About Us
History of the Crown Council

Before the Beginning
In the early 1990's dentists interested in improving their practices and their lives began frequenting a ranch deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. There, in the home of entrepreneur Walter Hailey, they learned proven methods of success that had been used by successful people in a variety of industries.

Thanks to the early involvement of dentists like Ronald Presswood of Houston, Texas; McHenry Lee of Edna, Texas; Peter Dawson of St. Petersburg, Florida; and many others, word spread about "Dental Boot Kamp" - the dental seminar that was the "missing link" between clinical excellence and treatment plan acceptance.

Throughout the 1990's and early 2000's, Hailey and business partner Steven J. Anderson presented courses at every major dental meeting in North America and worked with thousands of dental teams to implement personal and practice systems that created lasting results.

The most frequent request from dentists who participated in the courses was to connect with others who subscribed to the same practice philosophy in order to exchange ideas and help each other on the journey of continual improvement. The idea of the Crown Council was born.

Birth of the Crown Council
In late 1995, select graduates of Dental Boot Kamp were invited to become part of the Crown Council for the purpose of sharing the best of what they were doing with each other in order to raise the standard of care in dentistry and create a better result than any one individual would be able to create on his or her own. Hundreds of dentists responded immediately and became the original charter members of the Crown Council.

The Crown Council Annual Event
Early in 1996, the first Crown Council Annual Event was held in Kerrville, Texas near San Antonio. Dentists from all over North America came to share, listen and learn from each other as well as from presenters who came primarily from outside of dentistry and who challenged members to think beyond the limitations of their formal training to reach new levels of accomplishment. From that first beginning was born a tradition of "outside the box" thinking and inspiration that has characterized the Crown Council Annual Event ever since. Members say that the Crown Council Annual Event is a most unique and amazing meeting for the entire dental team and a highlight to which they all look forward every year. (www.CCAnnualEvent.com).

Smiles for Life
At the third Annual Event in 1998, an idea was introduced to the Crown Council membership by Dr. Jeff Gray from San Diego to work together for a three month period of time to raise money for worthy children's charitable causes by offering teeth whitening at a discounted rate with all of the fees going to the newly created Smiles for Life Foundation (www.SmilesforLife.org). Each Crown Council dental team would donate their time to provide the service, the patient would donate the money, Discus Dental agreed to provide whitening kits for free for the campaign, and the Crown Council team would provide the administration and coordination of the campaign so that all the money raised could go to the cause for which it was intended. The response of the Crown Council membership was immediate and in the ninety day season of the campaign, $1.5 million dollars was raised and donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

At the Annual Event in 2000, country music star Garth Brooks made an appearance in front of the membership and media representatives from every major national television news outlet in America to announce his endorsement and partnership with the Smiles for Life Foundation. His own charitable efforts through his TeamMates for Kids Foundation (www.TeamMatesforKids.org) would be combined with Smiles for Life Funds to create an even bigger effort to reach more kids around the world. The endorsement and involvement of Garth Brooks gave the Smiles for Life Campaign an even larger presence everywhere.

Farwell to a Co-founder
In mid 2003, Walter Hailey passed away leaving fellow co-founders and business partners Steve Anderson and Greg Anderson to carry on the work and direction of the Crown Council and Smiles for Life Foundation. While Hailey is missed, many of the ideas that he promoted and shared with dentistry are alive and have expanded within the programs and benefits of the Crown Council. Additionally, Steve Anderson has carried on the training tradition from which the Crown Council originally grew through the seminars and training of the Total Patient Service Institute (www.TotalPatientService.com) in order to continue the instruction of the practice philosophies upon which the spirit of the Crown Council is built.

The Crown Council Today
The Crown Council continues to grow and expand to include dentists from all over the world who subscribe to the philosophy of uniting for a common purpose to give the best of what they have for the benefit of the whole and each individual in it. Through the many programs and services of the Crown Council (link to Member Benefits) members are able to network with quality dental teams, exchange ideas, expand their thinking, grow their practices, and improve their lives beyond what would be possible by working alone. As just one example of that effort, members have grown the Smiles for Life Campaign into the largest and most successful charitable campaign in dentistry having raised and donated over $24 million dollars to worthy children's charitable causes around the world.

So whether it is through idea exchange on-line, being involved in a Crown Council MasterMind group, participating in the Smiles for Life campaign, or its many other programs and services, the Crown Council is the place "Where the best dentists unite and give."

In 1987, Texas entrepreneur Walter Hailey began offering informal business seminars at his ranch in Hunt, Texas deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country about 70 miles north west of San Antonio . Walter's earlier career included entrepreneurial successes including several companies which he helped start, build, take public and later sell.

After a short retirement, he decided to share some of the methods that he attributed to his success with entrepreneurs and business people in his spare time.

Just over a year later, Steve Anderson met Walter Hailey and saw the potential for a larger audience. How the two got started together has become somewhat legendary in that Hailey was speaking as a hobby and had no interest in employees. After several discussions on the phone, Anderson just showed up in Texas and went to work with the declaration that he had no interest in being an employee, only in getting paid what he earned! Over the years, the two became business partners and the business thrived.

Dentistry discovered all of this when Dr. Ron Presswood from Houston , Texas attended one of the Hill Country seminars at the recommendation of a friend and instantly saw the application in dentistry. Because of his initial introduction, the Hailey-Anderson team appeared on every major dental convention program throughout the early 1990's and as a result, they created a special seminar, Dental Boot Kamp, that addressed the unique patient relationship issues that dental teams face.

By 1995, Dental Boot Kamp had become one of the most popular seminars in dentistry. Most dentists attending requested a list of the other dentists in their area who had attended Dental Boot Kamp so that they could network and share ideas with like-minded professionals.

To meet this request, Hailey and Anderson drafted some basic ideas around which to build a professional association of dental teams dedicated to sharing the best of what they were doing with each other in order to advance the profession and the people in it.

The idea simmered for months until one of Steve Anderson's mentors and older brother asked the obvious question: "What is keeping this idea from getting off the ground?" The answer was clear - the idea needed a "mother"; someone to birth it, nurse it and get it on its feet! Greg Anderson jumped in as Director and grabbed hold of the opportunity and the Crown Council was born!

In October of 1995, the Crown Council announced its beginning exclusively to Dental Boot Kamp graduates. Within a few short days, over 285 dentists enthusiastically responded. In February of 1996 the First Annual Event of the Crown Council was held in Kerrville , Texas with nearly 300 in attendance. The topic of the gathering was the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the grandfather of the quality movement across the world. Everyone in attendance was guided through a philosophy and system of continual improvement. The Crown Council e-mail network was also launched as one of the first methods by which members could exchange ideas and help each other solve their most pressing personal and professional issues.

Over the years, the Crown Council has grown in number and influence to include dentists from all over North America . The Crown Council launched the Smiles for Life campaign in 1998 which has become the most successful charity campaign in dentistry, having raised millions for children's charitable causes around the world.

Today the Crown Council provides a wide range of personal and practice services that help dental teams gain access to little known or exclusive resources that give them a bigger market presence and a better competitive advantage no matter where they are located.

To be a Crown Council dentist is a mark of distinction, not because of a specific accomplishment, but because being a Crown Council dentist signifies a dedication to continual improvement in every area of practice: clinical, management and patient care.