WDA President's Gala featuring the Dental Excellence Awards
The 2025 WDA President's Gala, held annually during the WDA House of Delegates, will be on Friday, November 14, 2025. This event has been reimagined to include special entertainment, to celebrate the associations success, honor the outgoing WDA President and congratulate member dentists and friends of dentistry through our WDA Dental Excellence Awards program.
Friday, November 14, 2025
Hilton Appleton Paper Valley, Appleton, Wisconsin
Schedule for Friday, Nov. 14, 2025
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. - Reception
7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Dinner, Entertainment & WDA Dental Excellence Awards Program
Location & Hotel Information
Hilton Appleton Paper Valley
333 W College Ave
Appleton, WI 54911
When making reservations, mention the Wisconsin Dental Association (WDA25) to obtain the room block rate of $159 per night for standard room (plus taxes). Reserve via phone at 800-774-1500. You can also book directly online. Check in: 3 p.m. / Check out: 11 a.m. Deadline for WDA room rate is Sunday, Oct. 15, 2025. Airport shuttle to Appleton International Airport (ATW) (15 minutes away). Self-parking available with City of Appleton.
Sponsors
Sponsor information is available upon request - Amy Bastic, WDA Membership & Component Relations Liaison, 414-755-4126 (direct) or abastic@wda.org
WDA Dental Excellence Awards overview
The WDA Dental Excellence Awards (formerly the Pyramid of Pride Awards) are given annually to member dentists, organizations and others who have demonstrated exemplary commitment, service and achievement in regard to dentistry and the oral health of Wisconsin residents. Awards are presented at a special dinner in conjunction with the WDA House of Delegates every fall.
Judging of all awards, with the exception of the WDA Foundation Philanthropic Award, is done by the WDA Board of Trustees. The WDA Foundation Philanthropic Award is selected by the WDA Foundation Executive Committee.
All nominations must include a completed nomination form and a letter from the nominator indicating how the nominee meets the criteria and why they should be considered for the award. In addition, nominations for the Lifetime Achievement Award must include a current curriculum vitae. A dentist nominated in any of the award categories must be an American Dental Association member in good standing.
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Current & past award recipients
The WDA honored 9 award recipients during the WDA House of Delegates at a special dinner Friday, Nov. 8, 2024 at The Lismore in Eau Claire.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Dr. Ned Murphy (Mount Pleasant)
COMMUNITY OUTREACH AWARD
Dr. Tammy Boudry (Fond du Lac)
FRIENDS OF DENTISTRY
Rickey Shneyder, Crux Commercial Partners
COMMUNICATIONS AWARD
Dr. Jeremy Hoffman (Weston)
NEW DENTIST LEADERSHIP AWARD
Dr. Ryan Dodge (Hartford)
OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP IN MENTORING AWARD
Dr. Lisa Teel (Brookfield)
WDA AWARD OF HONOR
Ms. Julie Ye (MUSoD student)
WDA FOUNDATION PHILANTHROPIC AWARD
Dr. Timothy Durtsche (La Crosse)
Congratulations to all recipients!
Click here to see a history of recipients
WDA Dental Excellence Award categories
The WDA presents awards in 10 categories with one recipient in each:
- Lifetime Achievement
- Communications
- Community Outreach
- Friends of Dentistry
- Media Awareness
- New Dentist Leadership
- Outstanding Leadership in Mentoring
- Political Action
- WDA Award of Honor
- WDA Foundation Philanthropic (selected by the WDA Foundation Executive Committee)
Nominate a colleague
Nominations for a deserving dentist, organization or friend(s) of dentistry are accepted throughout the year. To qualify for that year’s program, nominations must be submitted by July 15. For any questions, please contact Amy Bastic at abastic@wda.org.
Nominations are now being accepted for our 2025 Dental Excellence Awards program.
