The ADA Foundation (ADAF) has announced the winners of the 2017 Smile Champion awards for Give Kids A Smile® (GKAS), which recognize outstanding volunteer and corporate efforts to strengthen and expand the GKAS program.
Scott Morita, DDS, of Hawaii, an orthodontist and president of the Hawaii Dental Association’s Young Dentist group, has been named the recipient of the Jeffrey Dalin, DDS, Give Kids A Smile Volunteer Award. Julie Charlestein, president and CEO of Premier Dental Products Company, has been named the recipient of the Steven W. Kess Give Kids A Smile Corporate Volunteer Award.
The awards presentation will take place during the ADA Foundation GKAS Volunteer Recognition Reception, October 19, 2017, in Atlanta during ADA 2017.
Morita organized the first Give Kids A Smile Hawaii event in 2014. The program has since grown into a yearly education program at public elementary schools reaching more than 3,000 children and has expanded to include the islands of Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island, including a large GKAS event at Makahiki Dental Clinic in Honolulu where 350 children receive free cleanings, exams, and fluoride treatments. Morita was also instrumental in the establishment of the Hawaii Dental Association Foundation, a 501(c)3 foundation that will encompass GKAS Hawaii.
Charlestein is a fourth-generation leader at Premier Dental Products Company, which was started in 1913 by her great grandfather, Julius Charlestein. Premier develops, manufactures, and distributes innovative consumables to the dental professional worldwide. Charlestein was voted as one of The Top 25 Most Influential Women in Dentistry by Dental Products Report (2012) and is a member of The Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). She serves on the Board of Overseers for The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine; on the Dean’s Advisory Council of Temple University Dental School; and on the Boards of Directors of the Alliance for Oral Health Across Borders, the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, and the ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) Association. She is an honorary member of Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity and sat on the Board of Directors of the Dental Trade Alliance, where she chaired the Government Relations Committee.