Hinman Dental Meeting executive director retiring in May

The Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting announced that its longtime executive director, Sylvia Ratchford, will retire in May 2021, following her 25th Hinman meeting.

Executive Director Sylvia Ratchford. Image courtesy of Hinman Dental Meeting.

Since 1996, Ratchford has led the Hinman Dental Meeting and Hinman Dental Society and will continue to do so through May, while she helps in the transition of her successor, Annette Sullivan.

During Ratchford's tenure, she helped grow the Hinman Dental Meeting to its peak of more than 23,000 attendees and 430 exhibiting companies, according to the organization. She also turned the event into one of Atlanta's top 10 professional conferences, contributing an average of nearly $20 million annually to the local economy.

Ratchford has worked in the hospitality, meeting planning, and association management industries for more than 40 years. Before joining Hinman, she worked in sales management for the Westin Peachtree Plaza and at AmericasMart.