Dentists and Dental Assistants Sweepstakes Winners
In celebration of National Dentist's Day and Dental Assistants Recognition Week, we asked our participating dentists to nominate a dentist or dental assistant to give them a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card. Five dentists and five dental assistants were randomly selected. Read more about them below.
We are very thankful to all of our participating dentists for taking such good care of our members. We truly appreciate and value every dental team! Thank you for sharing your stories and congratulations to the winners!
Dentist winners
Dr. Chad McLennan
Forest, Virginia
"Dr. McLennan is a caring dentist. He does what is best for the patient and is very family-oriented. He has a lovely wife and two adorable young children."
Nominated by: Sharon
Dr. Nicole Rivera Vargas
Aldie, Virginia
"Dr. Vargas is always very patient with everyone. She is always taking her time to go the extra mile for everyone and anyone. She is a ballerina dancer and a dentist!! That to me is pretty cool and unique!”
Nominated by: Cristie
Dr. Julie Hawley
Emporia, Virginia
“Dr. Hawley started at our practice working as a receptionist while in college as an undergrad. In 2013, after completing dental school at VCU, she started working as a dentist. I have worked at this practice for 25 years and it has been rewarding to see Dr. Hawley grow. In 2020, she bought the practice from Dr. Douglas Harman. To see her grow from a receptionist barely knowing dentistry to placing implants and performing root canals, and now the owner of the practice, is amazing. Her wanting to come back home to a rural area and serve her community speaks volumes! Her smile, patience, knowledge, and professionalism are great assets to our small town.”
Nominated by: Brenda
Dr. J. Todd Fowler
Harrisonburg, Virginia
“Dr. Fowler is a very caring dentist! I nominated him because he deserves to win for his caring attitude toward patients.”
Nominated by: Angela
Dr. Athra Khalaf
Henrico, Virginia
“Dr. Khalaf has been practicing dentistry for several years and has practiced in over three countries all over the world.”
Nominated by: Abdul
Dental assistant winners
Penny Sapounakes
Danville, Virginia
“Penny just started working for us in March, but she has been doing dentistry for 35+ years. She deserves to win for her exceptional work as a dental assistant.”
Nominated by: Amy
Elizabeth (Ainsley) Hartsook
Fredericksburg, Virginia
“Ainsley is always so very considerate of her teammates. She is one of the few assistants we have that does pedo, ortho and oral surgery assisting. She is always willing to jump in and help them when they start getting behind schedule. Ainsley gets so many compliments and praises from her patients and coworkers. Patients love her upbeat energy and positive attitude. If we could clone her, we would happily do so! Ainsley just recently purchased her first home and we would love for her to be awarded for all her hard work. She truly is our 'GO-TO ASSISTANT' and we love and appreciate all that she does to support our owner, managers, team and patients.”
Nominated by: Sheila
Nestor Febres
Richmond, Virginia
“Nestor is a phenomenal dental assistant, my right hand. He is a dentist from Venezuela and is in the process of obtaining his license to practice here in Virginia.”
Nominated by: Crystal
Aracelis (Sally) Pelletier
Newport News, Virginia
“Sally has worked in our office for 14 years. She is caring, funny, uplifting and loyal, and always puts others before herself. Our practice would not be the same without her. To show how she puts others first is the special thing about her. Recently she lost her brother-in-law from out-of-state. We had recently lost our other dental assistant and hired a new one who was training. Against my recommendation, she stayed here at the office while her husband went for his brother's service and she watched it virtually. She did not want to leave the new employee alone while training. This really showed what kind of person she is. You do not see these individuals come along very often. I would highly recommend Sally, our dental assistant.”
Nominated by: Benjamin
Evelyn Cannon
Manakin Sabot, Virginia
“Evelyn has been working for us for five years now and she is the best dental assistant we have ever had. She comes in every day 45 minutes before the office opens to prepare for her patients. She takes the time to get to know her patients and remembers everything about them. She goes out of her way to make sure all employees have a special treat on their birthday, and her contagious laugh can be heard throughout the office. Evelyn rarely misses a day from work and if she does her presence is missed in the office by the staff and the patients. She has worked in dentistry for 20 years and is always looking after her fellow staff and her patients’ best interest.”
Nominated by: Yvonne