The Stan Black Award is named for one of the founders of The Community Foundation. Stan is retired now, but continues to be an active participant in a number of causes, both in the Boulder area and overseas. We present this award annually with the sponsorship of the law firm of Hutchinson, Black & Cook and the additional support individual donors. The award is intended to honor an individual who, like Stan Black, has given a lifetime of "time, treasure and talent" to the community.

The 2007 Stan Black Award honoree is:
Dr. Rodney C. Tuenge, D.D.S.

Rod Tuenge says that if he were to have an inspirational motto, it would be the words of Margaret Mead: “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

“I firmly believe that,” he says. And over the years, he has been a consistent member of that small group of people.

Dr. Tuenge, as he is known by his many orthodontic patients during his 30 years of practice, got his start in community work shortly after opening his practice in 1975. A colleague who had an office down the hall invited him to join Rotary. Over his years of involvement, he has served on Rotary’s board, taken a turn as president, and been involved with the club’s youth exchange program, which sends local high school-aged kids around the world for a year of school, and hosts their foreign counterparts here.

His recent passion at Rotary has been his work on the World Community Service Committee, which addresses needs in developing countries. He has worked with Boulder Community Hospital to build a program where local dentists travel to Mante, Mexico, to give dental care to children and adults in that community. Local dentists pay their own way and take time off from their practices to travel to Mexico for one to three weeks. Once there, they work to address preventive dental care as well as the acute, pain-causing kind of toothaches. Rodney is in the process of retraining in general dentistry so that by February, he can contribute his own skills to the project.

His leadership has also helped raise funds for a fully-equipped and modern van to administer better and more mobile care to the outlying villages around Mante.

In addition to Mexico, Rodney has traveled to Guatemala and Uganda as a needs assessor for Denver’s Project C.U.R.E. This program collects, repairs and warehouses used medical equipment, eventually bundling and shipping it to hospitals in developing countries.

Rodney values the difference he can make in third world countries – an inspiration he found while visiting one of his good friends from orthodontic school who chose to set up a practice in El Salvador.

“I was absolutely blown away,” he says of his impressions during his first visit. “If we think we have poverty here, which we do, then they have a poverty there that will never be cured. But what we do, at least it’s a start.”

While he enjoys his international work, Dr. Tuenge is focusing some of his best efforts at home. Not long after joining Rotary, Rodney recalls, he started looking around for what he could do locally. He approached Dental Aid, offering to establish what is now called the Orthodontic Screening Program. He schedules monthly time at Dental Aid to see patients who have been referred for orthodontic care, which, he explains, is for severe functional problems, not cosmetic work. He then sends those who want to get the work done on to other local orthodontists. In setting up this program, Rodney obtained agreements from every Boulder County orthodontist in private practice to provide reduced-fee service for Dental Aid’s patients.

“Working with nonprofits, I’ve found it goes both ways. The patients are so appreciative that someone is trying to help them get the care they need,” he says.

Rodney also served on Dental Aid’s board of directors, including a stint as president.

“Rod’s life continues to be about service,” says nominator Karen Cody Carlson. “He is an inspiration to those around him.”