The South Carolina Dermatological Association was originally formed via a conference telephone call in October, 1970 with its first meeting held on October 18, 1970 at the Ramada Inn in Columbia, South Carolina.
The first president was Dick Allison and the first secretary-treasurer was Barbara Brown. Dick Crooks was elected to represent the SCDA at the Blue Cross/Blue Shield meeting the next month for the purpose of setting up fee schedules for dermatologists.
They met again in December at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting. For the next few years the meetings were held at the Carolinas-Virginia meetings. In 1973, it was decided that the president would represent the SCDA at the Academy meeting each year.
The membership of the fledgling organization was growing rapidly, so it was decided to move the meeting to the spring for the year 1974. The first constitution was adopted with dues set at ten dollars per year. Dr. Charles Graber was our first guest lecturer that year.
Very early, case presentations and guest lecturers came to be a significant and enjoyable means of sharing clinical observations and meeting the “movers and shakers” in a comfortable, relaxed setting.
The SCDA membership has continued to grow with the population of South Carolina. Our educational meetings occur each year and the Association continues to serve its mission of uniting the state’s dermatologists for the advancement of dermatology and dermatology medical education.
In April of 2015 the South Carolina Dermatological Association membership voted to change its name to the South Carolina Academy of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery.