During this time of Thanksgiving, it is only appropriate for me to give thanks to someone who has meant so much to my dental practice, Michelle Baber. For, you see, she is retiring. Yes, as seen in the photo (thanks for taking a little off the top, Valerie!), she looks too young to retire, but retire she must in order to take care of family for awhile.
We’ll miss Michelle. In fact, we already do. Michelle predates me in this practice, having been here when I merged my practice with Dr. Ken Hornowski in 1996, and so carries with her an incredible amount of institutional memory—that’s something that takes time to replace. But that’s not all. Despite the fact that she and I got off to a rocky start, which we ultimately determined was because certain aspects of our personalities are very similar, we developed a wonderful working relationship and friendship that resulted in this control freak trusting her with a great many things. Again, something that will take time to replace.
Her calm, reserved demeanor masked a fierce determination to make sure patients and staff alike were well-cared for, and if she ever felt any of us fell short in that arena, she let us know…quickly. Fortunately, I have been able to attract some wonderful new long-timers who are showing the desire and dedication to build the type of relationships with me, the staff, and our patients, that Michelle had. It was important to Michelle to feel that she is leaving us in good hands, and I believe she has. I know this makes her very happy.
For now, I’ve lost the perfect foil to my devilish tricks—a more gullible Pollyanna you’ll never find—but in time, I know I will. In fact, I’ve already identified a few in the office (tee hee hee!).
Thank you, Michelle. You’re the best!