Page 4 - SPRING 2016

From the President

By James R. Keenan, DDS, MS, MAGD completed dental school, perhaps along with a residency, as an
“achievement.” Even practitioners who have many years of expe-
A Column About Nothing rience may believe that there is nothing more to achieve.
By the time that this GP is published, I will Last year, while I was attending one of the dean’s lectures during
have been installed as the President of the lunch, Dean Charles Bertolami of NYU College of Dentistry made
NYSAGD for 2017, but my installation reference to the students’ expectations of being “transformed” by
will have missed a significant audience. completing dental school. Undoubtedly, the dental graduates have
Therefore, I believe I should express my achieved something by completing their dental studies, however
expectations of the AGD, and the there is potential to achieve more. Despite being 36-years-old, mar-
NYSAGD in particular, not just for this ried, and the father of a five-year-old by the time I graduated, I was
upcoming year, but for the foreseeable fortunate to realize that there was more to achieve in dentistry. I
future. There is no denying that we would have been a member of the AGD dating back to my first year in
like to see an increase in membership, but dental school. My GPR director, Dr. Leonard Schiffman, encour-
equally important, if not more, is the diversity of our new mem- aged us to pursue Fellowship since we would be awarded 300 hours
bers and their active participation in the events, programs, and of CE from our GPR alone. I would eventually become a Fellow,
leadership opportunities within the AGD and its constituents. Master (of my domain, keeping with the Seinfeld references), and
a Lifelong Learning and Service Recognition award recipient and I
In my previous columns in the GP, I made references to movies, am still driven to continue on a path of achievement.
but in this instance I will be making reference to one of the great-
est sitcoms in U.S. television history, Seinfeld. As most Seinfeld I do not see any significant representation of the new generation of
fans will remember, Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza want to dentists participating in organized dentistry or attending CE pro-
present the idea of “a show about nothing” to the producers at grams, “not that there is anything wrong with it.” Actually, there is
NBC. Having limited TV viewing time over the last 15 years, the something wrong with it. I would like to see dental schools and res-
reruns of Seinfeld on late night TV not only have produced many idency programs encourage students and residents, respectively, to
laughs, but oddly have inspired my speech and my column. continue to achieve in their profession, by promoting involvement
Hence, “A Column About Nothing.” in dental organizations and pursuing lifelong learning. Additionally,
I would like to see long-standing members, especially those who are
My reference from the sitcom comes from the pilot episode, Fellows and Masters, serve as mentors for the newest generation of
“Pilot”, which aired in 1989. At its outset, the sitcom was actual- dentists. I would hope that everyone sees active membership in a
ly entitled “The Seinfeld Chronicles” and eventually was simply dental organization, such as the Academy of General Dentistry and
known as “Seinfeld.” In the pilot episode, Jerry and George are in the pursuit of lifelong learning, not as an expense, but as an invest-
a laundromat waiting for Jerry’s clothes to dry. As George is ment that benefits you, the dentist, our profession, and the dental
growing impatient with the waiting, he states that Jerry is community that we serve.
“overdrying” his clothes. Jerry responds by saying, “You cannot
overwet, so you cannot overdry.” In actuality, Seinfeld was not really a show about nothing, and
hopefully this is not A Column About Nothing. I remind my fel-
Expanding on this idea of overdoing something, I considered the low New York dentists that the motto of New York is the Latin
term “achievement.” In my opinion, you cannot “overachieve.” word “Excelsior” which translates to “ever upward” or “still high-
When you consider the number of years and the money spent on er”. Individually and collectively, let’s adhere to this motto as we
education, along with the stress, anxiety, and sacrifices to get you reach new heights. I look forward to the journey with you this
where you are, it is understandable for one to consider having year and in years to come.

From the President-Elect

By Brian Ciporin, DDS sure up to their level of ability and maintain their impact and
effectiveness.
The Two “H” Words
I am humbled by the confidence and encouragement that the
As I wait in anticipation as president-elect board of trustees has shown me. Prior to this, I served as dental
of The New York State Academy of education chair for 8.5 years. I am grateful to the past chairs for
General Dentistry for my term as president their guidance, advice, and support. I recently turned the chair
to arrive, several thoughts come to mind. over to an outstanding person who has my full support and confi-
These being the two “H” words. Those dence.
words are “honor” and “humble.” I am
honored that an average person such as Next my thoughts are about the energy, time, and commitment that
myself could be considered to serve as an organization needs to operate efficiently. We are fortunate to
president of this superb organization. The have a group of the most capable people in dentistry today on our
AGD is the finest organization in the world board. I hope that this ability will diffuse to me during my term.
for academics in general dentistry.
Finally, I think about that old saying, “You are judged by the com-
Our past presidents are all outstanding individuals. They are top- pany that you keep”. There is no better company to keep than the
notch in ability, intellect, probity, and work ethic. I hope to mea- New York State AGD. I believe that I will be judged well.
www.nysagd.org | Spring 2017 | GP 4