Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Fall 2019 - 13

2019 PCSO Honorees

I have appreciated the opportunity to be just
one spoke in the "dental wheel." I could not have
participated in all these activities without the
love, support, and understanding of my wife,
Carol, and our children, Sharon, Christine, Jeffrey,

and Richard. My seven grandchildren and three
great-granddaughters have been added to the
extended Nagel family. I thank them all for giving
me the opportunity to serve. I love them all very
much.

2019 PCSO Annual Session Honoree
The Annual Session Honoree Award is a recognition given to a PCSO member who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and professional
qualities and who has given unselfishly of his or
her time and talent to promote the association
and the orthodontic specialty. The award may be
given each year, if chosen, or as determined by
the PCSO Board of Directors through their nominating and awards committee.
Dr. Robert Merrill, the 2019 honoree, is the third of
five children. He and his youngest brother, Tom,
followed their father, Dr. Monte Merrill, into the
specialty of orthodontics.
Dr. Robert Merrill

Dr. Merrill received his higher education at
Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where
he met the love of his life, Mary. He continued at
the University of Washington School of Dentistry
and specialized in orthodontics at the University
of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr. Merrill
is a diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics.
Dr. Merrill served for 20 years as a key contact
for the American Association of Orthodontists
(AAO) in its government relations program and
eight years on the AAO's Council on Government
Affairs as well as on the AAO Political Action
Committee (PAC). He was an American Dental
Association Action Team Leader for political advocacy. As chair of the Council on Governmental
Affairs, he testified on behalf of the AAO before
the US Congress and also represented the AAO in

Fall 2019

PCSO Bulletin

discussions with the Small Business Committee
of the US House of Representatives. He has been
engaged in political advocacy on the local, state,
and national level.
Dr. Merrill has published in the American Journal
of Orthodontic and Dentofacial Orthopedics and
has given multiple presentations to leadership
conferences of the Washington State Dental Association, the American Dental Association, and
the American Association of Orthodontists.
Dr. Merrill is past president of the North Central
(Washington) District Dental Society, the Washington State Society of Orthodontists, and the
Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists. He was a
delegate to the AAO House of Delegates for eight
years.
Dr. Merrill received the American Dental Association's Golden Apple New Dentist Leadership
Award and is a fellow of the American College of
Dentists, the International College of Dentists,
and the Pierre Fauchard Academy. He received the
Community Leadership Award from the Washington Association of School Administrators for his
work with public schools.
Dr. Merrill was in the private practice of orthodontics for 21 years, the last 10 of which were with
his brother, Dr. Tom Merrill, as partner in practice
before a ski accident upended his practice and life
plans. Subsequent to his disability, he and Mary
lived in Lima, Peru, from 2015 to 2017, serving as

Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Fall 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Fall 2019