carried the ball forward, organizing regular meetings often devoted to a specific topic. It quickly became clear that the knowledge and ideas being exchanged would be helpful to any dentist, not just ones attending our local meetings, and that a website would be the best way to disseminate the information and experiences as well as get others involved.
We began the website shortly thereafter, with Wasatch Web Services as our webmaster. The site continues to expand and we look forward to active participation by our members either by submitting articles or exchanging ideas on the forum.
In addition to the website, the ARD sponsors an annual meeting, usually in the Fall, with nationally known speakers. The first meeting was held in Portsmouth, NH in September 2009 and hosted John Nelson. Fall 2010 found us in Manchester, NH hosting Steve Vernon We were also privileged to have several ARD members speak to the group as well.
Nationally recognized speakers and consultants are taking notice of our organization. Bud Ham is one of our website contributors and sends informative and entertaining articles for our members. Please contact us if you are interested in writing an article or even a regular column for our contributors section!
Don and Neil continue to be students of the retirement process and have listed on the ARD site several books that have been helpful in developing their visions for the future. We hope dentists from around the country can join us!
RATIONALE
Sharing experiences. Exploring opportunities.The increasing number of retiring dentists has begun. With greater time availability more and more of us will seek ways to enhance our lives and the lives of others as we envision and create a new future.
Countless opportunities await, and enormous resources exist in our population of transitioning dentists.
We have been blessed by a profession that has provided freedom, experiences, and skills unique in the world. We also are particularly qualified to provide a significant health service.
How do we make the most of these next years? What’s the best way to live with joy and enrichment? How do we balance leisure, travel, finances, health, and hobbies or other interests? Can we make a difference in the world? These questions are answered differently by each of us.
By utilizing the skills and experience of mature dentists we have the potential for creating a future for ourselves and others far beyond that which we could do individually.
This involves an organization and network that can connect members to each other and opportunities local and world-wide.
ORGANIZATION
This Association is composed of individuals and groups of dentists. Members can utilize this website for sharing experiences and exploring opportunities based on our TOPICS. These topics are dynamic and can be expanded as needed. Membership is restricted to dentists who are or have been licensed and those non-dentist contributors who are intimately involved in dentistry.
Small local groups (6-14 dentists) meet informally to discuss a prearranged topic and have a light dinner like pizza and beverage. Each participant chips in for the dinner that may be around $8-$15. The meeting place is often an office conference room or other facility that doesn't charge for use of the space. Usually, but not necessarily, a local expert is invited to facilitate the discussion. The speaker is not paid. However, we have also found that often the speaker may generate business from the presentation. It is strongly recommended that the speaker is not "selling" anything. This format has worked well for our first group in the Seacoast of New Hampshire.
There should be one coordinator for the group, and it is helpful for that person to take notes and summarize the meeting for the members. This summary would be distributed to the members via e-mail or this site.