It was not a scam.
When Dr. Gerry Chu was notified that he was to be honoured by an international dental organization, the Pierre Fauchard Academy, he was skeptical.
Then when he found out his daughter, Dr. Kristy Chu, also received notification of the same honour, his doubts intensified.
“I immediately thought it had to be a scam,” said the longtime Salmon Arm dentist, who now practices with his daughter, her husband Dr. Brandon Schiffner and Dr. Diljit Chand. “It was a total surprise to me and although I’d heard of Pierre Fauchard, I didn’t’ know anything about this academy.”
But his curiosity was piqued and after doing some research on Google, Gerry decided to email the organization to find out if it was legitimate.
After some delay during the Christmas holidays, Gerry received information from the organization’s executive director and realized he was not being had. The honour was real.
The organization was founded in 1936 and is comprised of more than 10,000 fellows located in 86 countries. Its goal is to honour those who have notably contributed to the advancement of the dental profession in the area of clinical practice, research, education, public service and literature.
It is limited to the top three per cent of the nation’s practitioners.
This year there were 39 inductees with seven from B.C., including both Gerry and Kristy, who flew to Toronto in May to accept the honour.
“We got to share the stage individually and then introduced together as father and daughter. As far as anyone knows, it’s the first and only time for this in the Pierre Fauchard Academy history,” says Gerry.
“It was a very special time for Kristy and I and we are so proud to be from Salmon Arm.”