2006 OHA Gala Breaks Attendance/Earnings Records
Oral Health America’s 2006 Gala and Benefit attracted more attendees and raised more money than any event in the organization’s history. For sixteen years, Oral Health America (OHA) has ushered in the Chicago Mid-Winter . . .
2006 OHA GALA BREAKS ATTENDANCE/EARNINGS RECORDS
CHICAGO, IL: June 8, 2006 Oral Health America’s 2006 Gala and Benefit attracted more attendees and raised more money than any event in the organization’s history. For sixteen years, Oral Health America (OHA) has ushered in the Chicago Mid-Winter Dental Meeting with its annual Gala, and this year’s festivities on February 23 were truly spectacular. More than 800 guests representing every aspect of the dental profession filled the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier to enjoy a delightful evening of dining and dancing, meeting old friends, and making new contacts.
One of the hallmarks of this year’s Gala was the first-time presence of many groups, companies, and organizations. These included members of every aspect of the profession, manufacturers, distributors, advertisers, and consultants. This mix of firms with long-standing commitments to the dental profession and newcomers to the industry added to the evening’s conversations as new perspectives were brought to on-going concerns. And while the Gala has always had an international guest list, this year OHA welcomed for the first time two Russian visitors.
Not only was this year’s Gala the biggest in OHA’s history, it was also the most profitable. As a result of the generosity of attendees, advertisers, and underwriters, OHA received an additional $150,000 to invest in outreach efforts such as Smiles Across America and to develop further initiatives in efforts to achieve dental health parity.
OHA extends special thanks to Dr. Mary Hayes, Gala Committee Chair (President, Pediatric Health Associates), and all the other members of the Gala Committee: Margaret Cottrell (President, ConFirm Monitoring Systems, Inc.), Charles J. Dushman (President, Sonrisas Plan Dental), Angelika M. Goeppel (Director of Marketing Communications, KaVo America Corporation), Mildred Goldstein (President, Harry J. Bosworth Company), Pam Hemmen (Director, Patterson Technology Center at Patterson Dental), Tony Montemurro (Vice-President of Business Operations, Septodont, Inc.), Margaret Pagel (Vice-President of Operations, Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics), Dr. Keith Suchy (Drs. Sullivan and Suchy, Ltd. and past President of the Chicago Dental Society), and Anne Steinbock (Marketing Manager, Whip Mix Corporation) and Bernard J. Beazley, Chairman Emeritus.
Oral Health America is also grateful to the 2006 gala sponsors: Chicago Dental Society, Cadbury Adams, Ivoclar Vivadent, Delta Dental of Massachusetts, Americus Dental Labs, Heraeus Kulzer, Sullivan-Schein Dental, Argen, SciCan, Patterson Dental, DENTSPLY International, National Dentex Corporation, 1-800-DENTIST, GC America, Aetna, GlaxoSmithKline, Aetna, Sunstar Butler, Dale Dental, OraPharma, Sonicare, VizilitePlus, and Mr. and Mrs. Bernard J. Beazley. Sakaduski Marketing Solutions handled the publicity for the event on a pro bono basis.
Oral Health America is the nation’s premier independent advocacy organization dedicated to improving oral health. Find out more at www.oralhealthamerica.org, and mark your calendar for next year’s annual gala and benefit – February 22, 2007.
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