UPDATE Southwest Dental Conference
It is with great honor and pride that I write this article as chairman of the 2017 Southwest Dental Conference – our 90 th year ! As I accepted this prestigious position almost three years ago , I had no idea how much heart and soul went into the planning , traveling and execution of one of the most highly regarded conferences in the nation . I can proudly say that having traveled to meet new speakers , getting acquainted with former speakers and most importantly getting to know the current ones , everyone feels that SWDC exemplifies class and hospitality .
Our 90 years have taught us so much . Moving venues back in 1999 from the Anatole to the Dallas Convention Center was challenging and it took us a few years to feel as though we had sound footing . Can you imagine being anywhere else now ? In 2015 ,
we were faced with moving the dates from January to August / September . While not something we personally asked for , it was a reality . Even though our conference has managed to grow in size , we were not big enough for the Convention Bureau of Dallas , and quite frankly we got bumped for bigger activities that would provide more revenue for the City of Dallas . We unfortunately fall between being too big for other venues and too small for us to really have any clout . The Scientific Committee has spent many hours diligently working to manage the change and come up with alternative dates that would facilitate the Convention Bureau and the needs of Southwest Dental Conference . Our August dates were some of the most challenging of all . With school starting and being in the dead of our dreaded August heat it kept our
numbers low . However , moving forward starting in 2017 our Conference will be in September . For us this change was a huge challenge but as with any change , you realize good things will come and certainly that is our hope .
I hope this answers some of your questions and addresses concerns that you may have had with the changing of dates . I am so excited about the new September date and excited to share with you a sampling of the wonderful speakers committed to SWDC . Please mark September 14-16 , 2017 on your calendar . We will see you there !
Powering growth , Dr . Jodi Danna
22 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www . northtexasdentistry . com