EDITORIAL

Future physical facilities should be planned well in advance ■ ■ W h e n it was decided some 14 years ago that the ADA would build what was ultimately a $14 million Headquarters Building in Chicago, the action was not popularly received by many mem­ bers and their official representatives. However, now in 1977, that move is almost unanimously considered to have been a stroke of genius since the Association Headquarters Building is not only an excellent functional and esthetic struc­ ture worthy of membership pride, but is also one of the Association’s major financial assets. Along the line of future planning, the ADA should now be thinking years ahead on both fiscal and physical matters. The following thoughts on this subject should be viewed in a very generalized manner. The Association should be planning for a com­ prehensive dental profession complex or “ dental city” to be constructed within the next 10 to 30 years. This would require a sizable piece of land. Large tracts can still be bought at reasonable prices in some parts of the country, but they are becoming more expensive every day. Even if the Association bought 100 to 500 acres of “ cheap” land and just sat on it for 20 years, it would be an excellent investment. A comprehensive Association physical plant could include a headquarters building at least as large as the current one but with enough audi­ torium, meeting room, and exhibit space to ac­

commodate the annual session and perhaps with permanent office space for each one of the con­ stituent societies—or maybe for each of the trustee districts. Such a complex could also in­ clude hotel-type or vacation-apartment living accommodations that would be geared to large conventions. A cam pground, a fishing and swimming lake, a golf course, tennis and hand­ ball courts, and a parklike setting generally would not be unthinkable. And how about an airport to accommodate small planes? Attractive and functional facilities could be rented to other pro­ fessional groups besides serving well the Assoc­ iation’s own membership. No doubt such an elaborate physical layout would require considerable imagination and planning, both to develop and then to operate, but it could be done. And it could be done much more economically if a good-sized tract of land were acquired now to be used sometime in future years. The specific suggestions for facilities are just for thinking purposes, but the general idea of the Association’s planning for an expansive and complex headquarters setting for future years is strongly recommended. Pie in the sky?—Not economically feasible? —Not practical?—Not realistic?—A real hare­ brained idea? That’s what some people said about building a new Association Headquarters Building—only about 15 years ago. H.C.B.

JA D A , V o l. 95, J u ly 1977 ■ 15

Future physical facilities should be planned well in advance.

EDITORIAL Future physical facilities should be planned well in advance ■ ■ W h e n it was decided some 14 years ago that the ADA would build what was...
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