Wednesday, February 6, 2002

Tyrone dentist a Fayette mainstay

By JANET McGREGOR
snippets@hotmail.com

If you're going to see dentist Dr. Jim Deckman, try to get a Thursday appointment you may just take home a vase of beautiful flowers.

Every Monday the practice gets an arrangement from Shamrock Florist to brighten up the front desk. Each Thursday, one lucky patient gets to take home the arrangement.

Many in Tyrone have grown up with Dr. Deckman as their dentist. The practice will celebrate its 20th anniversary in July.

Although he has been around longer than a large portion of Fayette County residents, he is not a native Fayette Countian. Nor was dentistry his first career choice, as most would suppose.

Deckman was born in Ohio during World War II. He went to high school in Indiana and to college in Pennsylvania. He received an engineering degree from Drexel University and an MBA from Kent State in 1968.

While in undergraduate school, he met his future wife, Sandy. As a participant in a co-op program, he would work for six months, then go to school for six months. During one of his co-op assignments in Evansville, Indiana, he went on a blind date with a friend. Neither of them knew the two young ladies they were taking out, so, on the way to the car after picking them up the pair had to make a quick decision as to who would spend the evening with which girl.

Deckman told his friend, the driver and owner of the 1958 Desoto, that he would just take the one who climbed into the back seat. Sandy climbed in back and thus sealed her fate! The pair dated for three years before marrying in 1967 and will celebrate their 35th anniversary this June.

After school Deckman spent a few years in the Army, completing his ROTC obligation. Their son, Drew, was born at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. while Deckman was in the military. After serving in the military, the family moved to Iowa where Deckman worked in the marketing for an electronic firm.

Iowa wasn't to be the family's home for long. Deckman's father asked him to join him in Jacksonville to work in the family business and another state was soon added to the growing list of homes for the Deckman family. After working for a time with his brother and father at Driscoll Wholesale, Deckman realized it wasn't a good fit for him and once again went searching for the perfect career fit. Daughter Jill was born in Jacksonville in 1972.

The family moved to Thomasville, Ga., coming closer and closer to his ultimate home in Fayette County. He worked for a water treatment company, still not entirely happy with his career choice. He found himself asking if "that is all there is" more and more often.

While casting about for happiness in his profession, a friend happened to suggest that he consider the field of dentistry. He decided to look into it and, in 1978, ten years after graduating, Deckman once again found himself walking the halls of a college.

At the age of 34, with two children ages 6 and 8, most would have listened to the naysayers and considered themselves locked into their path. "My father thought I was nuts," said Deckman. "But I didn't want to be 60 and look back and wonder what it would have been like if I'd tried. It turned out to be a good choice.

"I spent an enjoyable four years getting my degree," he continued. "When I graduated at the age of 38, I had been in school more than half of my life at that point."

Sandy, a nurse at the time, was very supportive regarding his decision. Going to school necessitated another move, from Thomasville to Augusta so he could attend the Medical College of Georgia's School of Dentistry.

When he graduated in 1982, he and the family found that trying to find the perfect location to start a practice was somewhat difficult. They looked all over North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia searching for what they expected to be their permanent home. They had a long list of criteria - they wanted to be within one hour of a large metropolitan area, have a decent climate, live in a more rural than suburban area and they wanted some growth potential for the business.

They hit upon Tyrone almost by a fluke of luck and happenstance. A fellow dentist had looked at Tyrone and said there was "nothing there" but maybe it was worth a look. Deckman visited, met Alton Brown and as the well-worn cliché says, the rest was history.

Brown had a small office building planned and thought a dentist, Deckman in particular, would be a good choice for one of the offices. The pair made a gentleman's agreement and the family made plans to move. At the time there were roughly 800 people in Tyrone and only three houses for sale.

"The people of Tyrone were absolutely wonderful," said Deckman.

Sandy recently retired and is allowing herself some time to adjust to the new status. After working as a nurse for a number of years, she took a position with Delta Air Lines as a supervisor in their occupational health department. A few years ago she went through in-flight training to become a flight attendant. She flew for two years, retiring Jan. 1 of this year.

Sandy is an avid golfer, and is co-chairman of the annual Delta Ladies Golf Tournament. She likes the outdoors, photography and hiking. According to her husband, she also has some artistic talents that being retired may allow to flourish again.

The pair both enjoy cooking, although they mostly cook for each other. At least once a week Deckman takes over the kitchen to cook a gourmet meal. "I learned a lot from my son, Drew," he said. "He's very talented." Drew is a gourmet cook and has a French cuisine restaurant in Germany.

Until recently, Deckman was involved with the Tyrone Rotary. Unfortunately his schedule made the meetings difficult and he had to resign.

Two things will make Deckman's eyes light up one favorably, one with ire.

He is an avid motorcyclist, and the proud owner of two bikes. He has been motorcycling for five years - and has had five bikes. He currently owns a Honda Gold Wing touring bike and a Suzuki Bandit sports bike.

He rides with friends and alone. He and friend and business neighbor Buster Moldenour have joined forces to raise substantial amounts of money for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation over the past few years. Deckman has also been awarded the dubious honor of membership in the "Iron Butt Association." Those who sport the license tag holder have managed to clock 1,000 or more miles on a motorcycle in one day.

"The thing I like to do most with a motorcycle is ride on race tracks," said Deckman. He has taken a number of racing courses at racetracks including the Los Angles Motor Speedway and the Laguna-SECA in Monterey, California. He has a number of long distance treks under his belt, including a 6,000-mile trip out west with two fellow bikers.

If you want to get on the wrong side of Deckman, tell him how much you like squirrels. As the owner of a cedar home on Lake Peachtree, squirrels have risen to the top of his list of pests. He once took top honors for a speech he gave on why he hated squirrels while taking a Dale Carnegie course.

His friends love to tease him and he is the owner of numerous plastic squirrels, along with a squirrel feeder that miraculously "appeared" in his back yard while he was away. It's not all one-sided; Deckman once snuck two plastic squirrels into the seats of his friends at the Hunt Club prior to their arrival, then left the squirrels to their fate.

Deckman practices general dentistry, which covers a wide array of offerings. The list includes dentures, fillings, teeth cleaning, bleaching and other cosmetic services and crowns.

One thing some might not expect to receive is diet counseling. Deckman is a firm believer in eating "the right stuff" to keep your teeth healthy. Of course, a side benefit may just be an overall healthier lifestyle.

Deckman is enthusiastic regarding his dental practice, his staff, and gold. He has a strong interest in gold inlays, gold fillings and, as he says, "gold in any form." Noting that it only appeals to some people, he says it is the most predictable and best for many purposes. It is not easy to be good at using gold; however, Deckman has mastered the art and encourages the use of it where applicable.

Asked about retirement, Deckman said, "I can't see that far ahead. I enjoy what I do too much. I'll probably keep doing it until I can't do it any more."

He is looking forward to long walks with wife Sandy. And possibly a few more turns on whatever motorcycle he happens to own in the future.

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