FOR IMMEIDIATE RELEASE - Photos available upon request

WEST ALLIS, WIS., Nov. 10, 2008 – Twin Lakes general dentist Dr. H. Michael Kaske was sworn in as the 137th president of the 2,900-member Wisconsin Dental Association on Nov. 8, 2008 at the organization’s annual House of Delegates meeting at The Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake.

Kaske is a 1977 graduate of Marquette University School of Dentistry. He is past-president of the Burlington Dental Society and served as WDA trustee for its Southeast Region before being elected vice president in 2006 and becoming president-elect in 2007.

Kaske holds the rank of captain in the U.S. Navy with 32 years of service, including 29 in the reserves. The first dental officer competitively selected for a major medical command, Kaske was commanding officer of the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in California from 2000 – 2002.
Other WDA officers for 2008-2009 include:

•    President-Elect Dr. Kent Vandehaar, a private-practicing general dentist who lives and works in Chippewa Falls. Vandehaar represented the association’s Northwest Region as trustee from 2002 until November 2007 when he was elected vice president. He is currently a member of the American Dental Association Council on Dental Practice. Vandehaar was president of the Northwest District Dental Society in 1996 and has been a member of the Chippewa Falls 2010 Oral Health Task Force since 2002. Vandehaar graduated from the University of Iowa School of Dentistry in 1981.

•    Vice President Dr. Eugene Shoemaker lives and practices general dentistry in Waukesha. Shoemaker has been a WDA trustee since 2003 and is currently chairing Wisconsin’s first Mission of Mercy charitable dental care program to be held next June in La Crosse. A MUSOD graduate, Shoemaker held every major leadership post with the Waukesha Country Dental Society including being president in 2002. Since 1992, he has served on numerous WDA committees, subcommittees and task forces from public relations to long-range planning.

•    WDA Editor Dr. Dennis Engel resides and practices general dentistry in Mequon. He was elected to this 4-year post in 1994, 1998 and 2006. Engel was WDA president in 2003 – 2004. Active in the American Association of Dental Editors, Engel is a certified dental editor having completed 30 hours of continuing education in writing, editing and communications.

•    Treasurer Dr. John R. Moser is a Milwaukee resident with a general dentistry practice in the Third Ward. A 1982 MUSOD graduate, Moser completed the American Academy of Orthodontics for the General Practitioner Twin Wire Orthodontics Clinical Course in 1989. He has been an adjunct clinical assistant professor in Marquette’s Department of General Dentistry since 1994. Moser’s organized dentistry posts include Greater Milwaukee Dental Association president and WDA trustee for its Greater Milwaukee Region.

•    Immediate Past-President Dr. Monica Hebl lives in and practices general dentistry in Milwaukee. A MUSOD graduate, Hebl was the only general dentist from the private sector to serve on the Governor’s Task Force to Improve Access to Oral Health Care in 2004 – 2005. Her professional credentials include GMDA president and WDA trustee for its Greater Milwaukee Region.

•    Dr. Michael Donohoo, Wauwatosa resident and a Milwaukee general dentist for 28 years, was re-elected to his fifth term as speaker of the WDA House of Delegates. A 1980 Marquette dental school graduate, Donohoo was elected GMDA president in 1994 and WDA president in 2002. He served on the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration Advisory Committee on Primary Care Training, Medicine and Dentistry from 2002 – 2005.

Newly elected WDA trustees:
•    Dr. Jeffrey Nehring, Mercer resident and general dentist, Northwest Region
•    Dr. Ned Murphy, Racine resident and general dentist, Southeast Region
•    Pako Major, third-year MUSOD student and Milwaukee resident, will represent all of the dental school’s students on the WDA board for one year

Recently re-elected to the Board of Trustees were:
•    Dr. David Kenyon, Eau Claire resident with a general dentistry practice in Altoona, Northwest Region
•    Dr. Thomas Nockerts, Green Bay resident and general dentist, Northeast Region
•    Dr. Thomas Raimann, New Berlin resident and Hales Corners general dentist, Greater Milwaukee Region
•    Dr. Julio Rodriguez, Brodhead resident and general dentist, Southwest Region

Established in 1870, the Wisconsin Dental Association is headquartered in West Allis. With more than 2,900 members statewide, the WDA represents the vast majority of practicing dentists in Wisconsin. Its members are committed to promoting professional excellence and quality oral health care. The WDA is one of 53 constituent (state-territorial) dental societies of the American Dental Association - the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. For more information on the WDA, call 414-276-4520 or visit www.wda.org.

CONTACT:                 Carol S. Weber, APR, Director of Public Relations
PHONE:                     414-755-4108
E-MAIL:                     cweber@wda.org