You know the sort of person that we’re discussing this issue. It’s the type of person whose presence is recognized before they are ever seen. In politics you know that the president is there by seeing the secret service agents. In show biz you know that the starlet is there by the flashing bulbs from the paparazzi. In prosthodontics you know that Cliff Van Blarcom has arrived when you hear his laugh. There’s something about Cliff’s laugh that makes it recognizable. It might be the pitch, it might be the volume but for most of us it is the sincerity. It comes from a man who is enjoying life, a man who is happy being who he is.

So how did he get here? Cliff spent his early years in the Detroit area of Michigan later attending college at Alma College. During dental school at the University of Michigan, Cliff and Leslie married and soon began their family of three boys: Kip, Jeff, and Andy. A Navy assignment in Iceland provided time for the family to decide on the next career move. It was then that the decision was made to move to a warmer climate for graduate training. With many programs to choose from, the Van Blarcom family moved to the tropical climate of Rochester Minnesota to attend the prosthodontic program. This was the beginning of close friendships with Cliff’s senior resident, Ron Desjardins and his program director, Bill Laney.

Following training in combined prosthodontics and maxillofacial prosthetics, a practice was started in Prairie Village Kansas. Unlike many, Cliff started with a small practice and elected to keep the practice small. It’s impossible to talk about his practice without mentioning the efforts of his assistant, receptionist and all around right hand person, Ginger Hager. The practice has succeeded through this team’s efforts.

With the Academy, Cliff and Leslie have shown a strong spiritual side. His efforts were critical to the initiation and development of the Academy of Prosthodontics Foundation. Now on the Executive Council, Cliff looks forward to working even harder with this organization.

Absolutely! In fact, I think that our future may well lie in that venue. The success of this practice is built on doing the one thing others can not offer: personal attention and the joy of saying to the patient, "I made this for you!" While not always appreciated, most people, when the chips are down, want to know that their healthcare practitioner is "on their team." At each consultation, the clincher is simple: it will take time before I can see you because mother told me I should have been twins… since I make everything myself, you will need to be patient. When they hear that, it is just… how long? I think that there will always be room in our specialty for those who decide to offer of themselves in this unique manner. And the rewards are very apparent. Our "overhead" in the office can not be beaten… we put into salaries and benefits for our two employees over 70% of what we take in. Hurrah.

Leslie and I decided many years ago that one of our most important gifts to our children would be to complete their educational careers entering the workforce debt free. We have done that for all three sons. We have seen too many children inherit and squander both inherited money and their own lives to make us feel that transfer of money to them on our death would be of any benefit. Hence, we have asked them to participate in the distribution of our assets to the good of other less fortunate children. They are members of the Board of Trustees of our private foundation. We have done about the same thing I did with the AP Foundation in terms of its design. The mission statement of the foundation is clearly oriented toward healthcare initiatives and educational pursuits for children. This year, our foundation contributed to a local inner city missionary project run by another Methodist deacon friend of ours. It will clothe several hundred kids this winter. Also, the foundation has sent a sizable gift to an orphanage in Guatemala for the drilling of a water well. They currently have no source of uncontaminated water other than from a polluted stream. Two good projects. Next year we are looking to help out with the local Immunization Collation here in KCMO for kids. That is what we are about. Our own kids will reap the benefit of being the participants in real life of "The Millionaire" show! Good for them!

Heavenly! Well, that is a joke. It is an honor for me to be "clergy spouse." Leslie is very involved in the Methodist church at the national level. She is helping to define the role of the deacon in our church. Recently she was elected to be one of the official delegates to the quadrennial Jurisdictional and General Conferences of the United Methodist Church. It was both a challenging and rewarding experience for her, and rewarding for me to be able to share in that work with her. I could not be prouder of her and the work she does both nationally and with our local congregation. She is a very gifted speaker in the pulpit and insightful with her parishioners. We work as a team and I feel it is a privilege to be part of the effort she makes for raising the spiritual health of those with whom she is in contact. No regrets here!