In December, Tiina and Connie told us the sad (for us) news that they would be retiring at the end of the year. These wonderful ladies have been a vital part of our office for an amazingly long time. Connie has been with us for 17 years and Tiina for 31! Dr. Gerry can remember a time when he and Tiina comprised half of the office stafff.

To thank Tiina and Connie for all they have done for Filgiano Dentistrry and to celebrate this new stage in their lives, we all went out for lunch at the School Fine Dining restauarant. There was much reminiscing with Tiina and some astonishment from Connie who couldn’t believe she had been with our practice that long. There was a lot of laughter, presents and hugs as we sent them off with wishes for many happy years ahead.

We all had a great time at the Markham Festival of Lights. It was a cold night so Dr Gerry and Dr. Tom encouraged everyone to take their best shot on net because no one feels cold when they’re playing hockey. All those who took a shot got a free toothbrush and a chance to win an Auston Matthews Jersey. We had enthusiastic participants and some very excited winners!

What better way to spend a summer afternoon than shooting a few hoops? This was our fourth annual appearance at the festival and the people who stop by to try their luck are getting better every year. The littlest ones were some of the most successful but they may have had a tiny bit of help. We gave away a bunch of toothbrushes and movie passes to these sharpshooters and had a lot of fun meeting everyone.

Because Dr.Tom had had experience with Canada’s indigenous community during his clnical training at Western, he wanted to help out again. In December 2017, Dr. Tom spent two weeks in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut providing dental care to Canada’s indigenous people. Rankin Inlet is located 500 kms North of Churchill, Manitoba and is only accessible by air. Because he was there in December, the weather was extremely cold and the sun only appeared for a few hours during the day. This picture was as bright as it got. Dr. Tom found his stay to be a valuable experience and he was impressed by the resilience of the people in the face of much hardship.

Ricky joined our office in 1990 looking for a “little part-time job” to help fund her daughter’s university studies. Twenty-six years later, Ricky was still delighting our patients and staff alike with her warm , self-effacing manner. In February, we all got together to celebrate Ricky’s well-earned retirement and to wish her all the best with her new found freedom!