepared (and hilarious!) speech. Also congratulations to Dr. Dan Kegler of Independence who became the President-Elect and Dr. Mary Marriani of Davenport who became the Vice President. They are both wonderful dentists and will be great leaders for this organization.
My dad became the new President of the Iowa Dental Association.
I also took some time to walk around the Convention floor and had some fun looking at all the different dental tools and products!
With some of my dad's staff!
Loving the magnifiers on these dental glasses!
Having fun with some model teeth.
Every year, the Iowa Dental Association holds a drawing contest for elementary students across the state featuring a dental theme. This year, all the students demonstrated the need to brush and floss daily. I was able to meet the adorable and talented kids who won the contest. Here I am with their artwork.
This past week I have been in Washington, D.C. at the Washington Leadership Convention held by the American Dental Association. This has been a wonderful experience and I will tell you more about it once the week is over.
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