Dear Colleagues,
Exciting things are happening at Temple Orthodontics and in our Alumni Society as well! As your President, I would like to list a few of them and hope that this brief list will evoke pride in our accomplishments and awareness of our intentions. Ultimately, I pray this results in greater involvement in the affairs of the Society. We need you.
- We now actively participate in the Graduation Ceremony each autumn. In addition to partially subsidizing this affair, the officers present our new members with a plaque and officially welcome them into our society. This is now referred to as the Graduation/Induction Ceremony. Biennial society meetings will return to the late February/early March time of the year. We plan on having an expert estate planner/ financial background speaker to benefit each resident and also have an appeal for the mid and late career doctor/spouse.
- A new interactive web site has been developed which will serve as the primary communication tool among our members and with the Department. You may be receiving your last Newsletter soon. A HUGE thank you to Dr. Anthony Furino for his involvement in the development of this equally huge undertaking.
- Our students are among the best! I hear this from applicants, faculty and colleagues. Something must be attracting this caliber of student to apply.
- A new state of the art facility will soon be underway enabling our students to practice in the forefront of technology.
- The officers of the Society are energetic and committed to improving the role we play. They hope the membership will be infected with this energy and become more active in the affairs of the group.
- The Coben Foundation will see new life as well. Joe Brogan will share his plans with the Society in our new interactive web site.
- We plan to support our students pursuit of education outside of Temple by providing stipends to attend faculty approved courses e.g. AAO.
- A reception is planned during the AAO meeting in San Francisco. If you plan on attending, jot me a note at braces@drhiller.com so the proper size room can be reserved.
I invite all graduates of Temple Orthodontics to play a role in making our Department one of the pre-eminent departments in America. It won’t and doesn’t happen overnight. It will happen if we continue to move ahead, one step at a time, united in a common cause. Let the first step be the support of the Society by paying our annual dues!
My personal invitation is extended to each of you to attend the reception in San Francisco and our next meeting in March 2006! In the meanwhile, any suggestions you may have are always welcome. I would love to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Dennis C. Hiller DDS MSD ‘83
Dear Colleagues,
Join me at The Four Seasons in Philadelphia this March for our biennial meeting. In addition to a highly informational presentation by Dr. Tom Zigler, this is the perfect opportunity to hear first-hand about the status of our department from Dr. Tunguay; meet the future of our beloved specialty and share a laugh or two with classmates. It promises to be a memorable weekend.
You may be interested to know that we will be inducting Dr. Robert Bray into the Honorary Membership category at our Friday luncheon. Those of you who know our future AAO President will want to attend to honor this outstanding member of our faculty.
A huge thank you is extended to Drs. Ross Segal and Chris Smedley who have handled the myriad of arrangements for this meeting. After a hiatus from the Four Seasons, we are happy they have changed their management decision and agreed to host us again. I never could understand how they could resist such an interesting and attractive group.
The three of us attended the Graduation/Induction Ceremony this past October at the Union League. New graduates were given mantle clocks to welcome them into the Society. The ceremony was thoroughly enjoyable, as always.
A full agenda will be presented at the ever-popular business meeting. I invite all members to attend to insure this society will continue to grow and prosper.
Finally, have you visited the website yet? Please take a moment to do so. Dr. Anthony Furino, whom I have known these past 23 years, has done an excellent job in creating and managing a very professional site.
I look forward to seeing old faces and meeting new ones in March. Hope you will too.
Sincerely,
Dennis C. Hiller DDS MSD ‘83
Dear Fellow Alumnus,
Our recent meeting was a great time to share some memories with old friends and meet some new ones. Our common bond created a friendly and collegial rapport. The speaker, Dr. Tom Zigler, was very well received and all attendees left with a bit more information than when they had arrived. Thank you to Unitek for providing his honorarium.
Some history at this meeting was made as well. Dr. Gene Coben was installed as our first Honorary Member. Currently undergoing chemotherapy, he was unable to attend but was represented by his lovely wife, Rhoda, the first lady of Temple Orthodontics, and their daughter, Amy. Rhoda read the following letter on his behalf, “Greetings to all my friends of the Temple Orthodontic Alumni Society. I wish I could be with you today for it would give me no greater pleasure----to be with my former students, friends and guests.
As you know, I have received many non-political national awards in my career including the singular JARABACK Award, the so-called “Nobel prize” of our profession---for work which I tried to share with you for many years.
But the best anyone could hope for is to be honored as an honorary member of the Temple Orthodontic Alumni Society---to be recognized by former students and peers by appointing me as one of their own, is truly a crowning gift, one which I will always hold close to me heart.
I am sorry I can not be with you today, to greet you and thank you all in person. With God’s help and modern medicine, I hope to be at your next meeting. I wish you all much success in your endeavors. God bless you all.
“
I am sure Gene would appreciate your thoughts and encouragement. His address is: 956 Coates Road, Meadow Brook, PA 19046
Dr. Bob Bray was also inducted as an Honorary Member. Both received plaques and thunderous applause for their dedication to the advancement of our program.
We were delighted to have Dr. Tunguay address us with a “State of the Department” update, which included plans for the new clinic in 2008.
2008, the 50th anniversary of the founding of Temple Orthodontics, is a landmark that needs to be celebrated. As such, we hope to have a meeting as memorable as the occasion. We are asking every alumnus to present and spouses to attend. Tentatively, this meeting is set for the 2nd weekend of March 2008 to coincide with the Philadelphia Flower Show and the opening of the new clinic. We will inform MASO so as not to have a conflict occur.
Please return the enclosed postcard indicating your choice of type of presentation and time needed. In order to obtain a speaker if an insufficient number of alums present, we need to know by the date indicated. We are not asking you for a title, just a commitment. Speaking of which, please be sure your dues are paid. Among other things, they are used to fund the Alumni Reception at the AAO in Las Vegas. Only dues paying members will be admitted to the reception. Sadly, less than half have submitted their dues from the January billing.
In the hope to have the new clinic named after Dr. Coben, we ask both those who have pledged and those who plan to pledge to indicate this with Dick Albright and/or Bill Viechnicki who are heading the fundraiser.
See you in Las Vegas!
Dennis Hiller DDS MSD '83
