CHICAGO--Oral Health America's 2006 gala and benefit attracted more attendees and raised more money than any event in the organization's history.
For 16 years, Oral Health America has ushered in the Chicago Mid-Winter Dental Meeting with its annual gala. More than 800 guests from the dental profession filled the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier Feb. 23 to enjoy an evening of dining and dancing, meeting old friends, and making new contacts.
One of the hallmarks of this year's gala was the first-time presence of
many groups, companies, and organizations. These included members of
every aspect of the profession, manufacturers, distributors, advertisers, and consultants.
This mix of firms with long-standing commitments to the dental profession and newcomers to the industry added to the evening's conversations as new perspectives were brought to ongoing concerns. While the Gala has had an international guest list, this year OHA welcomed for the first time two Russian visitors.
Not only was this year's Gala the biggest in OHA's history, it was also
the most profitable. As a result of the generosity of attendees,
advertisers, and underwriters, OHA received an additional $150,000 to
invest in outreach efforts such as Smiles Across America and to develop
further initiatives in efforts to achieve dental health parity.
