Presidential column by BADN Honorary President Joan Hatchard RDN LCGI FBADN FAETC

I've been up north this weekend - to visit the BADN offices in Thornton-Cleveleys, and to attend the North of England Dental Show in Manchester.

I was delighted to present Shirley Lyons, our Membership Administrator and bookkeeper, with a gift from members of the Executive Committee, Panel of Reps, and staff to celebrate Shirley's 25 years with BADN! Before her BADN career, Shirley was a trainer for a well known off licence company, and is a definite oenophile - so we presented her with a crystal ship's decanter and four wine glasses, and a sommelier set with the BADN logo. Having been Finance Officer/Treasurer in the past, I have worked closely with Shirley and - on behalf of the Exec and members - thank her for all her hard work on behalf of the Association and dental nurses over the last quarter of a century!

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Shirley with one of her gifts

I also attended the North of England Show in Manchester on Saturday, where BADN had a stand and several speakers on the Dental Nurse Theatre programme. BADN's Eszter Janusek opened the programme with ‘The Spirit of the Dental Nurse - Remain or Evolve, Mindset is Everything'; then Pam Swain, our Chief Exec, spoke about the BADN Menopause Policy and how practices can (and why they should!) support menopausal employees. BADN President-elect Preetee Hylton spoke in the afternoon on ‘Dental Nursing and Beyond: Paving your Career Pathway'; and the programme ended with BADN member Shannon Wilkes speaking about her own personal journey and struggle with dystonia.

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BADN stand

This was the first time I had visited this particular Show and - apart from (certainly from an exhibitor's perspective) somewhat lackadaisical organisation - I was very impressed! We were certainly very busy at the BADN stand and signed up around a dozen new members and quite a few renewals. All the new members took away our Refer A Colleague cards, so hopefully they will explain the benefits of joining BADN, the dental nurses' professional association and independent trade union, to their colleagues! Which, of course, means that both get a £5 credit in their BADN account!

BADN will be at Dental Showcase at ExCeL later this month, the Dentistry Show at the NEC in early May, and the Scottish Dental Show at Braehead at the end of May. Come along and say hello!