Greetings to all fellow hygienists! 

As I take the office of Presidency, I have a vision for our component to increase membership, member attendance, involvement in outreach community awareness projects and finally having fund raisers to raise money for our component to give donations to local outreach projects as well as state, national programs. 

This year, BADHS has plans to collaboratively join with Greater Houston Dental Hygiene Society to meet and greet UT Dental Hygiene Students & Wharton Community Junior College Dental Hygiene Students to inform them that ADHA is a national association that can empower them with many benefits as they graduate and begin their journey as a dental hygienist.  TDHA also would like to welcome them and would like to give support in working to secure a future as a professional.  Finally, BADHS & GHDHS are here for them while they are students, graduates, and working professionals.  We as an organization want to embrace the students and let them know that we are here to give leadership through knowledge and experience.  We would love to become mentors and develop strong friendships with them. My vision is to invest and develop confidence among the students by visiting and inviting them to our monthly meetings.  Another wonderful way to stay connected to ADHA, TDHA & BADHS friends, students can sign up for Facebook  by going to www.adha.org or www.tdha.org .    I would like to encourage you to join us as we visit the students in the Fall & Spring.  Please come to meet and greet our future hygienists! 

Next, I would love to invite you to attend our monthly meetings and receive CEU’s.  It is a great way to meet new friends and catch up on old friendships.  BADHS provides a warm and welcoming environment.  Come and see us work, play and have fun! Invite your friends to come with you!  One of the benefits of being an ADHA member is that local component meetings and CEU’s are free.  If you are not a member yet, you can still come and pay a small fee of $25.  We always have a raffle of an item provided by one of our members in order to raise money for the Institute for Oral Health.  So come and buy a ticket to win a prize for a good cause!  BADHS wants to see new and old faces this year so spread the word that BADHS is a place to come to for friendships, CEU’s and to touch lives through outreach community projects and fundraisers.
We would love to see you at our monthly meetings. 

In reading Stephen R. Covey’s book:  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I loved this quote:
‘Our basic nature is to act, and not be acted upon. As well as
enabling us to choose our response to particular circumstances,
this empowers us to create circumstances.’ p.75'

I feel like BADHS can be empowered to create circumstances so that we as an organization can touch and impact our communities around us.

So this year, BADHS would like to give a quarterly donation to a local dental community outreach project.  This project will be announced at our 1st meeting on September 10th.  This project is exclusively operated by volunteers.  This outreach is touching those who are uninsured and in pain.  We as an organization can also volunteer our time to help this outreach project.  We can impact our community by having a Sealant Day for the children who are uninsured.  We can place sealants to prevent & stamp out decay.  We will need you to help us.  So please give your time and bless a child.  I know you will feel good for volunteering!  I always do!

Another way to touch our communities is join BADHS in raising money for Breast Cancer by participation in the D’feet Breast Cancer Walk. There are other ways BADHS can volunteer their time and show we care for people by working at George R. Brown at Thanksgiving feeding those who do not have a meal.  These are just a few ideas.  We will be discussing other ways and means to impact our communities by volunteering and raising money to give to local, state, and national projects!  Please come and join us to help others!  We will make sure you have fun doing it!

Finally, I would like to thank you for letting me serve as BADHS’ President and TDHA Trustee.  I hope to grow in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding!  I want you to know that I feel blessed to be in this position. 

Respectfully yours,
Vickie Webb RDH,BBA
President BADHS
Trustee TDHA