08/19/2026
💗 25 YEARS OF IRENE 💗
I don’t even really know how to put 25 years into words, especially when the person you’re celebrating has become so much more than someone you work with.
This year marks 25 YEARS OF IRENE BEING PART OF SMILE SOLUTIONS, and saying that we are lucky to have her doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Twenty-five years ago, Irene walked into this office for a job. Somewhere along the way, this place became part of her life, and she became such an important part of ours.
She has grown with this practice, changed with it, helped build it, and worn more hats here over the years than I could probably even list. She has worked alongside so many different people, helped take care of generations of our patients, and has been one of those steady, dependable people behind the scenes who has helped keep this place moving forward year after year.
But what makes Irene so special has never been a job title.
It’s HER.
She is one of the most genuinely good humans I know. She cares deeply. She loves fiercely. She will do absolutely anything for the people she loves, and if you are lucky enough to be one of those people, you know exactly what I mean.
She is the person you want in your corner. The person you can laugh with until you cry, vent to when you’ve had enough, celebrate the good stuff with, and sometimes communicate an entire conversation with using nothing more than a look. She has a huge heart, an incredible sense of humor, and a way of making the people around her feel like family.
On a personal note, from Jess… somewhere during all of these years, that is exactly what she became to me.
I’m lucky enough to not only work beside Irene, but to call her one of my very best friends. We have lived a whole lot of life alongside each other inside and outside of these walls. We’ve bought our homes, celebrated my wedding, watched friends and family come into our lives and leave them, and made our way through all of the beautiful, exhausting, complicated parts of being wives and mothers.
She was literally the person who drove me to the hospital when my water broke at the office and it was time for me to have my son... which honestly, feels like a pretty perfect summary of just how intertwined our work lives and real lives have become.
And Irene has been there for another journey that means more to me than I could ever properly put into words.
She knew me when I was a 19 year old dental assistant/lab helper who was still trying to figure out who I was and what I was capable of becoming. Long before I held the position I do today, Irene saw something in me. At times when other people didn’t necessarily see my potential yet, she did. She believed in me, fought for me, advocated for me and my place here, and was one of my biggest cheerleaders as I grew into myself personally and professionally.
There are things people do for you in life that you never forget. That is one of mine.
I will always know that Irene had a hand in helping that 19 year old girl become the woman and leader I am today. Having someone believe in you before everyone else does changes you... and I hope she knows how much her belief in me has meant throughout my entire career.
There are some people you meet through work who eventually become so woven into your life that you can’t really remember the story without them in it.
Irene is one of those people for me.
Smile Solutions would not be the same without Irene.
And I know I would not be the same without her either.
From Dr. Emmi…
Twenty-five years is an incredible milestone, but what means even more to me is everything Irene has been to this practice throughout those years. She has been here through so much growth and change, and through it all, she has remained someone I can trust, depend on, laugh with, and genuinely enjoy having beside me.
Over the years, Irene has become much more than an employee. She is someone I care about, someone who has been part of so many chapters of this practice and my life, and someone I am incredibly grateful to have had along for the journey.
Irene, thank you for 25 years of loyalty, friendship, hard work, and for simply being you. This place has been better because you are part of it, and so have I.
There are very few people who can say they have given A QUARTER OF A CENTURY to one place. 25 years of showing up. 25 years of growing, adapting, caring, laughing, solving problems, helping patients, helping coworkers, and leaving your mark on a place in a way that can never really be measured.
Irene, I hope you know how loved you are, how appreciated you are, and how much of this office’s story has you written all through it. What you have given to this place over the last 25 years goes so far beyond the work you do every day.
You are part of the heart and foundation of this place.
Happy 25th Anniversary, Irene.
We love you more than you know, and we are so incredibly lucky that 25 years ago, you chose us. Here’s to everything you’ve helped build, every memory we’ve made along the way, and all the ones we still have left to make.
25 years. One incredible human. A million memories. And forever part of the Smile Solutions family. 💗
