A re-post of the following article is in honor of Evan Myers – our company’s founder and a great friend and mentor – who passed away on January 22 at the age of 83. Obituary
The story of how our company was started sounds a lot like one of those Inc. Magazine “pick yourself up by your bootstraps success stories” that they love to profile each month. Evan had been in the dental industry for many years when Jerry Krause of Healthco-Krause asked him to start a practice sales, mergers and acquisitions department based in the Kansas City store. While I am uncertain of the exact date, I know that department was active by 1987 because that is when he first sold a practice for me. All of this work was in addition to his regular merchandise and equipment sales territory.
Healthco International floundered in the early 90s. In the last minutes before corporate bankruptcy in 1993, Evan acquired the assets of the practice sales department and started Evan Myers and Associates out of his home. Now with almost 300 practice sales and many more appraisals, associate and temporary dentist placements along with billed and unbilled consulting clients, I think it is safe to say that thousands across the Midwest have been touched by his hard work. In addition, Evan was a founding member of American Dental Sales (now ADS) along with our Midwest colleagues Tom Smeed and Guy Jaffe. This national organization was formed to ensure quality and ethical standards which were sorely needed in this industry. They must have been on the right track as ADS membership is generally credited with being the largest association of independent broker-companies in the country and the ADS transactional database is the standard by which practices are measured and valued.
When a failing elbow signaled the end of my chairside career, I called upon Mr. Myers to sell my practice so that I could have some surgery and retire in peace. As he had done on numerous occasions, the sale was professionally handled and painless. After the sale, he made the offer for me to “give him a call” if staying at home got too boring. My “retirement” lasted just three weeks as 52 was just too young for me to sit at home and watch Oprah. I went to work for him in late June 2003. My wife Debbie and I bought the company in 2004 and began the transition in which he mentored us for several years. The company name was changed to EMA Dental Practice Sales in December of 2007 primarily to market better across the internet. Up until that time, 2007 was our best year ever thanks to the groundwork and models he put in place. Our company name was changed again in 2013 to solidify our connection to ADS, thus assuring his place in the industry.
It is a wonderful thing to follow in the footsteps of someone as respected as Evan Myers. We are proud of the work that he has done. Evan was a man of faith and knew how to do the right thing for all parties and that vision continues to guide us. My family and I will always be grateful for the opportunity he gave us and we work hard to be worthy custodians of his legacy.
Steve Wolff, DDS