December 2008 NEWSLETTER Number 85
Rob
Elia.....................................................................President
Jack
Koumjian................................................President
Elect
Declan
Thompson..........................................Vice
President
Suteera
Hovijitra....................................Secretary/Treasurer
Don Schmitt,
Sr..........................................................Historian
Marge
Maesaka.....................................Executive
Secretary
From The President
Rob Elia
I hope that you all had a wonderful summer, or winter for
those of you ‘down under’.
I would like to thank those that responded to my message in
the last newsletter regarding the need for input and
financial commitment to maintain and update the graduate
prosthodontic facility. I look forward to hearing from all of
you.
Although the last ten years have been a time of significant
advances in prosthodontics, it has also been a time of
reduced government support for Universities. Indiana’s
graduate prosthodontic program was built on one of the most
solid foundations ever conceived and defines the standards
for clinical excellence. For decades, outstanding faculty
have continued to build on this foundation and have educated
fortunate students from around the world. The program has
produced many of the leaders in prosthodontics of today. It
is important that, despite this reduction in traditional
funding, the John F. Johnston Society find innovative ways to
continue this evolution of clinical excellence and
distinction.
Once again, thank you for your support and I look forward to
seeing you in Chicago.
Director's Corner
John Levon
Dear JFJ Members:
I can hardly believe that the Holidays are upon us, time just
seems to be flying by!
I want to officially report that we were successful in our
attempt to re-write/revise the charter for the John F.
Johnston Scholarship Fund. The new revisions give me and the
rest of the graduate prosthodontic faculty a great deal of
freedom in the management of the JFJ Scholarship Funds. We
now have the ability to award one or more scholarships and
these scholarships can be given to either a second, third or
fourth year resident. In addition, we are free to set the
amount(s) for each award(s). Although the IU Foundation
rejected the addition of specific selection guidelines, they
stated that we were “perfectly within our rights to use these
guidelines in deciding on appropriate candidates for
scholarships.”
Our first-year class has now successfully completed their
initial semester and it appears that as a group they did
quite well. They have all started to treat patients in the
clinic and are eagerly awaiting the spring semester. I
encourage all of you that plan on attending our annual dinner
in Chicago to congratulate our new residents and please make
them feel welcome.
Onto another positive note regarding the graduate
prosthodontic program, we reviewed what I think may be a
record number of 64 applicants for next year’s class. The
majority of the applicants were from outside the US; however,
we did have four US applicants this year. It is extremely
encouraging to see that interest in the Indiana University
Graduate Prosthodontic Program is so strong on an
international basis. I am happy to report that the selection
process for next year’s class has been finalized and we have
already received formal acceptance letters from five of the
six prospective residents.
One final thought. You may have heard rumors of a new dental
school being built in the near future. An architect has been
hired and initial work has begun regarding plans for the new
building, but I’ve been told that it will be at least 10 to
12 years or longer before we move in. Keeping this in mind,
the graduate prosthodontic department as a whole still needs
your financial support. Much of the equipment in the “The
Roland W. Dykema Graduate Prosthodontic Laboratory” is either
worn out, broken or outdated. A suggestion has been made to
remodel the Dykema Lab. I am presently looking into ways to
make this happen, but unfortunately I’ve been told that NOW
IS NOT THE TIME to launch fund-raising campaign due to the
tough economic times. In the meantime, if you still want to
“give back” to the graduate prosthodontic program, please
make sure to specify that you want your funds to go into the
Partial Prosthodontic Fund.
Best Wishes to All and I hope to see you in Chicago!
John
P.S. I need your assistance in obtaining a few back issues of
the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry to complete the set that
Tom Barco had donated to the IUSD Graduate Prosthodontic
Program just prior to his untimely death. I desperately need
the following nine issues: 1) Volume 52 #1 – July 1984, 2)
Volume 52 #2 – August 1984, 3) Volume 52 #3 – September 1984,
4) Volume 52 #4 – October 1984, 5) Volume 52 #5 – November
1984, 6) Volume 52 #6 – December 1984, 7) Volume 86 #2 –
August 2001, 8) Volume 86 #3 – September 2001 and 9) Volume
86 #5 – November 2001.
Members News
The ACP meeting was held in the Gaylord Opryland Resort and
Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn., the largest facility
in North America (and a complicated one). Most of the IUSD
graduate students were in attendance since it was a drivable
distance. Drs. John Levon, David Brown, Ned Van Roekel,
Winslow Rogers, Joe Macy, Jose Torres, Patchanee
Rungruenganunt, Manny Chopra were also attending the meeting.
Dr. Charles Goodacre was inducted to be president of the ACP.
Dr. Gillermo Bernal is the director for the International
Region. Dr. Jerry Andres served as additional board examiner
for the ABP. Congratulations are in order for Drs. Donnie
Schmitt and Kazuhiko Tsuchiya who successfully passed all
parts of the ABP and attained Fellow status.
Robert and Madelyn Elia visited Amsterdam and Paris with
their daughters Eleana and Calla. Robert said that their
daughters were more interested in shopping than going to the
museum.
Poey ling Loeh has moved; her new office address is 304
Orchard Road # 05-15 Lucky Plaza, Orchard Medical Specialist
Centre, Singapore 238863. She also has a new home address; 61
Mount Sinai drive # 14-01 , Singapore 277113. She continues
to teach part time at the Faculty of Dentistry, National
University of Singapore. She is an adjunct Associate
Professor and was appointed as Chair person for the specialty
committee for Prosthodontics 2008-2010. Singapore started
this specialist accreditation this year. She learnt that it
is not a fun position to be in.
Gerard and Francoise Moreau wish to say hello to Ron and Pat
Blackman. They are busy with grandson, Thomas otherwise their
year has been relatively quiet. Their daughter Stephanie is
representing their state in different exhibits to promote
tourism.
Leo Massaro is now practicing in Syracuse, N.Y. in a practice
limited to prosthodontics and maxillofacial prosthodontics.
Leo has been there with his wife and four children since
2005.
Currently he is the program chair of the dental society in
Central New York. His new addresses are: work, 8062 Oswego
Road, Liverpool, N.Y. 13090; home, 7823 Halsey Lane,
Baldwinsville, N.Y. 13027; office telephone, 315-652-3936 or
cell phone, 315-383-7589.
Suteera and Chamnan Hovijitra were in Hawaii this summer for
their son’s wedding. It was very nice to see some old friends
and IUSD alumni. Marge Maesaka was able to attend the wedding
as well as Richard and Joan Norman.
The wedding was well prepared and a mix of Hawaiian, Japanese
and Chinese cultures. Everyone was happy and enjoyed the
wedding.
Kazuhiko Tsuchiya is married,
their wedding was in Thailand. He met wife, Panida Bulpakdi
while she was in training at IUSD in Operative Dentistry.
Panida completed her training and board certification at IUSD
then returned to Thailand. She is anxiously awaiting her visa
to join Kazu in Japan where he practices with his parents.
Kazu’s new address is 2-1 Kasugamati Saikisi, Oitaken, Japan,
876-0806. Telephone: 0972-24-0890, e-mail:
ka9du2@hotmail.com.
Before Kazu left to go home, I had a chance to talk to him
and reminisce the time he spent here in Indiana. He said that
2008 was a great year for him. He finished board
certification and completed and defended his theses, and got
married. I don’t know of that many people can do all of those
in one year.
ANNUALL MEETING IN CHICAGO
The annual JFJ dinner date and place:41 E Chestnut street,
Chicago, Illinois. McCormick& Schmick’s seafood
restaurant on February 28th 2009, executive meeting at 5.00
p.m., general members cocktail hour 6.00-7.00 p.m. and dinner
at 7.00 p.m.
Please send in your reservation early. I need to let the
restaurant know of how many we will have for dinner. You can
also e-mail me at shovijit@iupui.edu and send in the check to
Marge Maesaka.
I am looking forward to see you in Chicago
Dues
Remember the 2009 dues are $50. Please pay your 2009 dues
between now and the meeting in Chicago, February 28, 2009 if
at all possible. Foreign members: Remember, you can use PAY
PAL to pay your dues. This should help our members from other
countries who have had difficulty paying dues in the past.
From Marge
At this writing, Marge Maesaka may have to have heart surgery
which may result in a long term recovery. I ask that
correspondence be sent to Ida Andres at 10860 Fawn Lake
Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46278, U.S.A. Her phone is
317-387-0920.