AADA Conference 2009- Find the Shoe that Fits

The AADA Leadership Conference, which is now titled AADA Conference, was held in Baltimore the last weekend in March (26-28). Perhaps  “Leadership” was dropped from the title to encourage participation from any member of the Alliance who wants to attend and become fully  involved whether holding a leadership position or not. The theme of 
 the Conference was “Find the Shoe that Fits,” encouraging us to  volunteer in our particular area of interest to further promote AADA. An optional tour to Washington DC was offered on Wednesday and a busload of participants took advantage of a great historical opportunity and beautiful spring weather. Thursday included an optional tour of the historic city of Baltimore. Even though the day was drizzly, we enjoyed many sites including the Inner Harbor, Shakespeare Street, and Fort McHenry, home of the “Star Spangled Banner”. A welcome event kicked off the Conference Thursday evening, which then continued jam-packed with a legislative breakfast, membership luncheons, and dental health meetings until late Saturday night concluding with the Gala. The Well Being session speaker was Sheryl Roush whose “Sparkle-Tude” presentation displayed how our attitudes really do make a difference in our lives and showed us that laughter is imperative to our well being. Two recipients from Utah,  Sue Ryser and Marisa Wall, were honored as Beulah K. Spencer winners at the Spencer luncheon on Saturday. Baltimore is home to the National Museum of Dentistry housing George Washington’s choppers (they’re not made of wood after all!) along with several interactive exhibits. The two ladies from Georgia, Shari Carter and Mary Percy, who were the Conference co-chairs for gifts and favors, did an outstanding job. Each event, luncheon, and dinner was beautifully  decorated and each attendee came home with a bag full of wonderful gifts and memories. The "Georgia girls" will also be the Conference co-chairs for 2010, and they promised to outdo this one – put AADA Conference 2010 (late April) in your plans.