In a 1927 article written for the Wisconsin Dental Review by Dr. W. I. McFarlane, he stressed the importance of organized dentistry. Dr. McFarlane explains, “The component society is the source from which the State Society receives its life and strength. Cooperation between the component societies is this sustaining force that keeps the breath of life in the state organization and without this vital factor the state society would soon disintegrate and perish.” The WDA has always understood the importance of involvement at every level of the dental society. Its impact shaping you as a dentist is immeasurable.
Component societies presidents and secretaries met with the state society officers on Dec. 16, 1925 in the Red Room of the Hotel Pfister
The American Dental Association passed a resolution “earnestly” recommending state societies organize societies at the county level. From this point, the Wisconsin Dental Society started to host meetings at the local level for educational, recreational and social events, including president’s visits. “Component Society News” reports from local officers were included our journal since the beginning to share local announcements and meeting recaps. None of this was to be confused with “Sports of all Sorts” featuring members’ golf accolades and fishing adventures on previous pages. However, there is no doubt these were hot topics during the social hour.
Over the course of time, transportation, communication and meeting styles evolved drastically but what has always stayed at the core was the level of volunteerism at the local level. The WDA is one of the only state associations that operates on strictly volunteer local dental society officers. In 2009, the WDA accepted the recommendation by a task force to fund a staff position, the Component Relations Coordinator, to better support these volunteers. The position was designed to streamline processes by providing administrative support to all local dental societies and serve as their liaison to the WDA.
Here we are after 113 years continuing to encourage members to stay involved at the local level and for the local dental societies to provide those opportunities for practice management support, camaraderie, education and advocacy. Every single component has a different personality and that is reflective of your local culture and leadership. Your local officers are tasked with providing those opportunities to best serve your needs as a dental professional in your own community.
If you have new ideas for meetings, CE topics or have other suggestions for your component, contact your component president, region trustee or myself. Contact information for your local officers and trustee(s) can be found here.
