14th Class DDSA Awards
Nominations are being accepted for the 14th Class Distinguished Dental Service Academy. The Distinguished Dental Service Academy was established in 1999 to recognize and honor members of the Stark County Dental Society for distinguished service to their patients, the Mission of the Society, their profession, and the Stark, Wayne, and Carroll County communities. The DDSA Awards Ceremony and Dinner will be Friday, May 16, 2025.
The nomination form is below along with qualification criteria, as well as a brief overview of the DDSA. Thank you for taking the time to give this very important matter your serious consideration. There are many SCDS members, both past and present, who are more than worthy of receiving this honor. The Bylaws of the DDSA allow for a maximum of 5 to be honored with a maximum of three living Inductees and a maximum of two to be honored posthumously.
Your participation in the nomination process is the only way to insure that those who have served as the shining lights for our profession and our community receive the recognition they so richly deserve.
DDSA HISTORY AND QUALIFICATIONS
HISTORY
The Distinguished Dental Service Academy was established by the Stark County Dental Society in 1999 with the Charter Class inducted in 2000. The purpose of the Distinguished Dental Service Academy is to recognize and honor members of the Stark County Dental Society for distinguished service to their patients, the Mission of the Society, their profession, and the Stark, Wayne, and Carroll County communities. The Induction Dinner shall be held bi-annually in the spring.
NOMINATION
Criteria:
• 25 years of service and 60 years of age
• Stark County Dental Society membership of at least 20 years
• Nominee can be living, retired, or a member who has passed.
Meritorious efforts in at least one of the following:
1. Organized dentistry at any level
2. Clinical dentistry including research or teaching
3. Community service/humanitarian efforts
SELECTION
The Charter Class of 2000 was limited to a total of six. Succeeding classes of Inductees shall be limited to a total of five: a maximum of 3 living Inductees and 2 inducted posthumously.
Nominations shall be reviewed by the official Nomination and Selection Committees of the SCDS Distinguished Dental Service Academy.
Previous nominees may be re-nominated. All nominations, including renominations, must be newly submitted on the official DDSA Nomination form. One does not need to be a member of the SCDS to submit a nomination.
JAMES F. KING ORAL HEALTH ADVOCACY AWARD
In 2021, this non-dental recognition award was inspired by and created in the memory of Dr. James F. King. Dr. King was not only a local gastroenterologist, joining the staff of Mercy Medical in 1969, but was internationally known.
Dr. King was an advocate for oral health as being essential for good overall health and championed this message at a time when many physicians did not understand the value that dentistry and oral health add to overall patient health and care in a hospital setting. Dr. King was a major supporter of developing the Mercy GPR in 2007 and was a mentor and friend to many local dentists in the SCDS community.