The West Virginia Section of the Pierre Fauchard Academy held its annual awards ceremony and dinner on Tuesday May 7, 2024 at the Erickson Alumni Center on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. The program began at 5:30 p.m. with a reception followed by the awards program and a great dinner. A special guest at the ceremony was our esteemed Executive Director, Bob Cattoi, who traveled the country roads to again grace us with his presence.

It was an exciting and memorable day for the West Virginia Section as five new fellows were inducted into the Academy. Dr. Mike Medovic is the 6^th district trustee at the ADA, and past president of the West Virginia Dental Association. Dr. Don Patthoff is also a past president of the WV Dental Association, and longtime faculty member at the school. Dr. Bruce Cassis is a past president of the WV Academy of General Dentistry and also the only West Virginian who has served as President of the National Academy of General Dentistry. Dr. Dami Kim is the new director of the Pediatric Residency Program at the WVU School of Dentistry, and Dr. Lora Graves has served for many years as a faculty member and team leader in the Department of Restorative Dentistry at the WVU School of Dentistry.

Certificate of Merit

The West Virginia Section also presented a Senior Dental Student Certificate of Merit to Ali Alsayegh, who served as President of the Student Professionalism and Ethics Association (SPEA) at the school. He also was the student with the most professional service hours of anyone in his class.

Special Appreciation Award

One of the newest awards presented by the WV Section is the Special Appreciation Award which is presented to a faculty member who has served the school in many different capacities over the years. The recipient this year was Dr. Cathy Connor, Clinical Professor in the Department of Endodontics.