 Good evening. I'm Dick Jones. I'm the 2022 president of the American College of Dentists. One of the missions of the college is to enhance leadership. And one of our important initiatives is to enhance our sections. Because they're the operational arm of our most important endeavors. It's pretty well known that the Ontario section has consistently been one of the strongest sections in the college. Having been their region for four years. In conversing with their current region Terry Norris. It's clear that much of their success is due to leadership. But what's the secret of their leadership success. And can it be replicated in other sections. We've asked some of the Ontario section leaders to show their experience tonight. And I'd like to begin by asking the participants to introduce themselves. Indicate their current past positions in their tenure service the sections in any capacity not necessarily elected. But I want to start with Regent Terry Norris. I am Terry Norris. I'm the current Regent for Regency for as President Jones has said I am in my third year as Regent so I have one and a half years left. You know and it's been my distinct pleasure to work with so many good people. And I think I've seen some of the sections later a tremendous amount of ground work. And all I had to do was come and continue what he started but and becoming Regent and getting to know the individuals, not only in Ontario but in the other sections. You know I've come come to appreciate where these sections come from where they're going. How they do what they do they're not all alike. They have strengths they have weaknesses. But the camaraderie that I see in Ontario and their meetings and at the national meeting is just fantastic I mean they come in full force. There's an excitement there. And they're they're not content just to go with the status quo they want to do better than the year before. They have a great sense of fostering leadership. And when they have a change of administration they don't miss a lick so it's my pleasure to work with Ontario and as President Jones has said. In years past. Ontario is like Kentucky on steroids, the down home demeanor the friendliness the camaraderie reminds me so much of my own section that it's a delight to to talk with individuals from Ontario and to go to their meetings so I love what you're doing keep it up. I'm here to help and any way that I can, you know how to get a hold of me and it's my pleasure. Well, I'll start with a question for. Well actually I want to continue with the introductions. So, so needed. We'll start with you. Thank you so much. Thank you, Dick. Very, very happy inviting us. My name is Sunita Joshi. And this is my third year with with the ACD I was brought on as the spear liaison with the University of Toronto and last year I did the same but this year currently I'm the secretary, and I'm also the spear liaison and been helping with the newsletter and I think I just got nominated to be to look at our website as well so like we like everybody else on on the ACD Ontario, we wear many hats, and it's my pleasure to be part of this involvement. Thank you. Brenda. Thank you also for the introduction, and thanks for the opportunity to be speaking with everyone. My name is Brenda Thompson, and I've been part of the executive for at least five years so I have learned a lot thanks to having had the opportunity to follow me from being secretary to chair to pass chair, and then thanks to Sonya Sluida who helped that me and train me as a co editor of our newsletter. I'm now the newsletter editor with a great committee of help helping me with that newsletter it's almost finished. As well as now we're, we've created another committee that's going to be our membership committee to help us do our best to retain our good fellows and be aware of what's value for us. And I think that being part and part of all these committees really helps us get to know what our fellows are looking for and what they truly need in from the college. Thank you. Thank you. Sonya. Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to speak to everyone. And I was actually brought on by Brenda, probably four years ago, five years ago it's blending. And I'm currently the Vice Chair so and as well as I'm wearing a few other hats. I'm the continually education committee chair which we, it's a new committee that we started this year. I've been the sponsorship chair for probably two years, and prior to that I was the newsletter editor for probably three years maybe before I'm not sure. And, but like Sonita and Brenda say, we're on a lot of committees and we tend to interact between committees but it, it gives us an opportunity to see what everybody else is doing. Thank you. In saving the best for last bunny. I think you're saving the oldest person on the executive for last anyway thank you very much Dick and Terry I'm Bonnie Chandler I am the I'm a past chair of the Ontario division, and I've stayed on as treasurer. So I think I've been on the executive for about seven or eight years. As I say I'm the oldest one, not the oldest but the long standing on the executive. As well as being treasurer. I, as Sonya said we're quite fluid we, we help each other out all the time. Our committees overlap quite a bit and with Sonya's new continuing education committee, which I can see will be very busy when she takes on her presidency in November. That there'll be some help required. Bonnie, broadly speaking, what would you say the age ranges of the active current active participants. You mean on the executive. Not, not just the elected officials, but people that are actually actively serving the Ontario section doing committee work or whatever. I would, I don't know how old you are but I think you're the youngest. 39 something like that. So I would say I'm guessing everybody help me out here. I'm saying the average age might be about 5560. Of course being age. In the top age, the oldest. I think Paul, Paul, yes Paul's in his 70s. I think he might be 73. Anybody know. That's good. About how many people would you say are actually actively involved doing committee work, maybe not sharing a committee, but participating and contributing. I would say about nine of us. And what do you suppose the ranges of is of years of active participation. I would say probably five years. Well I think you've been active for at least seven I think. Yes I have. Didn't you say average. Yeah, yes. Yeah. Oh no I said range range. So yes I would say one year to probably seven years. Is Drew still active, Drew Smith. No Drew step down. He must have been active for at least eight years. Oh, or, or more. Yes, or more. Well, if you have any questions you jump in. Let me ask you a question, Bonnie and this is to the whole group. How do you find perspective leaders to take places of people rotating off for example, Drew's been active for quite some time and now he's rotated off. How do you identify people that can come in and work their way up. I think the answer that I think by and large, we look at the organizations. And we look at people that we've served with another organizations and committees and stuff. And what we do is we, if we think they're going to be a good fit. We ask them if they would be interested and if they would be interested and say no commitments yet we have to, you have to give us your resume, and then we run the resume past the, the executive. So that's one way which we do it. Do you have a list of people you're looking at who could be ready to come into the rotation come into the executive. Well I think that's going to be part of the membership committee or nominations and awards and not sure which committee, but we're trying to get a more Ontario is a big province so we're trying to identify people in each section so it's not all Toronto centric. So, and from there people will say well you know, does anybody know anything about this person are they any on any committees that sort of play. If I can just jump in as Sonya said one of the things is that we've all been with organized dentistry for quite a long time. And you know through that we've made contacts with other people on other executives and you know we know who we've worked with we know who who was sort of involved and we'll get get sort of get get involved in committees and do the work as somebody was just going to sit on the sidelines. And, you know, we actively go out and sort of ask our colleagues if they're interested like Sonya and Brenda and myself are meeting up with an individual next week who I work with all three of us have worked with that at another executive and sort of invited them to say come you know let's talk this and let's let's introduce you to the ACD. So these are people we know that are going to do the work we're not just going to sit on the sidelines so I think that's one of the things we we select leaders. It sounds like even once you've identified somebody that you think is going to be good it sounds like you have a mentorship process going on Brenda described how Sonya mentored her to be edited. Yes, and actually, when you have a mentorship program. It really helps for the person being mentored to build their confidence in the position that they're holding. And, you know, the way Sonya was so great about mentoring me as the newsletter editor. The opportunity, the newsletter committee has an opportunity to mentor a new person moving forward that's going to eventually assume the position as newsletter editor, so that we're not dropping somebody into position where they're like, you know, it might take too much of their volunteer time. If we help them, we, you know, give them names and lists and every detail that we can, we allow them to eventually take over that position and be successful. And that's what we want to have somebody in a position that's successful. Thank you. It's interesting that you, your leaders hang around because in some sections, I see them barely make it through their three or four year responsibility and then they head for the hills. And if I can just make a comment about that because I was really thinking about it, why have I been around so long, and it's, first of all, Sonya Sanita and I were great friends from another organization. So we are friends. We were friends before we started together with ACD, but since joining the ACD on the line, I had the opportunity to work and be mentored also by Bonnie Chandler. So then Bonnie and I became friends, the same with Wayne and Paul. So we've all had an opportunity to become friends by working together so it's not just that we're volunteers doing some work that we feel we must. We've also become very good friends. So it's a good working relationship but on a very, very friendly basis. So I've known your section for seven years I believe since 2015. And there's been some fantastic leaders, some of whom we've lost. There's one in particular that I've always felt was like the godfather of your whole section. Jack McClister. Talk about Jack McClister and how he brought people in, mentored people. Well, I can certainly say a few words, Dick, thank you very much. Jack was a very close friend of mine. And for decades of course, and being practicing in London together and we talked together at the university for decades as well. So, Jack was always an advocate for organized dentistry. And along the way, he would just say to me, I, here's something I think you would like to do. As a matter of fact, I think you would really like to do this. Give this a thought. There were committees on the ODA and there were, you know, being a counselor with the ODA. And of course, along the way, I'm pretty sure that he nominated me for a CD and once I was became a fellow, then he directed me to come to the meeting, the annual general meeting and of course I knew a lot of people and he got me interested and then moving towards coming on to the executive. So he was, he was really a great person to facilitate the movement of people by getting to the organization and see whether they, if they might fit somewhere. And but he was always so positive in his leadership and so convincing. So he did target people, I know that there's, there's other people in other positions that he did target and he got moving along. For example, Brock Nicolucci is basically he calls Jack his, his uncle, I think he's his godfather actually, and Jack moved him right along and now he is President-elect of the Ontario Dental Association. So his, his influence is still being strongly felt everywhere and Brock is an ACD fellow of course. So close to Jackson involvement, he didn't just do a job and then and then walk away as you say, Dick, he, he went on to do great things with Spia at Western, and he really supported that group and got them moving. He attended every function. You know, the last function he attended was just before he passed and before COVID would not allow in person meetings and I took him. And he was sick, but he went and he stayed. So an extraordinary man. And we benefit and we're still going to benefit for years to come because of his deep down, you know, influence and reaching into, you know, talking with people, and it's going to come right into the next five years, the Spia graduates, because he, he was integral part of their understanding of organized dentistry and ACD. And so I think what else can I say, good friend he's gone too soon. When we talk about leadership in Ontario. And this is for for all of the executive. Give us a little idea of the of how your executive is made up. How often you communicate what you communicate about to keep Ontario running. Well there's a there's a lot in the answer to that question. We certainly have a strong executive where everybody is participating. And they're focusing on one area or the other, but everybody helps. So I think when we talk about our Education Committee, we have Sonya taking that on and she has three or four board people and executive people on the committee and the same thing with newsletter. There's a collaboration there, and it's moving on now to incorporate another person to mentor for for next year. So we're meeting once a month, we have an agenda and we hit the highlights. And I basically try as chair this year to create an agenda that's going to be a working document, but I also ask for input to make sure that everybody's ideas are brought forward. And sometimes things come up and I get an email the night before the week before and say this is important to think we put this in. And of course we managed to do that. And I think we can meet the meetings to an hour and hour and a half, and it's working, you can get a lot established. And I think the reason we can be so efficient is that a lot of our work. And a lot of our questions we ask each other beforehand than an email here and email there and things get sorted out. And there is a great building of ideas and reference material and making a decision after that becomes fairly straightforward. Our board meetings aren't strictly working on agenda items that we haven't talked about before we're coming in with a good knowledge base, and we're coming in with a good understanding of how people feel and their ideas. And it makes it so much clearer and so much better. People are very attentive to supporting between meetings and because there's so many details and when the details are hammered out the meetings flow easier and decisions come easier. I find it interesting that you meet once a month. I don't know of any other sections that communicate that frequently and apparently for Ontario, it's led to your success and the leadership that you maintain. So your monthly meetings are very fruitful. They are indeed. And they're very enjoyable. We have fun meetings. So that's, that's the other thing we are basically good friends we haven't met in person for, you know, a dog's age but we are good friends and we respect each other and meeting once a month for a short meeting is actually a highlight to do that. We do have a yearly agenda and we were moving on things but actually right now we're expanding because we're looking at so much more with educational webinars and different offerings to our membership to the Regency. I'm coming up on February 24 with Dr. Ola Platska. And I think these are going to be really showcasing ACD through the Ontario section with what the educational offerings we are going to have. We're going to be quite delighted the educational committee has just been gung-ho. We have started with zero and now we have a list as long as your arm of speakers and speakers that have consented to speak. And we're sliding into time frames. It's just amazing what can be done. The newsletter always comes together. That's a lot of hard work. Just working on AGM nominations. There's a lot of things that you have to do year round. It's easier than all of a sudden being behind the eight ball. The agenda flows. I'm curious. There are sections that have maybe three officers and no committees. But this evening, I've heard each one of you has talked about this committee or that committee. Could you kind of tick off by memory the committees that you have? Well, we have a nominating committee. Larry Pulver is the chair. Sonya Sluuta is the chair of education. We have Brenda is in with the editor of the newsletter and she is looking at taking on a membership portfolio. Because we think that is such a critical part of our organization. I don't know if I missed anything there. What else we got going. We're also going to be working on a website committee, like just to keep maintain our website in order to keep it up to date and relevant to our fellows. Yeah, so don't look at it right now. We also have sponsorship committee. And I wanted to just say too that, you know, our executive meetings can be more streamlined because we do a lot of the committee work at the committee level now. So that a lot of we hash out a lot of the committee work with a smaller group and then Paul asked us to forward a report so then the committee chair would would present their report on whatever whether it's the newsletter sponsorship, and it keeps everything hopping on our executive meeting. I think that the reports also give us an opportunity to to make sure we're all on the same page. No one's going wrong. And so even though at the committee we're very familiar with what we're doing by bringing it by bringing our reports before we ever have a meeting. We have a chance to read the report, think about what's said, but also so that we're all mentally marching forward. I can see you have a great team right now. But that doesn't completely explain to me how it is that you had a great team, seven years ago or 15 years ago. Is there a structure or spirit that's added to your consistency. I want to speak to that. When we, when I was on the executive way back. We had Jack McClister, we had drew. We had some wonderful people on the executive. And I find that over the years, it just keeps getting better. And I think that the more active, more, more people are workers and, and they think ahead as to what could happen, what would happen and how we can improve our chapter. So I think it started off where maybe we had, I remember when Brian Chapnick asked me to come on the line and I was accepted. We only had maybe four or five meetings a year. And then it became each presidency had included some additional things, and that's I think how we got here. It just kept growing and snowballing in a very positive way. Bonnie you were chair. Four years ago, I think. I believe so. I've seen a lot of sections where the chair hung around for about two months and then they took off for the hills when they were done. So why are you hanging on. Well, I think because they, they needed the treasurer. And they wanted the treasurer to, to have at least a three year term. So I am, Paul, can I say it. I'm stepping down at the end of this at the AGM. I feel we need to give some fresh blood, for sure. I really enjoyed being on this executive. I've made some wonderful friends that I can see will be lifelong friends. And I just think it's the most wonderful experience. There's some things this evening that stick out to me. You have frequent meetings. I mean that by having a meeting more often. It doesn't have to be as long or as intensive, and you end up getting more things done. You have lots of committees. And you have a very large board, lots of leadership involved. It translates to distributing responsibilities in less burnout I see some sections where one or two people seem to do all the work. And they just, they get burned out and they leave as soon as they can. And I also see a history of long service, even though, well Bonnie's a good example. Often we see a pattern of somebody serves as secretary of treasure for two or three years then they earn the right to, to move up and become chair. Bonnie's done the reverse. She served her time and she could have left but she stayed on and took on what I think is the one of the less desirable jobs that I applaud you. Does anybody else have any comments about your dick we're still looking for the money. You mean this is a paid performance. No, no, from the treasure, you know, she's had it for three years and we're still looking for it. Well, you shouldn't let her leave. We don't plan to we're going to put her on a committee somewhere. And she has to mentor the next person was she's too good to let go that's for sure. Absolutely. You know, Dick, one of the things I think you realize and I've said is the American College of dentist is probably one of the best kept secrets and dentistry. Has Ontario been able to make a presence within the ODA. Does your typical Ontario dentist know what the American College of dentist does, or is, and are, do you have a footprint in the ODA annual meeting. To that I don't know that everybody knows who we are and at present. However, we're addressing that for next year by really having almost every month, other than the summer months when everybody's at the cloud or to golfing. We're continuing education, and we've had for several years, sponsor a speaker who speaks either on ethics or a professionalism at the. It's called the winter clinic but it's a it's a large meeting. And the ODA to this point hasn't asked us but one of our goals as the continuing education program is to get an ethics person speaking where we're going to sponsor ethics person at the ASM. Although they that won't happen for at least three years because they actually booked three years in advance. So, from my perspective, if we want to get our foot point out that we're really trying to do that through continuing education. And I think it makes all the dentists sit up and going wait a minute, I know what you guys are doing. I think the other avenue, Dick is the fact that we have to extremely strong and active SPIA organizations and the students are active within their schools. And the people that know what they're doing know that it's associated with the American College. They certainly have a broad range of their own continuing education functions. You know, they have people on faculty that that know of them that are ACD fellows, for example, Dean Haas is an ACT member and Bertha Garcia director at Shulik Dentistry is an honorary member as of last year. So, through sprinkled throughout the faculties, and certainly a heavy number of our members are ODA executive members. So, we still have to light that fire as Sonya was saying we have to get on the list and be advertised a bit better as promoting with organizations are continuing education I think that is going to bring more light but certainly through white coat ceremonies and and such. The word is out, but we could do better. And I think we still will. We all have missed, I think an important answer to many of the questions that have been discussed tonight. Unlike many of our organizations which are transactional American College of Dentist is a mission based organization, which focuses all of us on the same point. We're all here for the same reason. And we all derive energy from working towards enhancing excellence leadership ethics and professionalism. Well, much due to the genuine dedication and collegiality that you have, you've all become my good friends over the years, you've inspired us tonight. And I want to thank you for your outstanding contributions in the past tonight in the future. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you very much. I appreciate the invitation and all of us here at Ontario section that surely thought this was a real privilege to be invited.