Russellville native wins inaugural award

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
A former Russellville resident has been named the first recipient of the ADA Humanitarian Award given by the American Dental Association.
Dr. Tom Underwood, a 1962 Russellville High School graduate, has been a practicing dentist in Nashville, Tenn., for almost 40 years.
He was recently given the award after being recognized for his humanitarian service to people in need of dental care.
"It's a big honor and I really appreciate it," said Underwood, whose father, Dr. Ralph O. Underwood, was a physician in Russellville.
"I do it because I enjoy it and I believe it was a calling."
Over the years Underwood has traveled to remote places such as Jamaica, Honduras, Kenya, Zambia and Israel providing dental care.
In 1994, he founded the Nashville Interfaith Dental Clinic, which provides care on a sliding fee scale that helps those from low-income families.
The clinic quickly grew and has developed into a large facility that sees more than 1,200 patients each year.
The idea to become a dentist and serve the way he has developed in his hometown, he said.
"Dr. Blake was a dentist in Russellville and was a great influence to me," said Underwood, who now lives in Nashville with his wife, Hamilton native Vicki Blackburn Underwood, and their two children.
"Russellville has changed a great deal since I moved from there but it is a great place," he said.