Oral Health Champion Awards
Oral Health Champion Awardees are selected by the Board, upon recommendation of the Conference Committee, based on significant state-level work on oral health policy and contributing to improving Missouri's oral health or contributing to making oral health and oral health policy a priority for policy-makers and the Missouri public.
Dr. Joe Richardson received Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University Of Missouri – Kansas City Dental School in 1981 (Centennial Class). In August 1981, Dr. Richardson returned to his hometown of Houston, MO, and opened his practice Houston Family Dentistry. Dr. Richardon still practices in the same location. He previously served on the Greater Springfield Dental Society board of directors.
Stephanie Sharp holds bachelor's degrees from Southwestern College in Winfield, KS and a master’s degree in international affairs and security policy from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Stephanie worked in the U.S. Senate and returned to Kansas as the government affairs director for the American Cancer Society. Later, she was elected to represent Lenexa and Shawnee in the Kansas House of Representatives for three terms. Ms. Sharp left the legislature in 2008 to further her career and start a family. In 2009, she was elected countywide to the first of two terms on the Johnson County Community College (JCCC) Board of Trustees. She founded Sharp Connections, LLC to spend more time “Translating Politics into English” for state and local elected officials and candidates.
Vicki Wilbers has been with the Missouri Dental Association for more than 25 years, working in a variety of capacities, including Membership Director and Assistant Executive Director, prior to taking the helm as Executive Director in 2006. Vicki is past president of the American Society of Constituent Dental Executives and a past member of the American Dental Association Executive Director Advisory Committee. She is a former board member of the Missouri Society of Association Executives and is an alumnus of Leadership Jefferson City. Vicki is the current treasurer of the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health, and in her role at the MDA serves on numerous Board and Committees related to oral health. She has been a volunteer for numerous school, church and community activities and a proud member of the St. Francis Xavier Contemporary Choir. Her most recent achievement is becoming an instructor for the Les Mills BodyFlow Yoga fitness program at Capital Regional Medical Center. Vicki resides in Taos with her husband Darrell, and she assists him in managing his excavating business. She is the proud mother of two college-aged children, Ryan, who attends the University of Missouri in Columbia, and Macyn, who attends and plays basketball for William Jewell College in Liberty.