News

By Board Chair Jeremy Hedrick, Careington International

Summer is an exciting time at NADP because of the multitude of activities. CONVERGE preparation is in full swing. The strategic planning process continues. NADP has fielded the Social Responsibility Survey to collect valuable information for our advocacy and communications initiatives. The Nominations Committee is developing a list of Board candidates and encouraging members to submit nominations. In addition, preparation is underway for the 2022 Call for Volunteers, which will open in the fall. And, next month we will recognize many of our members by announcing recipients of NADP volunteer awards. As you can see, a lot is going on, and it is my privilege to share a few highlights with you.

CONVERGE

I am really looking forward to seeing my friends and colleagues in person in New Orleans during CONVERGE 2021. Have you checked out the updated schedule? Several session descriptions and speaker biographies have been added. Judging from the conference content listed, I anticipate CONVERGE will deliver the timely, informative industry presentations we expect and value. In addition, NADP will follow all recommended state and Center for Disease Control (CDC) requirements in place at the time of the event.

I encourage you to participate in either the live or virtual conference as your travel policy permits. Register today.

Strategic Planning Process and Progress

The Steering Committee, volunteer leaders, and the Board have made significant progress on the NADP Strategic Plan. This month, the Board and Steering Committee are reviewing NADP’s Strategic Statement, Vision, Values and Key Objectives. Based on these discussions, high-level initiatives that are unique to this strategic plan will be developed and presented to the Board this summer. The goal is to present the plan to NADP members at CONVERGE 2021 and begin developing operational plans with Volunteer Groups.

Social Responsibility Survey

To enhance our federal and state advocacy efforts, NADP recently launched the Social Responsibility Survey as a proactive measure to promote messaging about how the dental benefits industry helped providers, employers and consumers manage the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The information gathered will support NADP advocacy efforts. Three NADP volunteer groups, Commission on Advocacy Policy, Research Commission and Communications WorkGroup, have collaborated on this extremely important initiative and it is vital we hear from your company. To date, only 14 plans have responded. I encourage all our plan members to complete as much of the survey as possible. See related article for more details.

Board Nominations

The Nominations Committee is seeking board candidates. They also want to remind members there is a process to submit nominations. See related article in this newsletter for more information.

Volunteers

Our volunteers are one of NADP’s most important strengths. Their talent and knowledge inspire and drive all our programs. NADP opens the call for new and returning volunteers at CONVERGE and it continues for two weeks following the event. I encourage our member delegates to prepare right now by reviewing your company’s representation via the link to our volunteer roster. When the call for volunteers is issued this fall, encourage your colleagues to sign-up for service in additional areas where space is available.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I thank every individual who serves on an NADP volunteer group. You are instrumental to our success and your contributions are greatly appreciated.

Watch for next month’s newsletter when we recognize the achievements of our volunteer award recipients.

The above highlights demonstrate the ongoing work of NADP and our volunteers on your behalf. Should you have any questions or comments about NADP or its direction, please contact me.

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