YANKEE DENTAL 2016 AWARD WINNERS
ETHERINGTON AWARDAJ Homicz, DDS, FAGD
Yankee Dental Congress is pleased to present the prestigious 2016 Etherington Award to Dr. AJ Homicz of New Castle, New Hampshire. This award is given annually in recognition of New England dentists who dedicate much of their professional lives to furthering the high ideals and objectives of organized dentistry.
After graduating from the School of Dental and Oral Surgery at Columbia University, Dr. Homicz served two years as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Dental Corps before going into private practice from 1973-2005, in Antrim, New Hampshire. He was President of the New Hampshire Dental Society in 2004-05, and on the ADA Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations (CAPIR) 2007-11. He has travelled to Haiti several times since 1988 with the Haitian Health Foundation on 10 day mission trips to deliver emergency oral health services. Currently, he serves as an Oral Health Consultant for the BiState Primary Care Association and as an expert advisor for DentaQuest Institute. Dr. Homicz, who became the Dental Director of Families First Community Health and Support Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 2003, participated in the development and implementation of the dental center, where they provide dental services in mobile and fixed facilities.
After graduating from the School of Dental and Oral Surgery at Columbia University, Dr. Homicz served two years as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Dental Corps before going into private practice from 1973-2005, in Antrim, New Hampshire. He was President of the New Hampshire Dental Society in 2004-05, and on the ADA Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations (CAPIR) 2007-11. He has travelled to Haiti several times since 1988 with the Haitian Health Foundation on 10 day mission trips to deliver emergency oral health services. Currently, he serves as an Oral Health Consultant for the BiState Primary Care Association and as an expert advisor for DentaQuest Institute. Dr. Homicz, who became the Dental Director of Families First Community Health and Support Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 2003, participated in the development and implementation of the dental center, where they provide dental services in mobile and fixed facilities.
CLINICIAN OF THE YEAR AWARDRobert A. Faiella, DMD
Robert A. Faiella has been a featured lecturer at Yankee Dental Congress for over a dozen years. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Dental Science, the American College of Dentists, the International College of Dentists, the Academy of Osseointegration, the Pierre Fauchard Academy and the International Team of Implantology. Dr. Faiella is a past president of the Massachusetts Dental Society where he also served in numerous volunteer positions at the organization as well as in Yankee Dental Congress. Most recently, Dr. Faiella served as the president of the American Dental Association. Dr. Faiella owns and maintains private practices in Osterville and Duxbury, MA.
ELIZABETH A. BAER ACHIEVEMENT AWARDAmy Fleisher, CDA
Amy Fleisher has been a CDA and member of the American Dental Assistants Association for more than twenty five years. A dental assisting instructor since 1996, Amy is currently teaching at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton, MA. She has served as a Board Member to the Massachusetts Dental Assistants Association, the Wachusett District Dental Assistants Association, and the Worcester District Dental Assistants Association. Ms. Fleisher has also volunteered as a program coordinator, room coordinator, and speaker at Yankee Dental Congress. Her passion for dentistry began with her own experience at Yankee and each year she brings her students, encouraging them to gain knowledge from all that Yankee offers.
HYGIENIST OF THE YEAR AWARD Lisa LaSpina, RDH
Lisa LaSpina has been a practicing dental hygienist for thirty years. She is actively involved in the American Dental Hygiene Association and has held numerous leadership positions at both the component and state levels, currently serving as Vice President and Council Chair for Education and Research for the Massachusetts Dental Hygienists’ Association. Previously she has served as secretary for the MDHA and as president and secretary for the Middlesex Component receiving the Middlesex Component Hygienist of the Year award in 2003. Ms. LaSpina was the District One Student Liaison at the ADHA Annual Session in Nashville, TN in June of 2015. Ms. LaSpina has also served as a public health dental hygienist volunteering her time at the senior center and with the girl scouts in her community. Presently, she is a full time faculty member at Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene at MCPHS University where she is also currently enrolled as a student in the Doctor of Health Sciences program.
JOHN GOLDEN AWARDCarl McManama, DDS
Dr. Carl McManama, generous with his time and expertise, has been a volunteer at Yankee Dental Congress for over 15 years. Typically managing multiple leadership roles, Dr. McManama has served as Yankee Dental Congress General Chair, Yankee Oversight Committee Chair, Hands-On Committee Chair, Scientific Committee Chair, a five-time Program Committee Chair and a Yankee speaker since 1989. He sits on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Massachusetts Dental Society and has done so since he began volunteering. Dr. McManama is a professor at the Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine in Boston, MA.
ARMEN NALBAND AWARDJeffrey E. Dodge, DMD
This year’s Armen Nalband Award recipient is Dr. Jeffrey Dodge, a devoted and unsung Yankee Dental Congress volunteer for over a decade. In addition to serving two terms as a member of the Yankee Dental Congress Core Committee, he generously volunteered throughout the years on virtually every Yankee Committee, including Signs, Registration, General Arrangements, Presiding Chair, Room Coordinator and Hospitality. Dr. Dodge is a fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Academy, the American College of Dentists and the International College of Dentists. A Tufts University School of Dental Medicine graduate, Dr. Dodge has owned and maintained a private practice in Woonsocket, RI for the past 30 years.
VIVIAN CHAPUT AWARDMarianne Torrisi
Marianne Torrisi has been a Yankee Dental Congress volunteer for over a dozen years. She has served on the General Arrangements Committee as well as the Social and Cultural Committee which she co-chaired in 2005. Mrs. Torrisi is a retired elementary school teacher with a BS from Boston College and a M.Ed from University of Lowell. She has been married to Dr. Thomas Torrisi for close to 50 years and has three children and 5 grandchildren. “Being part of Yankee Dental and the Mass Dental Society has and will continue to be my pleasure.”
VOLUNTEER AWARD FOR AUXILIARIESSusan Rudek, CDA
Yankee Dental Congress is pleased to honor Susan Rudek, CDA for her noteworthy loyalty to Yankee Dental Congress. Ms. Rudek, a Certified Dental Assistant for 30 years, has been an esteemed volunteer at Yankee since 1996. She has volunteered as both Presiding Chair and Room Coordinator for the past 19 years. She is also past President of the Massachusetts Dental Assistants Association. “It has been a very rewarding experience to have had the opportunity to work with so many professionals throughout my career."