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Each day at the AACD Annual Scientific Session begins with an enlightening education experience that goes beyond the world of dentistry. Conference attendees leave the General Sessions energized and inspired after learning about making the most out of professional and person life. Past AACD General Session speakers have included Geena Davis, Erin Brockovich, Ronan Tynan and The Capitol Steps.
Excellence in Cosmetic Dentistry 2008 General Sessions will feature:
Dave Barry • Wednesday, May 7
8:00 am – 9:15 am
No two speeches of Dave Barry’s are exactly the same. Dave brings his hilarious sense of humor to your
stage and offers up his wacky point of view on relationships, work, current events, kids, technology, and life
in general.
Dave Barry was born in Armonk, New York in 1947, and has been steadily growing older ever since without
ever actually reaching maturity. He attended public schools, where he distinguished himself by not getting in
nearly as much trouble as he would have if the authorities had been aware of everything. He is proud to have been elected “Class Clown” by the 1965 Pleasantville High School Class.
Barry went to Haverford College, where he was an English major and wrote lengthy scholarly papers filled
with sentences that even he did not understand. He graduated in 1969 and eventually got a job with a
newspaper named—this is a real name—The Daily Local News, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he
covered a series of incredibly dull municipal meetings, some of which are still going on.
In 1975, Barry joined Burger Associates, a consulting firm that teaches effective writing to business people.
He spent nearly eight years trying to get his students to stop writing things like “Enclosed please find the
enclosed enclosures,” but he eventually realized that it was hopeless. So in 1983, he took a job at the
Miami Herald, and he has been there ever since, although he never answers the phone. In 1988, he won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, pending a recount. His column appears in several hundred newspapers,
yet another indication of the worsening drug crisis. In 1996, Barry married Michelle Kaufman, a sportswriter for the Miami Herald. He has a son, Robert, who
recently got his driver’s license, which should make everybody nervous.
Barry has written a number of short but harmful books including, Babies and Other Hazards of Sex; and Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States. His most recent books include Dave Barry Is
NOT Making This Up; Dave Barry’s Gift Guide to End All Gift Guides; Dave Barry Does Japan; Dave Barry
Turns 40; Dave Barry’s Only Travel Guide You’ll Ever Need; and Dave Barry Talks Back. They have been
hailed by the critics as “containing a tremendous amount of whitespace.”
The CBS television series “Dave’s World” is based on two of Barry’s books. Also, he owns a guitar that was once played by Bruce Springsteen.
Kevin Carroll • Thursday
May 8, 8:00 am – 9:15 am
The author of the highly successful Rules of The Red Rubber Ball Kevin Carroll is also the founder of The Katalyst Consultancy, where his job is to nurture
and care for the individual and communal inner spirit and inspire new ways of
thinking. It’s not unusual for him to work with the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies
and a group of equally unruly First Graders on the same day. He considers himself
an excitatory agent for change, a “Katalyst.” The “K” is for Kevin. Raised by his grandparents in Philadelphia, Kevin spent endless hours across the street
at the neighborhood playground where he found his calling: a red rubber ball. Kevin’s
pursuit of play and his red rubber ball took him overseas with the Air Force and quickly
won him fluency in Croatian, Czech and Serbian and conversational fluency in German and
Russian.
After the Air Force, Kevin landed a job as Athletic Trainer and Physical Education Teacher at
The Haverford School in Philadelphia, which quickly led to his job as Head Athletic Trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers. While at the 76ers, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight tapped Kevin to bring his unique experiences to the
sneaker giant and help inspire their creativity. Although no job existed at the time, Knight encouraged Kevin to “hang out” and create
any job he wanted at the company. Kevin accepted the challenge and stayed for seven years as “Katalyst.” He was instrumental in helping
Nike develop a deeper understanding of athletic product performance, team dynamics and interpersonal communication. He was also the
inspiration for the Lance Armstrong wristband phenomenon. Kevin left in 2004 to found his own brand, The Katalyst Consultancy. Since leaving Nike, Kevin has traveled the world promoting the importance of play in everyday life, whether at the office, at home, or on the
playground. He has helped turn creative ideas into reality for such organizations as The Discovery Channel, ESPN, HBC Bank, Mattel, Capital One, The National Hockey League, The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Television and Starbucks (in early 2006, his encouraging words
appeared on 17 million of Starbucks’ grande cups).
Over the past 25 years, Kevin has helped the world chase and realize its dreams. His favorite quote is from The Alchemist, “to realize one’s
destiny is a person’s only obligation,” inviting everyone to join him in the chase and to – most of all – enjoy it!
MacGillivray Freeman's Hurricane on the Bayou, • Friday, May 9
8:00 am – 9:15 am
A powerfully presentation unlike any other, Hurricane on the Bayou carries audiences behind today’s news headlines on a journey deep
into the soul-stirring heart of Louisiana – before, during and after the unprecedented devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Unfolding against
the poignant backdrop of the most costly natural disaster in America’s history, Hurricane on the Bayou tells a story of four musicians, both
legendary and rising, as they explore the electrifying culture of New Orleans: speed through the beautiful, alligator-filled bayous on airboats;
recount their heart-wrenching, personal stories of Katrina; and most of all, bring the focus to the rapidly disappearing wetlands that are New
Orleans’ first line of defense against deadly storms. Vanishing at an astonishing rate of one acre every 38 minutes according to the U.S.
Geological Survey, the wealth, cultural vitality and very future of New Orleans depends on the preservation of these wetlands. The session will conclude with a very special performance treat.
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