7-Sep-08 11:00 AM  CST  

Mayor’s Volunteer Award, 2008 Nominating George Sayre, D.D.S. 

Mayor’s Volunteer Award, 2008 Nominating George Sayre, D.D.S.
by Mariano W. Guas

How does a patient’s appointment turn into ten years of volunteering for the dentist? For Dr. George Sayre it all happened ten years ago when Dr. David Buck sat down in his dental chair. Dr. Buck’s numbed and mumbled question of how could the new organization Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston (HHH) enlist the support of Houston dentists for a budding dental clinic elicited Dr. Sayre’s own enthusiastic questions, and that was just the beginning!

Dr. Sayre began by providing weekly services and offering advice from his years as a dentist and by opening doors into Houston’s dental community for support and donations to further the clinic’s development. After a year, Dr. Sayre agreed to become volunteer Dental Director, and that turned into a genuine labor of love for the next nine years.

Dr. Sayre extended his belief of excellence in dental care and top-notch customer-centered service from his private office into HHH’s free clinic for Houston’s homeless men and women. His caring nature, his passion for serving people all in the same manner whether rich or poor, and his high standards of quality established the ongoing principles of service and excellence and the warm and friendly atmosphere of the HHH dental clinic.

For the daily operations of the clinic, Dr. Sayre is unfailingly available to staff members for thoughtful, level-headed, fair and wise leadership and guidance, whether in matters of personnel, service planning, patient care or personal encouragement. For the overall growth and development of the program, Dr. Sayre has made promoting the HHH dental clinic a top priority in the community and among his colleagues of the Greater Houston Dental Society. He has devoted countless hours to ensure that this clinic for the homeless would live and grow.

Dr. Sayre has provided such excellent service and leadership that he has worked himself right out of his volunteer Dental Director’s job. The clinic has developed and prospered to such an extent that it is becoming necessary to have a full-time paid director. Even as Dr. Sayre guides that transition, he will not give up volunteering for HHH, but rather will transfer his service to the Board of Directors for continuing involvement and leadership.

The greatest proof of the impact of George Sayre as volunteer Dental Director with Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston is not just that the clinic has grown from a one-chair, part-time, limited-service operation to a full-time, three-operator comprehensive dental clinic. The real proof is in our “smile book,” a before-and-after picture album of dental patients. The happy and beautiful new smiles dramatically illustrate the transforming changes in hundreds of lives each year through restored health, appearance and confidence, leading to self-sufficiency.

 

Source: Mariano W. Guas

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