August 4, 2023
KCU CDM is now live and MDA was there!
The state’s third dental school, Kansas City University College of Dental Medicine, officially began orientation for its pioneer class of 80 dental students on Monday of this week. Congrats to all the leadership team for all the hurdles cleared to get to this point! On Tuesday in Joplin they held a vendor fair, and of course, Jerri Wildhaber from MDIS and I were there with bells on. Actually, we found Crumbl cookies to work better than bells. It was a fun first encounter with many of the students who were all wearing clothes from their undergrad school as part of Alma Mater day. We gave out cookies, got students signed up for text reminders and promoted a big dinner Southwest Dental Society is hosting for them in two weeks. That’s the event where will we have a captive audience to get to know them better and play some fun games for prizes. It’s exciting to see where all the students are from. I was jotting down states, and it wasn’t long before I had most of the U.S. I guess Missouri could be called the Show Me dental education capitol!
MOSDOH Mania in Kirksville
Last night Jerri and I were back on the road to Kirksville where Northeast Dental Society hosted a welcome reception for the D1s and D2s at MOSDOH. It helps when Dr. Amanda Fitzpatrick’s husband, Clint, is the golf pro at the country club because we have an awesome setting for privacy, good food and adult beverages. Evidently our success from last year was not forgotten, as more than 80 students attended the event. After our usual promos, we got down to the real business of competitive games. We randomly draw two names and have them come up front to compete head to head for a chance for cash or a gift card. They can choose to play rock-paper-scissors, Hi Lo or Blackjack. The loser gets a deck of exclusive Benny Fitz cards and the winner picks a prize envelope. Our very first contestant picked the $50 top cash prize. After that it was a frenzy of fun as you can tell by all the photos. I love this chance to bond with the students and establish our presence for years to come. Trust I realize dental school is not always this fun. If it were, I might be a dentist.
The Wild West Show You May Not Know
In our staff family, we know that MDA Communications Director, Melissa Albertson, is a rodeo mom. She and her husband, Bart, and her children, Gus, Kate and Lily, are all in on the ranching life and quite adept in several rodeo skills. So much so, that the older two, Gus and Kate, compete at the national level and bring in some serious prize winnings. Recently the Albertsons continued a family tradition of emphasizing their western-loving heritage by taking a old west photo complete with costumes and weapons! I just had to share. It’s a bit of relief for Melissa who works her tail off here keeping all our evolving communications on point.
The Week Ahead
The staff have a team building day on Monday and then return to the office to resume the work. No major travel or photo ops on the horizon until the end of the week when MDA ED, Vicki Wilbers, and MDA Treasurer, Dr. Mack Taylor, head to Kansas City for the Mid-States Dental Conference. So we may or may not have a blog. But fear not, we won’t ever miss more than a week.
Quote of the Week
“Destiny plays its cards in a way no one can comprehend.” – Anurag Shourie
