By Dr. Carol Morrow, CDA President
From the Spring 2018 Journal of the Colorado Dental Association
On June 8, I will end my term as president of the Colorado Dental Association in beautiful Crested Butte, Colo. I have had many people ask me why I chose a place “so far away” to have this annual meeting. Aside from it being truly one of the last great mountain towns of Colorado, Crested Butte holds a special place in my heart.
I have been to 36 CDA annual sessions. Several of them stick out in my mind: the Durango meeting at Tamarron, the Steamboat meeting when I ended up having beers with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone (true story), and the Snowmass Village meeting when my dad and I spoke against each other on the CDA house floor regarding association governance. I have been thinking about where I would like to have “my” meeting for years, and there was never much of a question where it would be. Crested Butte represents me in many ways—I am a small town girl who enjoys the perks of the city. I love to eat amazing food, but I HATE traffic and paying for parking. I love people, just not all the people in one place. And the very first Annual Session I remember was in Crested Butte in the ’80s.
I have been lucky enough to visit “the Butte” a couple times this year and each time, the staff at The Elevation Hotel and The Lodge have bent over backwards for me. They are genuinely happy that I am there and treat me like family, which makes this country girl very happy. If you haven’t been to this town, I highly recommend it. It’s a community were people leave their bikes out at night and still believe in the value of neighbors. That said, you can also enjoy a night out on the “town” with fantastic food, live music and atmosphere on the main drag, Elk avenue.
Did I mention that I have the perfect excuse for you to visit Crested Butte? Come to the CDA Annual Session! The House of Delegates will have keynote speaker Austin Eubanks—a Columbine shooting survivor and recovering addict. He is such a powerful speaker and you really won’t want to miss it. We are also going to see many different resolutions brought to our House of Delegates from our Governance Taskforce. Our House of Delegates right now sits as the second largest house in the country, and most CDA component societies struggle to fill their delegate positions. There are so many ways to make our house more productive and there will be many resolutions brought forward to help make that happen this year.
After the business of the house on Friday, we’ll have a CDA Foundation Biergarten complete with great beer to try and food to eat. And for the new dentists at the meeting, the NDC after party will follow just a couple steps away.
On Saturday, we’re hosting nationally known speakers so you can earn CE and enhance your dental knowledge. Be sure to check out this lineup:
- Burnout and Stress in Dentistry: Are They Inevitable? (Speaker: Bill Claytor, D.D.S.)
- Changing Family Dynamics: The Influence of Society and Parenting Styles on Behavior Guidance (Speaker: Clarice Law, D.M.D.)
- Clinical Pearls for Treating Older Patients: Techniques for the Entire Dental Team (Speaker: Randy Huffines, D.D.S.)
- Lunch and Learn: More Than an X-ray: Screening Beyond Teeth
- Managing Space Issues in the Developing Dentition (Speaker: Clarice Law, D.M.D.)
- Simplifying the Medically Complex Patient (Speaker: Randy Huffines, D.D.S.)
The Colorado Academy of Pediatric Dentistry is having their meeting and speakers in conjunction with the CDA Annual Session this year. Hopefully this will be a trend with other specialty societies in the future.
I can’t believe that this year is already coming to a close. I have been lucky to meet so many of you during my officer visitations and I am excited for where dentistry is heading. I hope to see all of you in Crested Butte so we can catch-up over a beer garden beer or some fresh mountain air during the Saturday 5K Fun Run/Walk. Register today.