Dental News - Hinman moves 2020 meeting and program to 2021

Dental Tribune USA

Tue. 7 April 2020

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ATLANTA — The Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting — one of the nation’s largest dental meetings — has announced it will move the Hinman 2020 educational program, speakers and events to March 11-13, 2021.

The 108^th meeting, which was scheduled for March 19-21 at the Georgia World Congress Center and Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, was forced to cancel on March 11 because of the COVID-19 concerns in the U.S. and abroad.

“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!”

Following the 2020 meeting cancellation, Hinman’s officers discussed various options and decided the educational program was simply 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,” O’Donnell said.

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.

In addition, Hinman is still awarding its annual scholarships to students 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.

Society President Dr. Sedgie Newsom said: “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. 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 to Atlanta. In addition, more than 400 companies exhibit at the conference, which is held every March.

This was only the third time in its 108-year history that the meeting has been cancelled. In 1931, the meeting was cancelled out of respect for the death of its founder, prominent Atlanta dentist Dr. Thomas P. Hinman. And, in 1933, the meeting was cancelled because of the Great Depression.

For more information on Hinman 2021, refunds or other questions, please visit the Hinman website and its social media channels, or contact Hinman at (404) 231-1663.