Dentists may nominate colleagues or themselves for the positions of Wisconsin Dental Association president-elect, vice president and speaker of the house. Each serves for one year and the speaker’s term can be renewed indefinitely.
Submit candidates’ names by June 1 to the Nominating Committee (see below). The committee will present its slate of candidates to the WDA House of Delegates when it meets Nov. 3 – 4, 2017 in Stevens Point. Nominations will also be accepted from the House floor at that time.
President-elect and vice president
The president-elect serves for one year before automatically advancing to the presidency. Duties include hosting Legislative Day and working with WDA staff and the Michigan Dental Association delegation chair to coordinate caucus meetings for the American Dental Association’s 9th District. The vice president also serves for one year. The president, president-elect and vice president work closely together to represent the dental profession in meetings with government officials and state legislators. These three officers support one another in serving as WDA spokespersons with the media and other organizations.
Speaker of the House
Working with staff, the speaker sets the WDA House of Delegates’ agenda. He or she presides overall House meetings, performing duties according to parliamentary procedure and guiding the Reference Committee when necessary with resolution wording and procedures. He or she also serves as an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees. The Speaker of the House is elected for a one-year term that can be renewed indefinitely.
Contact Executive Director Mark Paget at 800-234-4515 (toll-free, direct) or [email protected] with questions.
Dr. Dave Clemens (Wisconsin Dells)
- How will your experience serving in other roles help you in this role as the Wisconsin Dental Association president?
My daughter, Nicki, and son-in-law, Jeremy, both work with me. My daughter, Karin, is at Marquette University School of Dentistry. This is great motivation to keep our profession strong.
Twenty years in public health service provided varied experience in prisons, reservations, Alaska, Medicaid clinics and as the deputy chief dentist for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
I also have experience on task forces, committees and five years as a trustee. I was a delegate to the American Dental Association for 13 years.
- What issues do you believe will shape the future of the WDA and how will you address those issues?
Our biggest issue will be to fight an expected proposal to develop dental therapists within our state. This model has shown to be financially unsustainable without significant government funding. We will continue to provide value for dues for all members, which should help us grow in number.
- How will your experience serving in other roles help you in the role as president-elect?
The president-elect is essentially the president-in-training. Having served as a trustee representing Region 5, the southwest and south central part of our state for five years and vice president this year, I have become very comfortable with our association, its issues and its challenges. I bring one additional level of insight that not all past leaders have had and that is serving on our for-profit subsidiary board, the WDA Insurance and Services Corp. board. If you see fit, I am prepared and ready to serve as your voice and your president in 2019.
- What issues do you believe will shape the future of the WDA and how will you address those issues?
There are two challenges in our immediate future. How do we increase value to our members and how do we advocate for solutions to improve access to care?
The WDA will continue to serve our core member, owner dentists. The WDA has a program in the works that will save the average owner dentist real dollars every month! Stay tuned! Wisconsin has an access problem for the underserved. Wisconsin has one of the worst dental Medicaid environments in the country. Dentists did not create it, but dentists need to foster solutions or else outside entities WILL. Outside influence is already beginning.
Dr. Thomas Raimann (Hales Corners)
- How will your experience serving in other roles help you in this role as Wisconsin Dental Association vice president?
I have had experience in many areas of dentistry, private practice, education at Marquette University School of Dentistry and Milwaukee Area Technical College, public health and as a volunteer. This will
allow me to see issues in dentistry from many points of view to help make decisions that inform and help the public.
- What issues do you believe will shape the future of the WDA and how will you address those issues?
Dentistry is now in a good place. It is consistently rated as one of the best professions to be in. However, there are changes on the horizon that will affect the WDA. We are seeing more consolidation of practices and pressures from outside of dentistry. The WDA will need to be flexible to change to be relevant to future practitioners or decide to get smaller over time. This will be the big choice in the future. I want to be part of making that decision.
- Why do you want to be Wisconsin Dental Association speaker of the house for another term?
Participating in the decision making process is important. Better decisions are made with a transparent and fair process. I would like to remain for another term to manage the process efficiently, while also making the experience enjoyable. We may have some changes on the horizon for our profession from circumstances outside of our control. A member-driven organization works best with informed members. The House of Delegates is a great way to find out what’s happening, especially for our younger members. I hope to work with leaders to make sure everyone has the information they need to make good decisions.
- What do you expect to accomplish in a second term as speaker?
We struggle to find people to fill all the delegate and alternate positions. I hope to create enough interest that these are sought after positions. WDA is a better organization with a full delegation of well-informed members who are committed to serving for the benefit of the entire profession.
