Breeland, Maness Host Dinner in Tarrson’s Honor
Linda Tarrson, who has provided strong support for the advancement of the dental profession and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry’s educational mission, received honorary membership in the American Dental Association in fall 2009.
The ADA Board of Trustees conferred this honor for her outstanding contributions to dentistry, and she was installed during the 2009 ADA Annual Session. In April, School of Dentistry alumni Dr. Nona Breeland and Dr. Frank Maness hosted a dinner at their home to celebrate Tarrson’s honor.
Tarrson has served on numerous dental industry and education boards, including the School of Dentistry’s Carolina First Campaign honorary advisory committee. In 2003, she announced that the E.B. Tarrson Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago would contribute $100,000 to the Dental Foundation of North Carolina to establish a merit-based scholarship in memory of the late Bud Tarrson, who had served as chairman and chief executive officer of the John O. Butler Co. He died in 1997.
Bud Tarrson and his wife, Linda, contributed $2 million to the School of Dentistry in 1992 to help build Tarrson Hall, the school’s clinical teaching facility.
Linda Tarrson is a member of the ADA Foundation Board of Directors, and she has served as a board member for the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry, University of Southern California School of Dentistry and University of California at Los Angeles School of Dentistry.
She received the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry’s 2005 Distinguished Service Award from the Dental Foundation of North Carolina and recently joined the foundation’s Board of Directors. She also is vice chair for the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Visitors.