Juliette Southard had a dream of an organization that would promote educational training opportunities, increase efficiency, and elevate the status of dental assistants to respected and valued members of the dental team. We have made tremendous progress since the days of the unskilled, untrained office assistants of 1924. Nebraska holds the honor of having the first state Dental Assisting Association, which was started in 1917. Juliette’s vision wasn’t just local or state-focused but national in scope.

In November 1924, the first ADAA meeting was held in Dallas, Texas. At this meeting, five accredited delegates and 18 dental assistants were present. They adopted the constitution and bylaws, elected officers, and named Juliette Southard as President. She was officially installed as the first President of ADAA on November 9, 1924.

How fitting that we have the privilege of celebrating this momentous occasion in person in Dallas once again. Ronda Lane will be our 100th president, marking a century of progress. This upcoming meeting has been a long time coming, especially since our last in-person meeting was in San Antonio, Texas, in 2014. I hope many of you can make plans to attend. Come experience the excitement, with nationally known guest speakers, vendors, and your ADAA family. We also extend our gratitude to Pacific Dental Services for providing the venue at their education center.

My dream for this meeting started with ADAA Past President Betty Fox. It has evolved over time, and the hard work behind making it a reality belongs to many dedicated individuals. You can find the details of this event on our new website under the Calendar in the Education and Events section. Please make sure to set up your account on our new database and website to register, if you haven’t done so already. The initial email announcement was distributed the week of August 12, with multiple reminders following. If you haven’t seen the announcement, please set up your account or log in to ensure your email on file is correct. Be sure to mark info@adaausa.org as a trusted sender so the announcements don’t end up in your junk or spam folder.

The ADAA is the only professional organization for dental assistants, so come and celebrate your valued role within the dental team. I look forward to seeing each of you in Dallas!

Sincerely,
Lisa Hernandez, MEd, CDA, RDA, FAAA
President, American Dental Assistants Association