CONTACT: Carol S. Weber, APR, Director of Public Relations
PHONE: 414-755-4108 (direct)
E-MAIL: cweber@wda.org
Whitefish Bay’s Dr. Peter Schelkun honored for lifetime achievements
WEST ALLIS, WIS., Dec. 13, 2006 – Whitefish Bay resident and retired dentist Dr. Peter Schelkun is the 2006 Wisconsin Dental Association (WDA) Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Schelkun was one of 13 individuals and two organizations to receive Pyramids of Pride from the 2,900-member statewide dental organization last month during a special banquet at the American Club in Kohler.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is the WDA’s highest honor and recognizes individuals who have given time, energy and expertise to organized dentistry throughout their careers. Schelkun has been active in the WDA and Greater Milwaukee Dental Association (GMDA) for more than 50 years, serving on numerous committees and as a delegate to the annual state policy-making session for 10 years.
He has been instrumental in educating colleagues about dental insurance, having co-authored a pre-payment manual and position papers that were later used by the American Dental Association (ADA) as a basis for national dental insurance guidelines. Schelkun helped establish WDA Insurance Programs, Inc.
A general dentist, Schelkun shares the knowledge he gleaned from nearly 40 years in private practice with students at Marquette University School of Dentistry (MUSoD). A 1956 MUSoD graduate, today Schelkun is a part-time associate professor in the Department of General Dental Sciences, chairs the Part-Time Faculty Committee and is a member of the Omicron Kappa Upsilon national dental honor society.
This year there were two Community Outreach Award recipients for exceptional public service that reflects great credit on the dental profession.
Dr. Thomas Raimann, New Berlin resident with a general dentistry practice in Hales Corners, was recognized for his eight years as chairman of the United Dental Professionals’ Head Start Dental Day Committee. Some 180 volunteers from GMDA, Milwaukee Regional Dental Hygiene Association and student clinicians from MUSoD and Milwaukee and Waukesha Area Technical Colleges’ dental hygiene programs annually provide thousands of dollars worth of free dental exams, cleanings and fluoride treatments to about 500 Milwaukee Public School and Social Development Commission Head Start three and four-year-olds.
Lord’s Dental Studio, Inc., with offices in DePere and New Berlin, was recognized for leading by example and giving more than $15,000 in lab services to the Wisconsin Dental Foundation’s Donated Dental Services (DDS) program. The company’s generosity has encouraged other dental labs and dentists to get involved with DDS which helps people who are unable to afford needed dental care because of a limited income that is clearly linked to a permanent disability, chronic illness or advanced age (65 or older). Since DDS was created in 1998, more then 1,200 disabled, elderly and medically compromised people have received almost $3 million in free, comprehensive treatment.
A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel community columnist and the Wisconsin State Journal editorial board received Media Awareness Awards for “demonstrating a commitment to inform and educate the general public about the importance of oral health and dental-related issues in Wisconsin.”
Maria Flores, Milwaukee resident and Hispanic-community activist, was recognized for a July 2005 newspaper guest opinion emphasizing the importance of good dental health to a person’s self-esteem and physical health. Her article highlighted the dismal reimbursement rates of the state’s dental Medicaid (MA) program and pointed to additional problems with the dental HMO system in the four southeastern counties despite pre-payment by the state. She commended the WDA’s Two Cents for Tooth Sense™ dental MA funding idea as innovative and called the Madre Angela Dental Clinic with its volunteer dentists and hygienists “…a pearl in the heart of the Latino community.”
Wisconsin State Journal editorial board members Ellen Foley, James Hopson, Scott Milfred, Chuck Martin and Anjuman Ali took a Pyramid of Pride back to Madison for a March 1, 2006 editorial challenging readers and state policy-makers to “Give more kids reasons to smile”. The editorial identified dental problems as a major reason why low-income children miss school. Dental professionals were recognized for donating care, while lawmakers were challenged to fix the “low reimbursement and vexing paperwork” of the state’s dental MA program. The editorial also urged parents to monitor their children’s teeth and seek preventive care.
Germantown resident and MUSoD Associate Dean Dr. Denis P. Lynch and Fitchburg pediatric dentist and resident Dr. Eric teDuits received Media Relations Awards for using mass communications to promote the WDA and its mission.
Lynch, an oral and maxillofacial pathologist who is also on staff at the Medical College of Wisconsin, helps the WDA and Milwaukee Brewers promote their Stamp Out Spit Tobacco message to local fifth grade students and regularly serves as a media spokesperson on complex dental health subjects. He is also in demand as a national speaker through the ADA.
teDuits’s tradition of providing care to low-income youngsters in the greater Madison area gives his public comments about the state’s dental MA program a high-degree of credibility. He is regularly tapped for radio, television and newspaper interviews and numerous letters to the editor and opinion pieces have carried his signature.
Dr. James Conrardy, Green Bay pediatric dentist and DePere resident, received this year’s Outstanding Service Award for his “exceptional contributions to the advancement of the dental profession.” Conrardy was recognized for his many years of service to the ADA, WDA, Brown Door Kewaunee Dental Society, Wisconsin Society of Pediatric Dentists, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American College of Dentists, International College of Dentists, Pierre Fauchard Society and Doctors with a Heart. Conrardy is also involved in various Green Bay community groups and his church.
Two Political Action Awards were presented this year. Dorothy Larson, Sun Prairie resident and member of the WDA Legislative Office team in Madison, received a Pyramid of Pride for her contributions as 4PAC program administrator to the Wisconsin Dental Political Action Committee (WIDPAC). WIDPAC greatly expanded its outreach efforts during the 2006 political campaign season. Racine resident and general dentist Dr. Ned Murphy was singled out for encouraging local colleagues to become politically active on behalf of organized dentistry and serving as WDA Legislative Committee chairman.
President’s Awards of Honor were presented to five individuals for contributions and activities that reflect great credit on the dental profession.
Peshtigo general dentist and Marinette resident Dr. Bruce Barrette and La Crosse general dentist and resident Dr. Richard Strand were recognized for various organized dentistry activities, most notably their recent years of volunteer service to the Wisconsin Dentistry Examining Board (DEB).
Barrette was on the DEB for eight years, including five as chairman. He has represented Wisconsin as an examiner at several regional dental exams and is currently secretary of the American Association of Dental Examiners. Strand, a WDA past-president, served on the DEB for seven years and is also involved in the development of a national dental licensure exam.
Milwaukee general dentist and Brookfield resident Dr. Monica Hebl’s award acknowledges her years of hands-on leadership at the local, state and national levels of organized dentistry. Committed to political engagement, Hebl was the only private-practice dentist to serve on the 15-member Governor’s Task Force to Improve Access to Oral Health Care in 2004 – 2005. She is currently president-elect of the WDA and often serves as a WDA media spokesperson.
Lurline “Lee” Johnston lives in Mequon and leads the West Allis-based WDA Professional Services, Inc. (WDAPS) as president. Johnston joined the WDA for-profit subsidiary in 1992 as director of sales and marketing. Today, WDAPS has sales in excess of $1.5 million with an international customer base for its paper and electronic dental record-keeping systems and other practice management products and services.
Appleton’s Dr. James Springborn was presented with a President’s Award of Honor for his ongoing dedication to raising the visibility and reputation of the WDA and increasing public understanding of the value of good oral health. A WDA past-president, Springborn’s volunteer spirit reaches into the local community where he is currently serving as president of the Tri-County Community Dental Clinic Board of Directors.
Established in 1870, the WDA is headquartered in West Allis. With more than 2,900 members statewide, it represents the vast majority of practicing dentists in Wisconsin. WDA members are committed to promoting professional excellence and quality oral health care. The WDA is one of 53 constituent (state-territorial) dental societies of the American Dental Association – the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. For more information on the WDA, call 414-276-4520 or visit www.wda.org.
