A Study Club

So, even going way back to my childhood, my club member history has been a bit sketchy. The casual observer might even profile me as “anti-club.”

As a kid, I was neither a Cub nor Boy Scout. And sorry, but I wasn’t impressed with the Scout gear, and doing stuff like camping outdoors never did float my boat. I couldn’t tie any knots beyond shoelaces until I made it into dental school. And even though I was a good kid and remain a responsible adult, I’ve never earned a merit badge.

It was only because I needed the grade that I ever camped out at all. As a Zoology major and future degree holder trying to get into dental school, I had to take Ecology and visit the high desert wilderness on a weekend better spent watching college football. I spent the night in a sleeping bag atop a picnic table, dreaming of snakes, scorpions, and spiders.

And back in the 60s, I don’t think Los Angeles even had a 4-H Club. I’d never seen a farm, but I did mow lawns. A great aunt did raise chickens.

The Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club was founded a few years before I was born; it was the Boys Club in LA until 1990 when Girls were added. I was never a member, but it wasn’t a protest. And just like with dental school, I’m sure the quality of the organization was greatly enhanced with gender equality.

In high school, somehow, I weaseled my way into the Key Club. I have no idea why they let me in. Possibly mistaken identity? Unlike with the Cub and/or Boy Scouts, I loved the simplicity of Key Club gear. To tell you the truth, the tan Key Club inscribed jacket was really all I wanted; for whatever reason, it made me feel cool. Maybe clubs weren’t so bad after all.

Courtesy of a first quarter 2.13 GPA at Cal State, LA, I adopted the loner role during my pre-dental experience. And even though my mom spoke a dialect of Italian called Greek, I had no interest in becoming Greek at a commuter school. I didn’t have bone spurs, nor any relatives born on third base. Calling myself a lover would’ve been a stretch but opting for “fighter” qualified as next level flexibility. Inspired, I became an All-World student.

Having read the Illiad and the Odyssey and becoming a USC Dental Trojan, I of course had no use for the Greeks in dental school. The last thing I needed was sharing a clubhouse with rich kids and serving them meals and doing whatever else you do starting out at the bottom of the fraternity food chain.

On finally escaping dental school, I joined the local dental society- not a club.

As my dental practice grew while my imposter syndrome/anti-social tendencies began to fade, I stalked my fave educators on the CE trail. Is a cult just a next level club? Nope, because in cults, the members are always happy, and never said no to Kool aid. At USC, we retained great respect for tall, cold frosty beverages.

Have I ever joined a country club? Next question.

My practice team also grew in numbers, and we traveled together all over the country training and celebrating our successes. It seemed like wherever we went, there was another kind of club in the mix. And whether we went to Seattle, Hawaii, the Pechanga casino, or took a cruise to Ensenada, I was already the “old man in the club.” The only way I ever achieved admittance was by sticking close to my team. My typical observation: “(RDA) Dani, you’re dancing with THAT guy? Seriously?” I was always moved by the team’s concern over my health and possible fatigue, as in, “Dr. V, aren’t you tired yet?”

Then, about eight years ago, through the luck of the draw, my innate strong suit of being a “nice guy,” and normal human physiology, when I returned to my seat at the “Course that Changed Everything,” I learned an executive decision had been made and I was president of a group-not a club. I wound up on the board for the number one Invisalign group (not club) of North America, the American Academy of Clear Aligners (AACA).

During the most recent summer board meeting in Las Vegas, I was daydreaming of past winter board meetings in Nassau, the Bahamas; Jamaica, and New Orleans and…how lucky I was to be part of something bigger than any of us in the room. My eyes were probably fluttering, and I hope my mouth wasn’t open as I embraced being surrounded by so many totally awesome colleagues and inspired by a leader who believed and practiced humor- an approach unknown to dental schools!!!

Then the leader, Doc David Galler, broke the spell with, “JACK! What’s going on in LA?” For a split second, I thought Galler was my mother. Then, “You mean, how did my football Trojans lose to Utah TWICE?” When I regained focus and single vision, I looked up to find the topic was study clubs. Oh-oh. The club thing.

When I sold my dental practice of some 46-years, I had three goals. Get healthy. Read every day. Write a book. Oh, four goals; hit golf balls every day.

I’m healthy; I walked 2,000 miles in 2023 and always carry my golf bag. Before my walks, I use the Peloton. I read 53 books last year but haven’t come close to hitting as many golf balls as when I was practicing dentistry. And I haven’t started the book.

But if you’re the chair of a study club, YOU are an ideal fit for it. And as of last night, we now have the first viable AACA study club in greater LA County. Can you give me a “HALLELUJAH?”

And what’s better than, at least once a month, being surrounded by colleagues generating enough positive energy to cause a hum, or maybe even some of those seriously good vibrations descriptive of and coming straight outta SoCal?

I grew up in Monterey Park, California. And last night we celebrated meeting #1 at the Monterey Park Courtyard Marriott hotel, managed by my former Invisalign patient. So it was like a homecoming, shared with professional brothers and sisters. I’m still smiling.

There isn’t one location that’s ideal for everyone providing excellent dental care in vast LA County. But how sweet it was to be part of a club attended by like-minded colleagues arriving from Santa Monica, the San Fernando valley, and even from two-hours-away Big Bear Lake. It isn’t every day you have the chance to share an evening with new friends dedicated to learning and growing…and doing it with everyone sharing the optimism.

It was a night to remember. I finally found a club I could love.