The Missouri Dental Health Poster Contest Grand Champion Winner was Cameron Mahaney of the Hannibal Public Schools in the Northeast District Dental Society. Dr. Del Gregory of La Plata, was District Poster Contest Chairperson. Dr. Lori Henderson, of Columbia, the Missouri Dental Association Poster Contest Chairperson, declared Cameron the top winner at the judging held in Jefferson City. Cameron subsequently became the recipient of the “Mary Starke Ay Memorial Missouri Academy of General Dentistry Scholarship,” in the amount of $ 4200 (+/-) by 2008 (when he graduates from high school) tax free through the Missouri Saving for Tuition (MOST) Program, announced in May 2002 by the Missouri AGD.
Mary Starke Ay was the beloved first Executive Director of the Greater Kansas City Dental Society. She served from 1967 until 1979, when she retired to Lexington. She was extremely instrumental in making the GKCDS active in the community and made herself a one-woman recruitment and retention committee for members. Her favorite fondness was the Council on Dental Health and Education and the efforts for children programming and activities. She surely would have been one very forceful spokesperson for the development of this statewide higher education scholarship program as an adjunct to the dental health education aspect part of the poster contest’s long standing history were she still to be among us. After moving to Lexington, where her brother Robert age 81 still lives, she was very active in the D.A.R. and the Lexington Regional.
Health Care Center Auxiliary. She lived to the age of 85 and is fondly remembered by many in the Kansas City area who knew her, especially the many who leaned on her shoulders for soothing words of advice and common sense to help with patient problems and concerns. Dr. Bob Nelson, President of the Missouri Dental Association when Cameron won the Missouri State Grand Champion Award, must’ve been one of those who “leaned” a time or two…for it was he who suggested this special award scholarship designation and then made the initial contribution. Soon Drs. Jack Taylor, John Bogert, Robert Smith, and Del Gregory followed. Other contributions from Missouri College, Warner-Lambert, Procter &Gamble Co., Iron Mountain Forge, and Edmonds Dental Prosthetics were later applied. Cameron’s MOST account will continue to earn interest until he’s ready to withdraw it tax-free for certified educational expenses at any recognized higher educational institution anywhere in the world. He may add to the account at anytime he desires. If he does, he’ll have more than the $4200 in the pipeline now. His Public School Career Counselor is working especially close with him as a special project with the Missouri Academy of General Dentistry.
Other Missouri youngsters receiving 2000 Memorial Mo AGD Scholarships and just recently (May 2002) placed in the MOST program for administration and follow-up.
| Local AGD | City | Winner | Sponsor | Amount |
| NORTHEAST | Huntsville | Lauren Okruch | Warner & Lambert Co.–Memorial for Wm. R. Warner & Jordan Lambert | $1200 (+/-) |
| SOUTHEAST | Jackson | Kristen Licare | Doug & Pam ( Berkley ) Ross–Memorial for Jewel Ross & Robert W. Berkley Sr. | $1000 (+/-) |
| NORTHWEST | Oregon | Shantell Hughes | Vatterott College– Memorial for Mary Patricia Vatterott | $1000 (+/-) |
| SPRINGFIELD | Hollister | Evan Grisham | Dyna-Flex Dental Laboratory–Memorial for Richard Virgil Lewis | $760 (+/-) |
| ST. LOUIS | Barnhart | Rachel Wolf | Keller Dental Laboratory –Memorial for William & Opal Hosier | $456 (+/-) |
| SOUTHWEST | Moundville | Cameron Bott | Dr. & Mrs. Bill Lake–Memorial for Edward W. Lake, D.O. | $400 (+/-) |
| KANSAS CITY | Kansas City | Victoria Neel | Inland Energy Co. –Memorial for Charles & Pearl Nesbit | $328 (+/-) |
| CENTRAL | St. Robert | Kasha Humphrey | Mound City Dental Society
–Memorial for Dr. William Gregory | $328 (+/-) |
The Missouri Dental Health Poster Contest was developed in 1985 as a joint mutual partnership between the Missouri Academy of General Dentistry and the Missouri Dental Association during National Children’s Dental Health Month 1986. The first ever statewide project was so successful it was selected the ADA’s coveted First Place National Award for the Harris $2000 Prize. The “uniqueness” of it was that it not only promoted “dental health,” it also promoted “lifelong learning,” the mission lifeblood of the AGD. The program was conducted again in 1987 as a joint venture. The following years were left to the Missouri Dental Association as the sole sponsor, until 1992 when the Missouri AGD offered to provide sole sponsorship and substantial higher education scholarships as part of an International AGD Poster Contest program. The Missouri contest winner was also the AGD first place winner of $5000 in addition to the scholarship prizes. Thirty-two Missouri children were awarded scholarships of $12,000 (PLUS INTEREST) upon their successfully completing high school and enrolling in an accredited higher education institution. Most of them did so. Others not qualifying per the rules had their funds transferred to others in certified financial need. The balance of those funds have been transferred to fund several of the scholarships awarded here.
In 1999 the Missouri AGD once again approached the Missouri Dental Association, and the Missouri Dental Foundation as well, for another try at a mutual partnership to promote lifelong learning concurrently with children’s dental health education. The MDA accepted the MoAGD Memorial Scholarships as long-range prizes for each district’s 2000 winners.