[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10056]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING W. MARK DONALD, DMD, MAGD, AS THE 52ND PRESIDENT OF THE 
                      ACADEMY OF GENERAL DENTISTRY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GREGG HARPER

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 28, 2016

  Mr. HARPER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the occasion of the 2016 
Academy of General Dentistry's Annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts 
to commend and congratulate W. Mark Donald, DMD, MAGD, for his service 
as the 52nd President of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) 2015-
2016.
  A Louisville, Mississippi native, Dr. Donald is a graduate of 
Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi School 
of Dentistry. He has served in private practice and has continued to 
deliver professional dental care and oral care education to the 
citizens in his local community for the past 28 years.
  Dr. Donald is the first dentist from Region 12 of the AGD and the 
Mississippi AGD to hold an elected national office and to become the 
national President of this organization.
  The Academy of General Dentistry was founded in 1952 with the 
foundational core principal of continuing education for general 
dentists to advance their knowledge, education and training in all 
fields of dentistry through post-graduate continuing education.
  The Academy of General Dentistry is the second largest dental 
professional organization in North America with over 40,000 members 
consisting of 62 constituents in the United States and Canada with 
student and international members.
  Members of the Academy of General Dentistry are required to acquire 
continuing education as a membership requirement and can obtain a 
coveted Fellowship and Mastership in the AGD.
  Fellows in the AGD make up 15% of the membership and only 5% of the 
membership obtain the coveted Mastership award. Dr. Donald obtained the 
Mastership award in 2009.
  Dr. Donald has been a member of the AGD since 1988 and has served in 
both appointed and elected positions of leadership within the AGD. He 
was appointed to the Legislative and Governmental Affairs Council in 
2000 and served as chair from 2003 to 2006. He was elected as Regional 
Director of Region 12 and served for five years and two as chair. He 
has been elected to serve as AGD Speaker of the House, and in 2013 he 
was elected as the AGD Vice President.
  Dr. Donald was instrumental in the conception, formulation and 
implementation of the AGD advocacy strategic plan including the 
introduction and initiation of the AGD Advocacy fund and the AGD Hill 
Day and has helped guide the AGD advocacy efforts for the general 
dentists for the past 16 years.
  Dr. Donald received the first Dentist of the Year award in his home 
state of Mississippi in 2010 and was recognized as the 2016 Alumnus of 
the Year for the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry. He is 
the first and current project chair of the Mississippi Mission of Mercy 
which has provided 1.3 million dollars of free dental care to 2,800 
patients in Mississippi.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in commending Dr. W. Mark 
Donald, DMD, MAGD, for his service as the 52nd President of the Academy 
of General Dentistry, and also to acknowledge the significance that the 
Academy of General Dentistry has had on the profession of dentistry, 
the oral health care delivery system of the United States, and the 
importance of oral health care for all our citizens.

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