A Short History of the Hamilton Academy of Dentistry
In 1869 the Hamilton District Dental Society (the predecessor of the Hamilton Academy of Dentistry) was founded by Dr. C.S. Chittenden. He and Dr. D.A. Bogart, also from Hamilton, were among the founders of Ontario Dental Association, which was established in 1867. Dr. Chittenden was the first to present a table clinic at the inaugural ODA convention held in Belleville in 1869. His topic was "the proper way to fill a cavity".
Since the HAD's founding, eight members of the Academy have become presidents of the ODA, including Dr. David Somer, Dr. Larry Levin and Dr. Victor Kutcher. Many of our members have also served as ODA governors, including the Chairman of the Board of the ODA from 1969 to 1996, Dr. Nick Mancini.
Other highlights include the formation in 1931 of the Hamilton Dental Nurses and Assistants Association, which is still in active service. As well, public health service began in the 1930's and included the first Dental Public Health Day. During the Depression years, dental services were provided at no cost to the City of Hamilton to those receiving public assistance.
In 1951, the HAD Ladies Auxiliary was formed and was active in raising funds for projects such as the purchase of dental equipment for hospitals, assisting dental students from the area, and supporting the Canadian Fund for Dental Education.
As with most dental societies during their formative years, the HAD was primarily a study and social group. As the HAD grew to about two hundred members the role of the Academy changed. Presently, dinner meetings are held once per month from September through April. Most meetings include announcements on matters relating to the profession, as well as after-dinner speakers featuring presentations on various aspects of dentistry.
On an annual basis, a full day lecture (the Dr. George Scott Seminar) is held for professional development. A newsletter is published regularly to keep members informed about Academy events and local, provincial and national issues relating to dentistry. Social events may include golf and ski days, and an day at Stratford, with occasional continuing education trips.
The HAD has also been involved in many educational and community projects. One of the most successful and significant activities was our involvement with the Hamilton Academy of Medicine and other organizations and individuals to bring fluoridation to the Hamilton municipal water supply. Between 1952 and 1969 Dr. Archie Leckie, a Past President of the HAD, successfully coordinated the Academy's involvement with the move towards fluoridation. Today the majority of young people in Hamilton have few or no cavities or dental restorations as a result of fluoridation.
For many years the Academy operated a dental internship/hospital dentistry program based at the Hamilton General Hospital. Residents received training in oral surgery, medicine, orthodontics, prosthodontics, dental procedures under general anesthetic and experience with oral and facial trauma. This program, which was very valuable for medically compromised patients, was staffed and coordinated by Academy members, both specialists and general practitioners. Unfortunately, this program was closed by Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation in 2000. Because of the tremendous need for such a program in this community, the HAD Executive continues to work toward the creation of a new hospital-based dental residency program.
The Academy has also begun to address dental problems facing the elderly and the handicapped. It has given its support to the creation of the special dental programs now operating at St. Peter's Hospital and Chedoke Hospital. HAD past president Dr. Jim Morreale was the driving force behind this program, and it has since been operated and maintained by Dr. Laslo Szoke.
During the 1970's and 1980's the Academy offered an annual free sports mouthguard clinic. With the cooperation of several local dental laboratories and supply companies, members of the HAD provided free custom-made mouthguards for local high school students involved in contact sports.
In July 2000, HAD members provided emergency dental services to participants at the International Children's Games in Hamilton, and again for the World Cycling Championship in October 2003.
The HAD takes pride in our relationship with the Ontario Dental Association. In particular, we acknowledge our members who have been awarded the prestigious ODA Barnabus Day Award - Drs. Nick Mancini, Ted Harper, and John Durran, and in Past President - Dr. Larry Levin, who was ODA president in 2009, and president of the Canadian Dental Association in 2017. The HAD's Dr. Vic Kutcher (Award of Merit 2013) was ODA president in 2015-6.
Academy members have also played vital roles in the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, including HAD Past Presidents Dr. Albert Calzonetti (Registrar 1979) and Dr. Frank Stechey (President 2009).
The HAD, one of Ontario's most active and vital local dental societies, is now in its third century. Formed in 1869, it was Ontario's first Academy. Over the years, members have found that participation in the Academy has enriched their lives both socially and professionally. While looking back with pride at its distinguished history, it looks forward with anticipation to serving the changing needs of the dental profession.
Since the HAD's founding, eight members of the Academy have become presidents of the ODA, including Dr. David Somer, Dr. Larry Levin and Dr. Victor Kutcher. Many of our members have also served as ODA governors, including the Chairman of the Board of the ODA from 1969 to 1996, Dr. Nick Mancini.
Other highlights include the formation in 1931 of the Hamilton Dental Nurses and Assistants Association, which is still in active service. As well, public health service began in the 1930's and included the first Dental Public Health Day. During the Depression years, dental services were provided at no cost to the City of Hamilton to those receiving public assistance.
In 1951, the HAD Ladies Auxiliary was formed and was active in raising funds for projects such as the purchase of dental equipment for hospitals, assisting dental students from the area, and supporting the Canadian Fund for Dental Education.
As with most dental societies during their formative years, the HAD was primarily a study and social group. As the HAD grew to about two hundred members the role of the Academy changed. Presently, dinner meetings are held once per month from September through April. Most meetings include announcements on matters relating to the profession, as well as after-dinner speakers featuring presentations on various aspects of dentistry.
On an annual basis, a full day lecture (the Dr. George Scott Seminar) is held for professional development. A newsletter is published regularly to keep members informed about Academy events and local, provincial and national issues relating to dentistry. Social events may include golf and ski days, and an day at Stratford, with occasional continuing education trips.
The HAD has also been involved in many educational and community projects. One of the most successful and significant activities was our involvement with the Hamilton Academy of Medicine and other organizations and individuals to bring fluoridation to the Hamilton municipal water supply. Between 1952 and 1969 Dr. Archie Leckie, a Past President of the HAD, successfully coordinated the Academy's involvement with the move towards fluoridation. Today the majority of young people in Hamilton have few or no cavities or dental restorations as a result of fluoridation.
For many years the Academy operated a dental internship/hospital dentistry program based at the Hamilton General Hospital. Residents received training in oral surgery, medicine, orthodontics, prosthodontics, dental procedures under general anesthetic and experience with oral and facial trauma. This program, which was very valuable for medically compromised patients, was staffed and coordinated by Academy members, both specialists and general practitioners. Unfortunately, this program was closed by Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation in 2000. Because of the tremendous need for such a program in this community, the HAD Executive continues to work toward the creation of a new hospital-based dental residency program.
The Academy has also begun to address dental problems facing the elderly and the handicapped. It has given its support to the creation of the special dental programs now operating at St. Peter's Hospital and Chedoke Hospital. HAD past president Dr. Jim Morreale was the driving force behind this program, and it has since been operated and maintained by Dr. Laslo Szoke.
During the 1970's and 1980's the Academy offered an annual free sports mouthguard clinic. With the cooperation of several local dental laboratories and supply companies, members of the HAD provided free custom-made mouthguards for local high school students involved in contact sports.
In July 2000, HAD members provided emergency dental services to participants at the International Children's Games in Hamilton, and again for the World Cycling Championship in October 2003.
The HAD takes pride in our relationship with the Ontario Dental Association. In particular, we acknowledge our members who have been awarded the prestigious ODA Barnabus Day Award - Drs. Nick Mancini, Ted Harper, and John Durran, and in Past President - Dr. Larry Levin, who was ODA president in 2009, and president of the Canadian Dental Association in 2017. The HAD's Dr. Vic Kutcher (Award of Merit 2013) was ODA president in 2015-6.
Academy members have also played vital roles in the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, including HAD Past Presidents Dr. Albert Calzonetti (Registrar 1979) and Dr. Frank Stechey (President 2009).
The HAD, one of Ontario's most active and vital local dental societies, is now in its third century. Formed in 1869, it was Ontario's first Academy. Over the years, members have found that participation in the Academy has enriched their lives both socially and professionally. While looking back with pride at its distinguished history, it looks forward with anticipation to serving the changing needs of the dental profession.
HAD HISTORY UPDATE
From the Archives and Personal Recollection
Presented by Dr. Irwin Fuss, Archivist, HAD
September 25, 2025
When I was asked by our President, Dr. James Tonogai, if I would present a 30 minute history of this auspicious group, my first thought was, ‘how am I ever going to fill up that much time’? But, after starting my research, it quickly became, ‘how can I keep it to under 2 hours? But, don’t worry. I won’t give you that long a time to nap. In my capacity as archivist, a position quite frequently referred to as ‘being put out to pasture’, I will attempt to fulfill our president’s request.. As well as archival history, some authentic and some anecdotal, I will also be adding some insight into our history since I joined the Hamilton Dental Association in 1959, as it was then known, I will be throwing some names, dates and even a few photos at you, but no worries, there is no test at the end of this presentation. After all, this is not a Core 1 event. There are major gaps in our history that are gone forever, but enough sources still exist that permitted me to provide tonight’s update.
The prime source is from a history prepared for the 100th anniversary of the HAD in 1969 by Dr. Arthur Poag, ( photo) who was the archivist at the time. Unfortunately, Dr Poag passed away in November 1969, just prior to its publication and our Centennial celebration. Dr. Poag was the one who spent countless hours scouring through microfiche at the Hamilton Spectator and other sources. He indicated that there were no actual minutes of any meetings from the late 1800s until 1943, so he did some serious research and was able to find significant information for that period. I have also sourced documentation from the ODA, the minutes of our executive and general meetings which still exist, from 1943 to the present. Even in this period, there are gaps, but we have more than enough for reference.
Referring back to our Centennial, it is fitting that we are here this evening, because the executive at the time in 1969 decided to purchase a painting, described by Dr. Poag as very expensive and it actually was, $2295 US dollars. I could not find any information to indicate why the particular painting was selected. It was presented to the Art Gallery of Hamilton as a gesture of community support at the Centennial Dinner Dance celebration held on November 22, 1969. (photo of presentation). This event was attended by close to 248 people, well, that’s how many dinners were paid for. The painting was entitled “A Portrait of Jeanne Genet” by Buffalo artist Eugene Speicher. He was a well regarded portrait artist, but his subject, Jeanne, has defied Google and AI searches. Whoever she was, her likeness has been preserved and thanks to the effort of Andrea Howard of the AGH, The Portrait of Jeanne Genet is here with us this evening.
There is no denying that History can be a very boring subject, but it must not be forgotten or rewritten. All of us here tonight are members of a Dental society that is the third oldest local dental group in Ontario, having been founded on November 16, 1869 by Dr. Curtis Strong Chittenden, (photo) whom I will frequently refer to as CS to avoid stumbling over Chittenden. Our founding was only 2 years after the establishment of The Dental Association of Canada West on January 3,1867. Ontario did not exist until July 1st of that year, hence this earlier name for what was ultimately, the ODA. CS was born in Burlington, Vermont, trained at the New York College of Dentistry, graduated in 1846 and set up practice in Hamilton 3 years later, and yes, they advertised in those days. (photo of ad) For some unexplained reason, CS was a member of the Michigan State Dental Association in the 1850s and was its President in 1860. Because of his experience with an existing dental organization, he was instrumental in founding what was to become the ODA, giving sage advice to Barnabus Day in the formation of the precursor to the ODA. He was elected its as its first Vice President.
Hamilton’s founding was preceded, chronologically, by the Bay of Quinte, founded Aug. 31, 1869 and the Western Dental Association, ultimately The London Dental Society founded Nov. 12, 1869, beating us out for 2nd place by just 4 days. There is some belief, however, that we are actually the longest continually functioning dental society in this Province.
At the time of our founding, there were 6 Dentists in Hamilton who served a population of 12,000 in the area. Although he was the founder of the Hamilton District Dental Society, C.S. did not serve as President until 1875 and 76. He, as already noted, was busy elsewhere. Another Hamilton dentist, Dr. D.A. Bogart, was also part of the founding group of the ODA ( group photo) and Hamilton was the only region that had 2 members on the ODA Executive. Dr. Chittenden, just to remind you of the name, was also instrumental in the drafting of the first Dentistry Act and in the founding of the RCDSO. He represented the Hamilton district on its Board from 1869 until his sudden death in his office in 1889, having served as Treasurer, Registrar and President and a licensing examiner during that period. His obituary stated, he passed away suddenly around 5 PM while ‘roustling’ in his office. I could not find any definition of this word from any source, other than it may have been an old English word or possibly misspelled. All of the dentists in Hamilton, numbering about 11 or 12 at the time of his death, closed their offices and attended the funeral. It is clear to see that Dentists from Hamilton had already formed a collegial bond and were closely involved with the birth of organized Dentistry, including the development and organization of both the Ontario Dental Association and the RCDSO.
It is interesting to note that, as part of the founding document of the Hamilton District Dental Society, that an invitation was sent to dentists in the Kitchener, Brantford and Niagara areas inviting them to join. There is no record of whether anyone from those areas ended up joining at that time. The document also proposed that a meeting be held on the 3rd Monday of each month and asked members to bring a list of their fees to the first official meeting. Even back then, our founders were trying to get some cohesiveness within the area. Incidentally, the ODA did not publish a Suggested Fee guide until 1958, although it was not widely disseminated until a few years later. The Hamilton Dental Association published our own list of fees around 1960. It was a little red book and I vividly remember that an examination was $5, extractions $2, and so on. But, then again, my 1961 Chevy Impala convertible cost $5500. It is also noteworthy that in 1952, a survey of local dentists indicated that 40% did not charge anything for an initial exam.
Referring back to Dr. CS again, he presented the first table clinic at the initial ODA convention which was held in Belleville in 1869. His topic was ‘ the proper way to fill a cavity’. The Convention was held in that region, because it was the so-called ‘Hotbed’ of dentistry at that time. Almost all trained dentists came from the US, directly across the border or via Montreal. The first dental school in Canada was not established until 1875 by the RCSDO at the U of T.
Another bit of history of that era was that the majority of dentists had good singing voices. In fact, Dr. Chittenden, Dr. Bogart and Dr. Filgiano, who was, actually, our Society’s first president, all led choirs in their respective churches. Why is this notable? Well, it was the era where anaesthesia or sedation was limited to cocaine, morphine, whisky or, nothing at all and dentists sang to try to drown out the grunts, yells, screams of patients they were treating with drills which they rotated by hand or the painful extraction of teeth. I’ll throw in a little personal anecdote. I did not know there was such a thing as local anaesthetic until I got to dental school. The two 75 year old occlusal amalgams that were done without local are still present and functioning in my mouth. I had never needed any primary teeth treated or removed.
The use of foot drills started in 1872, electric drills in 1902 and the first dental units were introduced in 1915. In 1958, my final year at U of T Dentistry, we used belt driven handpieces that produced an amazing 8,000 RPM for our school supplied steel burs. We had to purchase our own carbide burs from the dental supply company across the street. Even though the Borden Airrotor had been introduced in 1957, there were none in the clinic. There was one high speed device in the school, but was reserved for the Prosthodontic staff to use in demonstrations for we seniors. I believe it was called a Turbojet and produced about 100,000 RPM. I vividly recall to this day, watching the head of the Pros Dept demonstrating the prep of a 3/4 crown. He was using a diamond disc for the procedure. He completed the mesial slice and started the distal, turned his head slightly to offer a comment to us, continuing the procedure until we all yelled Doctor— stop, as his slice continued into the patient’s upper lip. But, I digress. I am here to talk about Hamilton’s dental history.
Getting back to the late 1800s, Hamilton dentists were considered among the leaders of the profession, clinically and in establishing the professional standards of the time. From 1849 to 1890, gold foil fillings were the main material used in Hamilton. I am not sure whether anyone else here this evening has used gold foil. In my era, we did, in the dental clinic. It was not pleasant for the patient or the practitioner. I never did one after graduation. Also employed, in those times, as filling materials were gutta percha, lead, zinc and zinc oxyphosphate cement until silver amalgam became the widely accepted modality.
By 1900, Hamilton had grown to over 51,000 and there were 18 dentists serving them. Fourteen of the offices were located on the north side of King Street from MacNab to Mary Streets and 4 on James North between King and Merrick now York Streets. They were all within 5 city blocks and were all ‘walk ups’.
In the early 1900s, meetings were held at the Waldorf Hotel which sat on the site of the current Connaught Hotel and condos. Meetings often ended with card games in one of the offices across the street that lasted well into the night. In 1912, the Hamilton Dental Society was asked to host the combined convention of the Canadian Dental Association and the Ontario Dental Association. As well as a list of prominent dental speakers, many social events were included - a picnic, a softball tournament which pitted Hamilton dentists against everyone else (no results found) lawn bowling and grass court tennis.
A cruise on the Bay was also part of the festivities. The prime function of our Association in those days was twofold—study clubs and social events.
Hamilton dentists were instrumental in the organization of the Canadian Dental Corps, which separated from the Canadian Medical Corps in 1915. It did help that the Minister of Defence at that time was a Hamiltonian and a close friend of our president. A significant number of our members served as Officers in the Dental Corps in both World Wars and frequently gave clinical lectures at our local dental meetings.
For a very long time, Hamilton dentists were renowned for our annual picnics. The first written mention of one that was entirely local, that I found was in 1919, although the archives do have photos of Picnic gatherings in 1908-09 complete with bats and balls, (photo) and 1914 and 1915. The highlight of the 1919 event was the first recorded baseball game between the ‘marrieds’ and the ‘unmarrieds’. The marrieds won that game and, apparently, every year after until they were finally defeated in 1931. The first picnic was held at the Bayview Inn, described as being “a broken down Place”, BUT, it had a liquor licence. Other locations were used in subsequent years until the picnic found it’s real home at Dr. Peter Smylski’s (photo )property on Lake Ontario at the foot of what is now 50 Road. From the late 1940’s until 1985 this venue served as our annual picnic location. The highlight always was the food—-usually sausages, buns and salad for lunch and steak with all the fixings for dinner and included soft drinks, beer and wine. The food was always excellent and presided over, in later years, behind the huge charcoal grill by Executive Chef, Dr Albert Calzonetti—-Kevin’s dad. (photos) To keep us busy, there were cribbage and bridge games, bocce and horseshoes and softball. (photos) Later in the day, poker and an improvised crap game began, (photo) that frequently ended up being lit by car headlights. When it rained heavily, as it did in 1978, the barn and other indoor areas came in handy. In 1975, you got all this for only $10. Attendance through the years was usually around 75-80 with the record set at 116 in 1975. When the property was sold, the picnic was moved to Canterbury Hills in Ancaster in 1985, but it just wasn’t the same and it passed away quietly after a few years, especially when Dr Calzonetti was replaced as head chef.(photo) There was an attempt at revival in 1994 by a Dental Supply Company at Place Polonaise in Grimsby, but since the Academy had nothing to do with this, there was no further promotion or reference in the minutes.
The Academy has had plenty of other ‘fun and games’ throughout the years. We had Curling Bonspiels, Car Rallies in the 1980s, wine tastings, an annual Christmas Party for staff, labs and sales reps that started in 1943 (photo) and which was ended by the Executive, because ‘times had changed’. I couldn’t find the exact date of that decision, but it was in the 90s. The annual Hamilton Golf tournament ( photo) still exists and Squash day has now morphed into Squash and Pickleball Day, which was held just a few days ago and this year in combination with Halton-Peel. There was an annual Hamilton Burlington Ski Day, which started in 1978 and shifted between Ellicotville and Collingwood, and European Ski continuing education Seminars organized by Drs MacKenzie and Brockhouse. Both are now past history. Our Annual Dinner Dance, started in 1949 and gave us a chance to ‘spiff up’ and entertain our significant others (photo) is also a thing of the past, due to waning interest from the membership.
Dentistry in Hamilton has always had a strong focus on continuing education, something your executive concentrates on providing to our membership to this very day. As early as 1919, when the society was up to 36 members, one, two and even 5 day courses were being sponsored, as clinicians were bought in from all over North America. Through the years, our members have held professorships and have given lectures and courses around the world, including Dr. Emo Rajczak whom we lost just a few short weeks ago. And, of course, some of you here this evening help train future dentists at UofT, Western and other institutions. And, we must not forget the many Study Clubs that have played such an important role in our continuing education through the years.
I cannot present a history without mentioning our members’ more recent contribution to the ODA and the CDA. First and foremost, I have to mention Dr. Nick Mancini (photo) who was on the CDA Board of Governors, its chair for 26 years from 1977-2003 and was given the title of Chair Emeritus in recognition of his service. From 1969-1996 he was chair of the ODA Board and also chaired CDSPI from 1983-1995. Notice the overlaps. Prior to this, he served as a school trustee for the Catholic School Board for 3 decades and was the first chair when the Catholic Board was permitted to stand on its own. He served as our president in 1965 and attended almost every meeting. Somewhere in between, he did have a dental practice on Barton Street. He was a devoted Liberal and to cap off his endeavours, he was heavily promoted by then Liberal Cabinet minister, John Munro for consideration as a Senator. Trudeau Sr., however, chose a Toronto lawyer instead. 11 years later, he was proposed again and this time he was turned down by Brian Mulrooney, for obvious political reasons. (photo) In more recent times we can look to David Somer, and Larry Levin who rose through the ranks to lead the ODA and then go on to serve the CDA, as well. Vic Kutcher, also a former ODA president, who has recently been elected to the ODA Board for a second time, once again giving Hamilton at strong voice at the table.
There are many members of this Academy, too numerous to mention, who currently serve on various dental committees and service organizations and you are all to be commended for giving back. Organized dentistry in Hamilton has been at the forefront of advocacy, not only in the past as I have previously indicated, but we have a little more detail from the 1930s onward.
For this next section, forgive me if I bounce around a bit date-wise with some other archival highlights. Unfortunately, some of the activities that were once vibrant have succumbed to the passage of time, changing values and waning interest.
• In 1931, the HDA played an important role in the formation of the Hamilton Dental Nurses and Assistants Association. Unfortunately, this group no longer exists.
• The Ladies Auxilliary to the HDA/HAD was formed in 1950 and functioned for over 50 years. It held social gatherings, fund raising activities and contributed to various Dental causes, including the Canadian Fund for Dental Education, treatment of disadvantaged children, bursaries to aid students entering dentistry, etc. But as the old guard passed on, there was no one to continue. A few ladies did continue to meet for an annual social lunch but Covid brought that to a final close.
• In 1951, we began the initial battle to get fluoride into the Hamilton water supply. Despite an on-going effort over the years, it was not successful until an affirmative vote, finally, in 1968.
• In 1960, the HDA got wind of a new medical school being proposed for McMaster and we started a campaign to have a dental school included. This ultimately fell on deaf ears, and as you are well aware, the dental school went to Western.
• In 1970, we were instrumental in the Hamilton Board of Education starting a 2 year focused dental assistant’s program at Sir Allan McNab HS. It was a coop where the students spent time in our dental offices as part of their training. It provided a valuable source of trained assistants for the area, but was ultimately discontinued in the later 1980s.
• In the early 1970s, much of the executives’ time was spent dealing with disseminating information to our members about dental insurance. We were also fighting the Denturist battle at the time.
• The Academy had set up a low cost denture clinic, but ultimately suffered through the capitulation in July 1974 when the ODA announced the Denturist battle was lost.. We successfully fought the attempt to set up union run dental clinics and staved off Capitation. We were still fighting some of these same battles, well into the 1990s. In 1991, two major players in Capitation with multiple offices were forced to close because neither of them had made a profit after 3 years of operation. PACE was funded by Mutual Life, Canada Life, GWL and Confederation Life and DMO (Dental Maintenance Org) was funded by Aetna and a currently very familiar name to you all—Sun Life. Interestingly, in the early 1970s, local societies were actually asked for input into the ODA fee guide, another thing of the past.
• Your Academy sponsored an extremely active and successful dental internship program at the HGH for many years. Close to 30 of our members, both specialists and GPs gave of their time to offer guidance and instruction. At it’s peak, there were 3 residents in the clinic. But, hospital and provincial politics ruled the day and despite valiant efforts to keep the program alive, we were shut out and the program ceased operation in 2000.
And now for some other items ripped from the pages of our archives.
• Do you think our academy dues is too high? Well, you are getting the biggest bargain around. In 1991, for example, our dues was $495 if paid on time and $545 after July 15. That would be equivalent to many thousands in today’s dollars. Yet, we had 208 paid members, considerably higher than our membership in 2025 and this was several years after our Burlington members left. In the spring of 1994, the treasurer at that time proposed a further increase to $510, but this was shot down by the executive and remained at $495.
• The HDA officially became the HAD in January, 1964 after a motion presented by none other than Dr. Emo Rajczak and seconded by Dr. Nick Mancini that was passed by the membership in April 1963.
• The Burlington Dental Academy came into being in the summer of 1975, with the majority of our Burlington members opting to support the new group.
• For many years in the 1970s, ’80s, and into the early 1990s, the HAD ran a highly successful mouthguard program for high school students participating in contact sports and minor hockey teams. This ultimately ended as our donors of materials and laboratory services experienced substantial increases in costs.
This organization is now 156 years old. We have accomplished great things in the past and we have the ability to do great things in the future for you, our members, in terms of CE, social and sporting events and for the community at large, but it takes the involvement of our membership. In the old days, we used to get 25 or more at our executive meetings, because we had committees and the committees had members. Everything did not fall on the shoulders of the executive, as they do today. If you want to see innovative programs or a revival of fun things like the picnics, car rallies, dinner dance, etc., it’s in your hands. Reach out to one of our executive members and volunteer. After 57 years of doing so, I can honestly say, it doesn’t hurt one bit.
A big thank you to our president James for his technical assistance and thank you all for the privilege of speaking to you this evening.