“I never get tired of helping people—it’s my energy, what I live for.” — Dr. Thomas Kellogg
Leadership
Thomas M. Kellogg, DDS
Generosity came naturally to Thomas Kellogg. From the time he was a little boy, his parents, Edward and June, showed him that helping others was their way of life.
”While other kids were going to ball games, my parents took me along on weekends to church events, scouting trips, and fundraisers for the causes they believed in,” Dr. Kellogg recalls. The tradeoff was well worth it: “Looking back, I wouldn’t have wanted to grow up any other way.”
Thomas is the fourth generation in his family to pursue a career in health care. His great-grandfather, John Harvey Kellogg, was a physician and inventor of Kellogg's Corn Flakes, a healthy breakfast cereal, to treat patients with chronic illnesses at his world-renowned medical center in Battle Creek.
John Harvey’s son, Richard, as well as Thomas’s father, Edward, were both dentists. Thomas chose the same career path, graduating from the University of Michigan Dental School in 1983, then establishing his dental practice in his hometown of Howell, Michigan.
The importance of mentorship
An Eagle Scout in his youth, Dr. Kellogg says his mentors in scouting forever shaped his adulthood. “Scouting was my catapult to success. There’s no way I would be the person I am today without scouting.”
In turn, he has supported scout troops and scouting for decades, and received the Boy Scouts of America’s National Distinguished Citizen Award in recognition of his lifelong involvement.
Dentistry at home and abroad
Seeing patients in his dental practice in Howell, Dr. Kellogg became concerned that some people neglected their teeth because they couldn’t afford dental care. This led him to host Free Dental Day, where he, his staff, and Dr. Goodell volunteer their time to treat more than 150 patients each year.
Following his father’s example, Dr. Kellogg has also used his dental skills to help people in some of the poorest countries in Central America. Through his church, Shepherd of the Lakes in Brighton, Dr. Kellogg and Pastor Frank Graves organized a trip to Honduras.
The experience and the extreme poverty he saw made a lasting impression. “There was no pure drinking water, no sanitation, and theft was an everyday part of life.”
“Dental disease was taking people’s lives, and few lived beyond the age of 45,” Dr. K says. “When we first arrived, people were scared and hid in their homes. Little by little, villagers saw how we were helping and started coming around to our clinic.”
After Honduras, Dr. Kellogg went on to sponsor dental missions in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.
A lifelong commitment
“When we have one project almost finished, we start on another. This work is central to my core values, and it’s what my parents would want me to do. It carries on our family tradition and sets an example for others to be generous in their own way.”
— Dr. Thomas Kellogg