The Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting will move its 2020 educational program, speakers, and events to March 11 to March 13, 2021. The 108thMeeting, which was scheduled for March 19 to March 21 at the Georgia World Congress Center and Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, was canceled due to concerns about the COVID-19 epidemic.
“We are confident we made the right decision to cancel this year’s meeting and happy to share that we plan to host this outstanding educational program in 2021,” said Dr. Bob O’Donnell, general chair for Hinman 2020 and 2021.
“We’ve worked diligently over the past week to secure our speakers for next year and appreciate the opportunity to host this wonderful Hinman reunion next March. We’ll have an entire year to finalize the details and focus on making it the best Hinman ever for our attendees!” O’Donnell said.
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After the 2020 Meeting cancellation, Hinman’s officers discussed various options and decided that the educational program was too strong to abandon.
“In the end, everyone agreed that the program should be moved to the already reserved March 2021 dates, which makes the planning and preparation for next year’s meeting seamless,” said O’Donnell.
Since the cancellation, Hinman staff have been processing refunds for registration, course, and event fees. They also donated all of the supplies purchased for the participation courses, which included 465 disposable gowns, 137 boxes of gloves, 17 boxes of face masks, and 21 bottles of hand sanitizer to a local Atlanta retirement facility.
Also, Hinman is still awarding its annual scholarships throughout the Southeast. These scholarships are always presented to the recipients during the meeting’s Scholars Luncheon.
The Hinman Dental Society, which sponsors the Hinman Meeting, will keep its current slate of officers, who will serve another year, as well.
“We are fortunate to have an outstanding membership that is willing to volunteer and help with anything and everything to make the meeting possible and enjoyable,” said Society president Dr. Sedgie Newson. “It’s going to be a great year.”
The Hinman Meeting annually attracts more than 20,000 dentists, hygienists, assistants, students, and other dental professionals and industry personnel as well as more than 400 companies to Atlanta each March.
This year was only the third time in the meeting’s 108-year history that it has been canceled. In 1931, it was canceled out of respect for the death of its founder, Dr. Thomas P. Hinman. And in 1933, it was canceled due to the Great Depression.
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