Empowering Sustainability: Lending a Hand in Eco-Friendly Innovation
Dr. Craig Spodak is a man of passion. He is passionate about his career, passionate about Delray Beach and passionate about his wife Zaicha and two-year-old daughter Sage.
He’s also passionate about making the world a better place and lending a hand wherever possible. It may sound a bit idealistic, but Dr. Craig thrives in an atmosphere of possibilities, rather than probabilities. “Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity. Sometimes people will say ‘do you need that?’ or ‘is this going to make sense?’ You have to have a sense of what is possible.
And what is possible in the world of Dr. Craig is quite tangible, yet often unpredictable. Right now he is building a Green Building (one that is environmentally friendly) just east of the current location of the Spodak Dental Group on Atlantic Avenue. This LEED Certified structure has all the preservation capabilities of future structures (in a perfect world) with natural indoor lighting, vegetation, skylights, native plants and top notch air quality.
The building is more futuristic than present (and will take another year and a half) but it is also a labor of love for the ever-evolving Dr. Craig. “I believe thoughts are tangible things; once you set a thought into motion it has a certain gravitational pull to it. The new building is what our dream practice is all about.”
And Dr. Craig dreams big. The current Spodak Dental Group building is 4,200 square feet and the new one will be 13,000 square feet. But when it comes to talking abut this new, greener, state-of-the-art structure, Dr. Craig gets a bit circumspect. “You don’t build a reputation on what you are going to do, but what you do.”
What Dr. Craig does is quite impressive. He matches any charitable donation from an employee up to $500, he holds personal development classes once a quarter for all employees – If you have a positive office and employees, you positively affect the world, he says – and he works tirelessly for charities that outnumber the days of the week (he donated to 37 charities in just the last 18 months). And it’s not just donation that Dr. Craig offers. Just last month (in one weekend), he participated in the AVDA Run for Hope and the Gold Coast Down Syndrome Buddy Walk.
He is also quite involved in the city that he lives in (and loves) by being on the Planning and Zoning Board of Delray Beach and a member of the Chairman’s Club of the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Legacy of Lending a Hand: Dr. Craig’s Lifelong Bond with Delray Beach
His passion and predilection toward the betterment of Delray Beach runs deep within the fiber of Dr. Craig. When he was 3 years old, his father, Dr. Myles Spodak, uprooted his family from Rockland County New York to Delray Beach. It was his uncle Marshall who built a medical building in West Delray Beach to cater to the growing population of Delray. So, Dr. Myles took the offer and the rest is history.
“When my dad opened his Delray Beach dental practice in 1976, the city was not was it is today. Delray’s rebirth was caused by visionary leaders and civic involvement of the community. It’s up to the new generation to keep this momentum moving in the same direction.”
And it seems that Dr. Craig is very happy with the way things are going. He was one of the sponsors of Delray’s Centennial Celebration and lives, works and spends most of his time in Delray. “The major focus on the arts and places like the Arts Garage are terrific. I spend a lot of time downtown with my wife and daughter – she loves the little theaters and the puppet shows.”
While puppet shows fill the imagination of little Sage, it is Dr. Craig’s wife Zaicha that fills him with awe. “My wife has a beautiful inner spirit – she is kind, very emphatic and sees the good in people. She is a constant voice of encouragement and support, always pushing me to actualize my capabilities and dreams. I am blessed.”
You can say that again. Dr. Craig is indeed blessed, and luckily for him, he knows that this blessing is something to honor, not to take for granted. “I am blessed – the recognition of this fact is a very important tool, it makes you grateful.”
Dr. Craig not only has a lot to be thankful for but he had the good sense (and smarts) to take advantage of what was before him. He spent Saturdays at his father’s dental office playing with the tools of the trade (and his initials are still on some of the tools). “My dad said dentistry was like arts and crafts, so I got to play with the plasters, powders and stones in the office.”
From Child’s Play to Professional Excellence: Lending a Hand in Dental Innovation
It might have been child’s play when he was 7 years old, but when it came time to pick a career, Dr. Craig went into the family business (his grandfather Harry was a dentist as well). He graduated with honors from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and went to work with his father at the Spodak Dental Group. He also took his dream of evolve-ment and growth with him by assembling a team of dental and medical professionals from all disciplines and creating an on-site dental lab.
Dr. Craig still indulges in his passion for music and reading great books, but it is his desire to do great things that motivates him to move forward. “A career in Health care is a privilege because you get to help people in a profound way. I want to make a positive difference in the world.”
We believe he will do just that.
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