Dr. Peter Kearney Dr. LouAnn Visconti Dr. Peter Kearney has tirelessly served his colleagues and enhanced the dental profession for over 40 years. He has an esteemed history of long-term volunteer work and has served as president of the Vancouver and District Dental Society and council member of the College of Dental Surgeons of BC. He was a long-time professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and mentored students through the UBC general practice residency program in the northern part of the province. He has taught the UBC Tucker Cast Gold elective for many years. Dr. Kearney is a veteran member of the organizing committee of the Pacific Dental Conference (PDC) and has played a key part in bringing together PDC’s lineup of speakers and presenters. As a member of the BCDA Economics Committee, he shares information and encourages debates on dental practice economics. Nationally, he was a member of the CDA/CDHA/CDAA Healthy Workplace working group and remains active as an invigilator, evaluator and exam supervisor for the National Dental Examining Board of Canada. Dr. LouAnn Visconti is a passionate and driven leader in the Canadian dental profession. After graduating from her orthodontic program, she established a practice in Timmins, Ontario. She was actively involved in the Timmins and District Dental Society and served on several committees for the Ontario Dental Association (ODA). She joined the ODA board in 2012 and became ODA president in 2017. She continued on to become a key member of the CDA Board of Directors in 2020. She was involved in many CDA committees, including the Lifelong Learning Task Force, Executive Search Committee, and Governance and Nominating Committee. Dr. Visconti’s approached tasks at CDA with a detailed and thoughtful perspective. She improved decision-making of the CDA Board by challenging its thinking. Dr. Visconti is also an accomplished musician, and she plays with the Timmins Symphony Orchestra. I would like to thankDr. DavidLimand the awards committee for consideringme. I have been fortunate inmy professional life to have been at the crossroads of so many aspects of oral health. And I have been inspired and encouraged by the leaders in dentistry. I must acknowledge two of my mentors, the late Dr. Dick Tucker andDr. John Sadkin, whose shoulders I stand upon each day. I hope that I’ve been able to inspire the next generation of dentists, younger, smarter, better-looking to become involved with organized dentistry. Of course, none of this would be possible without the understanding and support of my family. Thank you, Catherine and Sean, and thank you CDA. My mother instilled a sense of duty and honour in serving others in all of her children. These early lessons stayed with me as I served my profession at the local, provincial and national levels. Since my graduation over three decades ago, the dental profession has seen many changes and faced many challenges. I always feel that the true measure of a group is not seen during times of calm when everything is going well, but rather during times of adversity in how we handle the challenges that face us. I’ve been proud to be part of a wonderful group of like-minded individuals working together towards solutions. I would like to say a special thank you to my colleagues who deemed me worthy of this honour. I would also like to thank my husband andmy staff for their unwavering support throughout all my endeavours. And finally, a big thank you to all of you who I’ve had the honour and privilege to serve with for the betterment of the profession. I look forward to our path crossing again and to see what we can achieve in the future. 18 | 2024 | Issue 4
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