After losing 50 pounds on Body for Life, a 12-week weight loss/exercise competition, Covington dentist Laurie Deemer decided to start running. It wasn't long before one of her patients found out she was running and asked her if she would run the Georgia Half Marathon to raise money for cystic fibrosis research.

"Her daughter and my nephew both have CF.," said Deemer. "I was plagued with injuries during my training... Despite the pain, I kept training. Training a few times a week was a small sacrifice compared to the challenges that CF patients and their families endure every day."

In her day job as a dentist, Deemer describes herself as "very detail-oriented, artistic, perfectionist who also loves working with people."

"As a dentist, you're working with millimeters," she said. "You need to be a perfectionist to be in dentistry."
Laurie Deemer Family Dentistry, 2104 Newton Drive, opened in 2003, after Deemer had decided she "wanted the independence to make her own policies on how to practice dentistry, how to treat patients and how to manage her staff."

The office offers preventative exams and cleanings, along with treatments for gum diseases. They also provide tooth restorations, dentures and extractions, along with root canal and sedation therapy. It is also now open on some Fridays and Saturday to make it more accessible for people who work during the week.

Deemer considers her practice as family-oriented, with a large geriatric base.

She said her biggest challenge with running the practice has been the down economic climate. She said the business's overhead has remained the same, as she chose not to cut her employees' hours and pay, the largest portion of her overhead.

"People don't think medical facilities get hurt by the economy, but they do," she said. "And I refuse to take money out of my employees' pockets."

Deemer volunteers Fridays at an animal shelter in Atlanta called Furkids, Georgia's largest no-kill, cage-free animal shelter. Locally, she supports Altered Feral State, an organization that helps folks manage feral cat colonies by doing TNR (trap-neuter-return) to keep the overpopulation of cats under control.

Deemer continues to run, mostly on the streets of Covington. She hopes to start a running club in the city that is open to all levels, believing it would be an opportunity to help others get fit and also to get to know members of the community. She also continues to raise money for cystic fibrosis.

"The energy from 20,000 other runners, crowds lining the streets, and knowing that Torianna (my patient's little girl) would be at the finish line made the run seem almost effortless. I believe the wings of an angel helped me run that day."