We had a great time at the ADA’s annual Conference on Membership recently learning from the ADA and our peers ways to improve the member experience. For example, the Michigan Dental Association has been managing a robust and well-organized peer review process for the last 30 years. We hope to implement some of the same procedures this year to help our members resolve complaints quickly—before they escalate to lawsuits and the Board of Dentistry.

We’re committed to making our organization the best it can be and are pleased to announce that our hard work was honored with two awards! For dental associations with 2,001-3,500 active licensed members in 2017, the VDA received the awards for “Greatest Net Gain in Membership” and “Most Improved Active Member Retention Rate”. Way to go team!  Much of our success stems from the work we’ve been doing together to engage our newest members and to connect all members with the resources we offer at all three levels of our tripartite organization.

Our Membership Advocate, Sarah Mattes Marshall, and the Treasurer of our Board, Dr. Ted Sherwin, were also invited to speak on a panel during the conference to talk more about our successes from the last year. Sarah has since been asked by the ADA and our fellow state organizations to share some of the tools and guides she’s created to help state and local staff. And the ADA was so impressed by the work we’ve been doing to improve the dues payment process, that we may be piloting some additional improvements this fall—stay tuned!