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Alliance, GDA members assemble legislative dental kits GDA Alliance dental spouses and GDA dentist volunteers met in October at the GDA executive office to assemble 900 legislative dental kits. These kits will be distributed on January 11, 2010, to the legislators and legislative staff at the Capitol in celebration of Dental Health Day, the opening day of the legislative session. This dental kit event on opening day will mark the 25th anniversary of the first time the Alliance assembled and helped distribute such kits at the Capitol. In 1985, DeDe Slappey and her Alliance Legislative Committee members assembled 228 toothpaste kits for legislators. Each white plastic kit contained a toothbrush, toothpaste, disclosing tablets, floss, sugarless mints, and breath spray. With the assistance of GDA dentist Dr. John Savage, then a state representative, Alliance members and GDA dentists placed the kits within the legislators’ desks in the House and
Thanks to the GDA and Alliance volunteers who gathered in October at the GDA office to assemble 900 dental kits, continuing 25 years of this legislative advocacy effort.
Senate chambers. This is a tradition that has continued to the present day. Alliance legislative chair Joan Diversi had initially planted the idea of an Alliance event at the Capitol on the opening
day of the session in 1984, when she and her legislative committee assembled 200 wooden baskets with green tissue paper, apples, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss and distributed them to legislators. Thanks to Steve Fortmann and Julie Peters with Oral-B for donating the Crest toothpaste and Glide dental floss included in this year’s kits. Kudos to the Alliance and GDA members who assembled the kits—they are a great way to keep dentistry at the forefront of legislators’ thoughts during the session. Beverly Allen Molly Bickford Alliance President Linda Broderick Dr. Tom Broderick Fran Brown Dr. Don Brown Deb Cavola Dr. Ron Cavola Joan Diversi Jean Harrington Dr. Jay Harrington Sherry Kendrick Amy Manzella Kay Messinger Cheryl O’Donnell Mary Percy GDA President Dr. Kent Percy Liz Roos Helaine Sugarman Dr. Richard Sugarman Debbie Torbush Sarah Woodall GDA ACTION DECEMBER 2009
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