They say a lady always knows when it’s time to leave and so it is with mixed emotions I tell you that I am retiring from the dental group and Newcom Media as of March 29th, 2018.
I’ve only worked for the two largest publishing companies in Canada (many, many owners) since 1986, a feat unto itself in the rapidly shrinking print media world. A few things have remained consistent throughout: my love of print magazines, my insistence on editorial integrity and my tremendous luck in working with and for fantastic colleagues.
I’ve worked with and for Melissa Summerfield for more than two decades, the last almost 19 years on the dental group. In fact, the reason I came to be on Oral Health is because I’d worked with Mel at another company and knew exactly what kind of publisher she would be (for the record, that meant she respected editorial and advertising content and didn’t allow either to be muddied).
I couldn’t have been more proud than when Melissa was named vice-president of publishing for Newcom. While her new position means she has a vastly expanded portfolio, I know the dental group remains her baby and she will never leave it unattended. I also know I leave the dental group in superb shape and in superb hands. I know you’ll support Jillian Cecchini in her new role as managing editor as you’ve supported me all these years. The dental group has a perfect blend of incredible veterans and is now infused with fresh, new blood and new ideas…something every successful enterprise needs.
I’d be remiss not to mention the past and present members of Oral Health’s editorial board, each of whom have been a joy and an honour to work with. Too many names to mention here but I will treasure my relationships with the late Dr. Jim Kerr, as well as Dr. Randy Lang and Dr. Jordan Soll, Dr. Bob Clappison and Drs. Scott and Pedlar, to name just a few, and my heart is still heavy from the loss of Drs. Aldo Boccia and Rollin Matsui, all of whom made me a better dental magazine editor and maybe even a better person.
If I have any regret, it would be that I won’t have more time to spend working with and for our current, and hopefully longtime owners, Newcom Media, and its president, Joe Glionna. I’m excited to see the future of Oral Health in print and digitally under Jillian and newly-promoted Manager of business development, Tony Burgaretta.
There have been unimaginable advances in dentistry and dental hygiene, many of which we’ve covered in our pages, especially in our 100th anniversary issue of Oral Health (2011) and our celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary (July 2017). The influx of women in dentistry is notable. And from 1913 when Alfred C. Fones opened the Fones Clinic For Dental Hygienists in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to 1919, when the Royal College of Dental Surgeons established a one-year dental nursing course and enrolled 17 women, to today when the pace of change is staggering, you’ve come a long way, baby.
Continued health and success to you all…you will be missed and I hope I will be too!
– Catherine Wilson
