Special Edition
The month of May rushed in with lots of activity including some from the past weekend so here’s a special Monday post. The blog will not publish this Friday as a result.
National Signing Day in St Louis
Last Monday started with Team Travel heading to the St. Louis campus of MOSDOH to conduct three events. We started with National Signing Day for the D4s. Converting their membership helps us and them not get lost in the shuffle post-graduation. We offer a lot of good prizes and enjoy hearing about their career ambitions. I think we signed up 28 of the 41 total students. Then we fed them and had more fun as part of our Food for Thought lunch where Jerri from MDIS and Blake from MedPro went over the basics of malpractice insurance. To wrap up the day, we had some casual visits and more fierce competitive games as part of a reception Blake hosted at the Over Under Bar. It’s a full day, but time flies and it won’t be long before some of these D4s are seasoned leaders in the MDA. Watch out for them!
MOMOM Madness
I was back in St. Louis Wednesday night for the monthly MOMOM meeting. You can feel the energy churn as we move under 10 weeks from the clinic. Volunteer registration is coming along with about 300 total volunteers and 90 something dentists. Both those numbers need to double before the end of June so don’t delay. We need you! After a three year layoff, it’s fun to work with some new faces and reimagine how we do a few things. This clinic is really needed judging by the steady flow of inquiries from the public.
Springfield Smiles from the Heart Auction
A week of travel concluded with a once-in-three years opportunity to join the fine members from Greater Springfield Dental Society for their charity gala that raises money to support oral health outreach in their region. This is my third or fourth event and it never disappoints. From aerial artists and stilt walkers to a large and varied selection of auction items to good food and live music, it’s a blast. I think I heard more than $400,000 was raised. A few recipients spoke briefly including Jackie Barger from Children’s Smile Center. He recapped the incredible numbers they are able to see of Medicaid children thanks to a host of generous volunteer member dentists. Those stories warmed your heart. The Heads or Tails competition provided a chuckle and some live music provided a reason to boogie. My wife and I had a great time. Kudos to Dr. Ashley Meyer, event chair; Dr. Tara Cash, GSDS president; Jean Harmison, GSDS Executive Director; Patterson Dental, Presenting Sponsor and many more for their hard and generous contributions to the event. Personally I enjoyed seeing so many members I know well including Drs. Darren and Sarah Mahaffey who had a little something to do with the aforementioned MOMOM getting off the ground.
A Wedding of Note
Who doesn’t love a wedding? There’s always so much joy and celebration. And last Saturday, it was even more special to attend an MDA-related wedding. Stacey Hemmel, MDA Membership Manager, felt the love as we came out to celebrate her daughter Cassie’s marriage to Mr. Hunter Denich. The bride was beautiful and Stacey was beaming. The reception and party went long into the night with merrymakers at every turn. Best wishes to the new couple!
Last Week of Session
It’s a different kind of celebration, but there will be some relief and joy when the Legislative Session ends this Friday. Last Friday, just ahead of deadline, our elected officials sent Governor Parson a record $48 billion dollar budget. Included in this is a big jump in the dental reimbursement rate for Medicaid. It went from 38% to 80% of UCR. That’s an amazing achievement! Many other MDA priorities are trying to pass on omnibus bills during this final week. Be sure to watch all your MDA news sources for the latest after the dust settles.
Get Your Salt & Lime Ready … C4S and C4$ are less than a month away!
As I type, the outside temps are pushing 90 degrees. I’m in shorts and I’m dreaming of a lake getaway. What a perfect time for Connect4Success and the Connect4Cash raffle. Sunshine, CE, beverages, prizes, cash, colleagues and lakefront fun are all just ahead. Make sure you don’t miss out.
Quote of the Week – in honor of Mother’s Day yesterday
“There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” – Jill Churchill
The Week Ahead
The staff are diving in on many fronts as many big events approach. I’ll see you back here on May 20.
MDA ... The Week That Was 