President's
Message

Greetings from your President,
Andrea Higgins, BS, RDH

As I was sitting down to write this I remembered that I have written one of these before. I went back and read what I wrote back in 2003 and realized that there might be a whole new group of people that might not know my story. This is the story of how I got here:

I graduated from Eastern Washington University in 1997. Upon graduation, I moved back to the Seattle area where my family lives. I started working in private practice in downtown Seattle. I was the only dental hygienist in my office. I received a letter informing me about the local dental hygiene society. I went to a meeting or two and even signed up to volunteer for something. But I did not get to know anyone at the meetings and no one ever followed up on me, so I stopped going to the meetings.

Then a few years later, I changed jobs and met Ona Canfield. She asked me if I was a member of the association and I was. Then she asked me if I attended meetings and which component did I belong to? I went into my story and she invited me to come to a GSDHS meeting with her. That is when I started going to meetings and I mustered up enough nerve to volunteer for things. The more meetings I went to, the more people I got to know and the more comfortable I felt. Then suddenly, I was volunteered to be the Education Chair for WSDHA. Wow, now I was attending state board meetings and really learning what our association was all about. I again attended these meetings with Ona and got to know the people and the terminology to gain enough confidence to take on the position of trustee for GSDHS. The rest is history.

The funny thing is that I do not think I am the only one with this type of story. I would not be so heavily involved had it not been for someone reaching out and merely asking me to go to a meeting with them. We need to be this person. We need to reach out to our classmates, friends, and coworkers to give them a gentle reminder of the importance of membership in our association. Not only being a monetary member but also a participating member that contributes time and energy to our effort to protect the dental hygiene profession. So next time you attend a meeting, take time to meet a friend for dinner before and go to the meeting together. Or volunteer to do an event with a classmate that you do not get to see that often. And last but not least, get coworkers involved in Sealant Day or some other fun event so they can see what we are all about!

All in all, I think we are going to have a great year with lots of fun!

Greetings from your President,Andrea Higgins, BS, RDH

Greetings from your President,
Andrea Higgins, BS, RDH