Current Pedorthics www.pedorthics.org Volume 39, Number 5 September/October 2007 Grady Fletcher Reflects on a Lifetime in Pedorthics and Orthotics Pedorthic Footwear Association (PFA), 2025 M St., NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036 Pedorthic Management of End Stage Diabetes Mellitus, Part II Between Work and Family, Jamie Dick is ‘Running’ Wild CURRENT PEDORTHICS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007 Pedorthic Management of End Stage Diabetes Mellitus, Part II 8 FEATURES 4 Grady Fletcher Reflects on a Lifetime in Pedorthics and Orthotics 24 Association News 26 Government Affairs 38 Resource Center 40 Vendor News By Paul Chromey, B.S., D.P.M., C. Ped. 46 Pedorthic Industry Events Between Work and Family, Jamie Dick is ‘Running’ Wild’ 47 Advertiser Index 48 Pedorthic Marketplace 51 Product Reference Guide By Berry Craig 8 14 Pedorthic Management of End Stage Diabetes Mellitus, Part II By Dennis Coyle 17 DEPARTMENTS Symposium Updates & Features CURRENT PEDORTHICS • September/October 2007 1 Pedorthic Footwear Association Board of Directors Randy Stevens, C. Ped., BOCped., CFO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . President Dane LaFontsee, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vice President Kristi Hayes, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Secretary/Treasurer Mike Forgrave, C. Ped., C. Ped. (C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Immediate Past President Jamie Dick, PT, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Arthur Smuckler, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Michael D. Veder, C. Ped., CO, BOCO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Faith Ballard, C. Ped., CO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Alan Barthold, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Harlon Compton, C. Ped., CO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Liz Chiles, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director Stuart L. Pressman, C. Ped., CO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director David Solomon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vendor/ManufacturerLliaison Allan J. Weiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Legal Counsel Headquarters Staff Executive Director Brian K. Lagana Association Coordinator Ben Petok Membership Services Coordinator Erin L. McGill Director of Education Al Baggett David J. Levine, DPM, C. Ped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medical Advisor Craig Young, MD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medical Advisor Raymond L. Fritz, DPM, C. Ped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medical Advisor Education Associate Lauren Kemp Editorial Staff Director of Meetings and Conventions Cele Fogarty Jay Strother. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publisher Dennis Coyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Editor William Wargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Design/Production Advertising & Services Erin McGill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Membership Brian K. Lagana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Current Pedorthics Monica Kurlemann. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PFA Symposium Exhibits and Sponsorship Coordinator Monica Kurlemann Director of Marketing Gregory Akroyd Marketing Associate Nikita Wilson Current Pedorthics (ISSN 1552-8111) is published bimonthly by the Pedorthic Footwear Association (PFA), 2025 M St., NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036. Telephone: 202-367-1145 or 800-673-8447, Fax: 202-367-2145, Web site: www.pedorthics.org, E-mail: info@pedorthics.org. Copyright© 2007, PFA. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without written permission. Letters to the Editor and other unsolicited material are assumed intended for publication and are subject to editing. Articles in CP do not necessarily reflect the opinion of PFA, its Board of Directors or its employees. CP’s use of trademarked names is done in an editorial fashion intended to benefit the trademark owner, with no intention of trademark infringement. Subscriptions are available for $45 per year in the United States ($65 outside USA). Back copies, if available, may be purchased for $5.00 U.S. If you have any questions regarding d isplay advertising or classified ads, please e-mail CPadvertising@pedorthics.org. Please send all product- and industry-related press releases to CPeditorial@pedorthics.org. 2 CURRENT PEDORTHICS • September/October 2007 Current Pedorthics, Publisher Jay Strother Current Pedorthics, Editor Dennis Coyle Pedorthist Preferences Our customer service reps told us we should change our pedorthic ad to tell practitioners about the products that they get requests for day after day. Some of these have been around for awhile and are proven winners. And some of them are new products that everyone seems excited about. But all of them are worth taking a look at if you haven’t tried them before. So call your friendly, knowledgeable PEL customer service rep today and order an old friend — or a new favorite. Waterhouse Leather Leather Hides Silipos® Achilles Heel Pad™ Darco Wound Care Shoe System UCO International Plaster Sculpting Tool Kit SoleTech® Advance™ Orthopedic Footwear Becker Orthopedic Tamarack Shearban® Sheets Anatomical Concepts PRAFO® Bauerfeind® GloboPed® Heel Relief Shoe Aetrex® PEL Focus Styles Keeping Pace Pediatric Brown Casual Shoe Acor Orthopedic Comfort Street Footwear with Tandem Closure Renia Colle de Cologne All Purpose Cement ® Experience the Power of One. One warehouse. One order. One shipment. One invoice. One less thing to worry about. Phone: 800-321-1264 Fax: 800-222-6176 E-mail: customerservice@pelsupply.com Web: www.pelsupply.com Grady Fletcher Reflects on a Lifetime in Pedorthics and Orthotics By Berry Craig W hen Grady Fletcher started selling shoes, Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, gas was 21 cents a gallon and the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. That was 1954. “I’m 71-years-old,” Fletcher said, grinning. “I wish I could go ’till I’m 104.” He owns Fletcher’s Shoes and Custom Made Orthotics Inc., in historic Franklin, Tenn., near Nashville. Fletcher is a member of the Pedorthic Footwear Association. “You’re never too old to learn,” he said. “Thank goodness for the PFA. Their literature keeps me up on what’s new in the field.” He has been “in the field” since he was 18, when he sold his first pair of shoes. He became a shoe store manager at age 23. Along the way, Fletcher learned how to make orthotics and modify shoes for people with foot problems. His store includes a pedorthics lab. Fletcher calls himself a seat-of-the-pants pedorthist. “If I was young, I’d get certified,” he said. Grady Fletcher Fletcher figures he has fitted footwear to more than 20,000 pairs of feet. Before he opened his own store in Franklin in 1996, Fletcher sold shoes in retail and comfort stores in Nashville. “I could write a book about the shoe business and my customers,” he said. They include country music stars Alan Jackson, George Jones, Naomi and Ashley Judd, Vern Gosdin, Emmylou Harris, Suzy Bogguss, Kix Brooks of the Brooks and Dunn duo, and others. Several autographed photos of Fletcher’s star customers decorate the store, which is in a small shopping center near the site of the Civil War Battle of Franklin. But as the store continued on page 6 4 CURRENT PEDORTHICS • September/October 2007