Delta Dental Board of Directors Elects Officers

May 30, 2007 (Okemos, Mich.) — Officers of the Delta Dental of Michigan Board of Directors were elected to serve one-year terms during the board’s recent annual meeting in Okemos.

James P. Hallan, of Okemos, Mich., was elected chairperson. Hallan is the president and chief operating officer of the Michigan Retailers Association in Lansing.

Terence R. Comar, D.D.S., M.S., of Portage, Mich., was elected vice chairperson. Comar is a periodontist in Kalamazoo.

Lu Battaglieri, of East Lansing, Mich., was elected treasurer and secretary. Battaglieri is president of the Michigan Education Association in East Lansing.

Bruce R. Smith, of Newport, Ky., was elected member-at-large. Smith is the manager of employee benefits at Catholic Health Initiatives in Erlanger.

Colleen G. Vienna, D.D.S., of North Olmstead, Ohio, was elected member-at-large. Vienna is a general practitioner in North Olmstead.

Edward J. Zobeck, of Troy, Mich., was elected member-at-large. Zobeck is vice president of human resources at The Auto Group Club in Dearborn.

Laura O. Stearns, of Williamston, Mich., was elected senior executive officer. Stearns is the vice president of service program operations at the Michigan Catholic Conference in Lansing.

John A. Breza, D.D.S., of Shelby Township, Mich., was named immediate past chairperson. Breza is a general practitioner in Fraser.

New members of the board, who will serve three-year terms, are: Rory Gamble, of Lathrup Village, Mich., regional director for UAW region 1A; Terri Miller, of Novi, Mich., general manager of the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility; Lisa Dancsok, of Novi, Mich., senior vice president of marketing, communications and legislative affairs for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation; Timothy Moffitt, of Kalamazoo, Mich., assistant professor and chair, department of economics and business at Kalamazoo College; Joseph Rainey, D.D.S., of Clinton, Tenn., instructor in the Department of General Dentistry at the University of Tennessee Medical Center and general practitioner in Knoxville; and, Bruce C. Baird, D.D.S., of Sewanee, Tenn., general practitioner in Sewanee.

Other members of the board are: Reverend Father Jack H. Baker, M. Div., of Wayne, Mich., pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church; Todd V. Ester, D.D.S., of Canton, Mich., an endodontist and a clinical assistant professor of dentistry and director of multicultural affairs at The University of Michigan School of Dentistry; Pat Rice, CPA, of Brentwood, Tenn., founder, owner and partner of Touchstone Medical Imaging, LLC; Joseph C. Harris, D.D.S., of Oakland Township, Mich., a general practitioner in Detroit; C. Richard Seitz, of Okemos, Mich., former president and chief executive officer of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana; and, Lonny E. Zietz, D.D.S., M.S., of Grand Rapids, Mich., an oral surgeon in Ada.

Delta Dental of Michigan, with its affiliates in Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee, make up one of the largest dental plan administrators in the nation. In 2006, the enterprise paid more than $1.7 billion for dental care for more than 6.2 million enrollees. Offices are located in Okemos, Farmington Hills, and Grand Rapids, Michigan; Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis, Tennessee.