Volume 7 • 2020 • Issue 7

Dr. Peloso has graded the manual dexterity test (MDT) component of the Dental Aptitude Test (DAT) for close to 20 years. He has contributed significantly to the DAT grading criteria and the preparation of the carving specifications in the MDT test materials. As well, he has been masterful in working with the graders to calibrate the results so that all DAT results are harmonized. It is estimated that Dr. Peloso has overseen the grading of over 20,000 MDT test samples. Dr. Peloso is one of those unsung heroes who has quietly and efficiently worked behind the scenes to ensure that CDA provides services that are fair for DAT candidates and for the dental schools that rely on test results. Award of Merit Recognizes an individual who has served in an outstanding capacity in the governing or service of CDA and dentistry in Canada. Dr. Linda Blakey Dr. Blakey has served with distinction on numerous committees and working groups at the Newfoundland and Labrador Dental Association (NLDA), rising to the position of NLDA president in 2011. She continued to chair the NLDA dental liaison committee, awards committee and dental outreach committee. In 2014, Dr. Blakey was elected to the CDA Board of Directors. While at CDA, she sat on the CDA Audit Committee, Seal Committee and the Indigenous Children’s Working Group. She also chaired CDA’s Trust and Value Working Group and Strong Profession Team. In 2020, she completed her full term on the CDA Board. Along the way, she participated in charity missions to Honduras and has volunteered at the Gathering Place in St. John’s to treat patients with no access to care. She has recently been asked to chair the Atlantic chapter of the Pierre Fauchard Academy. Dr. Neil Peloso Dr. Daniel Violette Dr. Violette has been a leader and contributor to his profession and his community in New Brunswick for three decades. He was president of his local dental society for 4 years in the late 1990s, and then became involved in the New Brunswick Dental Society (NBDS) and he served as NBDS president in 2009. He started his time with CDA with the National Task Force on the Integration of Foreign Trained Dentists. In 2014, he joined the CDA Board of Directors. While at CDA, he chaired the Healthy Public Strategic Priority Team, and was a member of both the Strong Profession and the United Community Strategic Priority Teams. He also served on the CDA Future of the Profession Task Force and the Trust and Value Working Group. He also is chief of the dental emergency service at Edmundston Hospital and chief of the dental department at the Vitalité Health Network in Edmundston, Grand‑Falls and St-Quentin region. and Dental Residencies Committee. In addition, he has served on numerous committees at the ODQ, rising to the position of vice-president. In 2013, Dr. Schwartz became involved in the challenging process of creating a new organization, the Canadian Association of Hospital Dentists, of which he is currently president. 15 Issue 7 | 2020 | CDA at W ork