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The Ridgewood News
By Betsy Murphy Bright colored T-shirts hanging on the wall proclaim "Dr. Godart's Plak Attackers" and Dr. Godart's Molar-ettes." Fish dart and swoop in a large, bubbling fishbowl in one corner. Highlight Magazines fill the tables. A mother and her young son settle in comfortable chairs near the bay window opposite the painting of the scarecrow in a garden. It looks a lot like someone's den. "We treat families," says Dr. Glenn Godart, a village dentist for nearly 19 years. For 16 of those years, Dr. Godart has been a Little League sponsor. "A patient talked me into it," he says. He sponsors a boy's Little League and a girls' softball team and next year will add a third team of 12-14 year olds. His boys won this year, he says with some pride, adding a trophy to the seven he already has in his office. Brought up in Ridgewood, he is a stalwart supporter of the village. "I like to think of marketing ideas," he confides. As a volunteer with Northwest Bergen Mental Health for three years, he was instrumental in putting on an art auction at Prestige Motors for their benefit. He did the same thing for the Red Cross, during a nine year affiliation, involving BMW and Hertz. (Pointing out the difficulty getting corporate support for local events, "Hertz", he reports happily, "has really taken the Red Cross under its wing,") Always interested in fund-raising, he admits he "likes to try to improve on a situation." He smiles. "Initially, it took a year to raise $5,000 for a computer for the Red Cross. Nine years later, we raised $500,000 for a renovation!" That was just before their Godwin Avenue building burned down. But, because of adequate insurance, and despite the loss of records and memorabilia, Godart says, "We are more functional now. And we are serving more people." His patients appreciate that their dentist cares about them and their village. Three years ago, when she was on the Kasschau Bandshell committee, Joan Beauchamp, suggested he become a sponsor. Now, with orthodontist, Dr. Michael Clemente, and the Ridgewood Savings Bank, he sponsors the Wooster Street Trolly Jazz Band's evening at the shell. Once again, he gets that marketing urge. "I try to talk sponsors into doing more," he says, because "the bandshell has no funds." He would like to see a fee charged for the weekly events, with the money going directly to the bandshell. "I wanted a program, but the committee was afraid of littering. We did one of our own," he smiles, "and gave them out." Because of the publicity, he's sure, more than 400 people showed up for the jazz concert. He believes in post publicity, too. When his Little League team won a trophy this year, Dr. Godart took out an ad congratulating the boys and listing all their names. And he and Dr. Clemente host a year-end picnic for six teams, with their office staffs pitching in. This summer, 180 kids munched hot dogs and burgers at Travell School. When his sons, Peter 4, and Kevin, 3, are ready to play, Dr. Godart feels he will be ready to coach. Until then, he is content to be a sponsor, enjoy tennis with his wife, Martha, and be a good dentist. "Dentistry is changing claims Dr. Godart. "You have to spend a lot of time keeping up." Part of that time for him is spent on courses in New York City. The most exciting development is the new method eliminating drilling. "Coming to the dentist is almost an innocuous experience," he grins. He has TVs in all the rooms, with head phones, full cable, a remote, "Patients love it!" Well, one might not plan an outing around it, but it is encouraging news. Encouraging, too, is the fact that villagers of Dr. Godart's caliber really do "improve the situation." |
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