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Dr. Lindauer, you led VCU with authenticity, care and diligence. Thank you for creating such an amazing culture; it played a huge role in shaping my identity as a professional! Congratulations on a job well done!

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Dear Steve,

Thank you so much for all you have done and do for The VCU Department of Orthodontics! We have been so blessed to have you there for these last 36 years and hope to have your influence there for many more years to come:). You have left an indelible mark for good on so many residents, staff and colleagues in those years. I am personally thankful for all your influence in my life and feel truly blessed to have been accepted in the orthodontic program and have met some of the best people in the world! We hope that you have a wonderful retirement filled with many adventures and things that the day to day work doesen't allow. My family has been blessed by you, your example, your mentorship and friendship. We love you and wish you the best for your future.

May God bless you in all you do.

Sincerely,

Sheldon & Angie Peck and family

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With heartfelt congratulations on your retirement and amazing career. I am truly grateful for your mentorship and friendship over the years and consider myself privileged to have known you. Here’s to celebrating and honoring your legacy and 36 years of dedication and service to VCU’s Orthodontic Department. Wishing you the best in the next chapter of your life, and I hope you enjoy the ride!

All life’s best to you,

Liz Mei

Class of 1995. Look how young we were!

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I’m so happy for you as you begin this next, well-deserved chapter, but it’s hard to imagine the VCU orthodontic program without your vision and leadership in so many ways.

I want to extend my deepest gratitude for your guidance during my time as a resident. You did more than just oversee a program; you cultivated an environment of excellence that pushed all of us to be the best clinicians and people we could be. Your dedication to the residents, your team and all the patients was a constant inspiration, shaping not only my skills, but my entire approach to patient care today. You made learning so much fun in and out of the clinic!

Your legacy will be defined, not just by the successful program you built, but by the countless lives, you positively influenced— from the students whose careers you shaped to the thousands of patients whose smiles you helped to create and lives changed. Thank you for everything!

Wishing you a retirement filled with joy, relaxation, and all the wonderful things you have to look forward to.

Best wishes,

Dan Lill

2005

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Dr. L - Congratulations!! Thank you for the time and energy you’ve put into making VCU the best ortho program out there! I’m so thankful for my education that’s largely due to your patience and guidance. Thank you for showing us all how a true leader leads. I hope your gardening, coin collecting, and house organizing are everything you dreamed of - you earned it!

Sincerely,

Lisa Babb

2013

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Thank you so much for hiring me way back in 2001. I still remember that day of my interview and how at ease you made me feel. You have been the best boss ever!!! Except when you decided to retire before I could retire...that wasn't very nice! All jokes aside, you not only mentored and shaped numerous residents over the years, but you did the same for me and I wouldn't be the same without your guidance and leadership. I am so sorry that I am not able to be there physically on Thursday to share in your retirement party, but I hope you know that I am there in spirit. It won't be the same without you, and I will truly miss seeing you in the office every day and talking and interacting with you, so you better come down to see me every Monday when you come to clinic! Happy Retirement, Dr. Lindauer! You have worked hard and you deserve it!!! All My Best Wishes, Darlene

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Happy Retirement Dr. Lindauer (Stevie J)!

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Happy Retirement Dr. Lindauer (Stevie J)!

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Thank you so much for all you have done for the VCU ortho program, our profession, and for me personally. You were such an amazing leader and teacher. I owe so much to you for being able to have the best career in the world!

My education has made such a difference and I can’t imagine a better experience than VCU with you , Bhavna, and Eser! I appreciate all your patience and help during Dave’s illness in residency. You have always answered anything I have asked even years later- no matter how busy you are. I can’t tell you how much we will miss you.

I am so sad not to be able to make it to your party. You are so appreciated and I am so happy for you! I hope you can travel and enjoy retirement as you deserve! Maybe get another dog!

Warmest Regards,

Shannon Lewis

Class of 2004

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Thank you so much for laying the foundation for my orthodontic education and thank you for giving me opportunities to explore the academic side of the profession. I loved our chats in your office about your experiences as a professor. It was a gift getting to see you teach what you love and you are a huge part of where I am today. I hope to see you at a future conference!

- Sid

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Congratulations on an amazing career educating a generation of orthodontists! I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from you. While I may bend a lot fewer TPAs with mesial out, I am glad to have that in my back pocket for when it is needed! Wish you the best in retirement!

David Lindsey

c/o 2017

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Congratulations, Steve! That's huge news and quite an accomplishment to finally be at the end of a remarkable career. I have nothing but fond memories of my time there, and I want to thank you for the positive impact you had on me and countless others over the years. Best wishes for a wonderful time in retirement. Now you can really get to work traveling and checking off other countries you've not been to! I wasn't able to find a picture of the two of us, so the next best thing I could come up with was a picture of the chocolate molars you gave us at graduation. They've been in my freezer for 25 years, so maybe it's time to retire them as well. Enjoy your free time! - Jim Chapman

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Dr. L,

Congratulations on an amazing career. Thank you for all your dedication and support. Your wisdom, humility, and kindness are unparalleled and we are all grateful to be a part of your journey. Thank you for you being you.

All the best,

Kevin

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Congratulations on your retirement, Dr. Lindauer.

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Congratulations on your retirement, Dr. Lindauer.

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I will always remember how warmly you welcomed me during my sabbatical at VCU, and how you personally took the time to show me around Richmond despite your busy schedule. Your generosity and kindness truly left a lasting impression.

Wishing you health, happiness, and fulfillment in the years ahead.

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Congratulations on your retirement, Dr. Lindauer.

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Congratulations on your retirement, Dr. Lindauer.

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During my sabbatical at VCU, I will always remember how warmly you welcomed and looked after me when I first arrived—especially that dinner when I was still trying to find my way around. Your kindness and leadership left a lasting impression on me, both personally and professionally.

Wishing you continued happiness and good health as you begin this new chapter of life.

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Dr. Lindauer—thank you so much for your years of dedication to the orthodontic profession and to those of us who have the honor of having been educated by you. I am forever grateful for the knowledge of biomechanics, among other things, that you instilled in me, allowing me to provide sound and quality orthodontic care to my patients. My ability to purchase a practice and feel confident in making clinical decisions straight out of residency is largely in part due to your influence. Thank you so much. I hope retirement brings you much fulfillment and adventure.

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Go, Dr. Lindauer! You’ve made such a huge impact on my life and the lives of all of your residents

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I feel super honored to have learned from Dr. Lindauer. Such an influential person in my career and others. In my opinion, he may be one of the most influential people in the history of orthodontics. Through the treatment of his own patients, the treatment of all the patients treated at VCU, and through the treatment of all the patients of his past residents, he has directly and indirectly influenced the treatment of perhaps hundreds of thousands of people.

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Steve,
I don’t how I was fortunate enough to be selected to learn about orthodontics and biomechanics in the world’s best ortho residency, but I am forever grateful for the opportunity.  You were such an integral part of that program at the time and have taken it to another level in the years since I have graduated.  To say I have considered it an honor to have you as a mentor and a friend over my career would be a massive understatement.  Your vision as a leader, your mind, your humility, and your kindness have been incredible gifts to every resident that has been lucky enough to have you touch their lives.  I have always been confident in my place as a leader in our profession, not due to my own strengths, but because of what you, Dr I, Dr Proffit, and others were willing to pour into my educational journey.   I hope you realize just how loved and appreciated you are by each resident you have invested in and fully realize the impact you have made in our lives and in our profession.  
Some of my favorite memories are playing pinball at your house when I visited for resident interviews back in the day and getting Christmas cards each year with your forever young looks and your dogs pasted in exotic locations with you throughout the world.  I wish you a happy and well deserved retirement.  
Sincerely,
Norm Prillaman, Class of 95

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Invisalign summit 15 years ago.  Lindauer takes us to Harrah's, where he is a rated VIP.  His host greets the three of us....Steve, myself, and Jason Gladwell.  We proceed to gamble for a few hours, and Steve does nothing but win.  We head back to Aria, where we are staying, and he tells us he doesn't want to go to bed.  So we go to the tables at Aria, where we continue to win thousands.

Finally, Steve turns to us with his hair standing straight up and says, "I have to go to bed....this was one of the best nights of my life."

Here comes the best part....Jason and I go down for breakfast the next morning and Steve gets off the elevator with his meeting folder.  He looks at us and asks what we are doing.  It's probably 8:30AM.  We told him we were headed to the sportsbook for college football.  He says "wait for me", takes his folder back up to his room and comes and joins us for the day......

Incredible 24 hours with Dr. L

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My favorite quote from Dr. Lindauer is, "Nobody ever died from malocclusion." What a good word to perfectionistic residents. My favorite thing about orthodontics is the opportunity to move the needle from fear to love in people's lives. Dr. Lindauer did that for me in residency—bringing calm to my anxious striving, reminding me of the bigger picture, and doing it all while teaching me precise, excellent orthodontic treatment and biomechanics.

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Just a little story about what a fantastic mentor Dr L has been for me.  I’ve been in practice over 20 years. It’s still a near daily experience that while I’m working on a patient, I’ll hear clinical advice he gave me, in his words and voice, and it will guide what I’m doing right then.  A common one is “I put my lower 4s and 5s right down to the gum line so I don’t induce an own bite…”.  It’s so amazing how great mentoring will stick with you for decades.  I’m still in awe that I got into the best program with the best clinical training in the country!

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Congratulations on your incredible career and years of service to the best program in the country!

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Congratulations, Steve, on an outstanding career! Wishing you the best in your next chapters of adventures!

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I can't thank Dr. Lindauer enough for the incredible impact he had on my professional career. The dedication and loyalty he showed at VCU and the residents are a true inspiration to us all. His teaching and guidance were second to none, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I had to learn under the Best! I hate to miss this! Dr.L, you're the best!

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Dr. Lindauer, during my career as an orthodontist in Louisville, KY, I have looked to my time with you at VCU many times. You inspired me towards excellence to develop and maintain the highest standards of care. I could not have asked for a better mentor and leader. Thank you for investing in us so faithfully over the years. I'm proud of you and so happy for you.

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I'm sorry to be unable to attend! I will be celebrating Dr. Lindauer from NY!

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Dr. Lindauer,

Since the moment I met you, I knew you would be one of my greatest mentors. You are one of my favorite people on the planet and are a true inspiration to me. I am so grateful for the impact you have had on my life. You are such a caring, generous, and intelligent man, and I wouldn't be who I am today without your mentorship and friendship. Wish you the best always!

Best regards,

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Hey DJ - I was so hoping to be able to make it out there this Fall for Dr. Lindauer's retirement party. I'm sorry to say I can't make it. Please tell him personally that I adore him and wish I could be there. He's been a huge source of confidence and friendship to me. Can't wait for him to be free to go travel full-time with his dogs.

P.S. Please tell me I still have the best personal statement you've ever read??

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Dr. Lindauer,

Thank you for many years of service to our wonderful profession! I wish you a very Happy Retirement!

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I first met Dr. Lindauer when he came to the MCV Department of Orthodontics for a job interview. He was just finishing his orthodontic residency. We were a small faculty, so Dr. Hearn and I had the honor of showing Steve L. around. We met him & spent the rest of the day trying to impress and recruit him. We immediately liked him and knew that we wanted him in the department. He was green, but trainable. We got him to move to the South & the rest is history. It was a good decision on his part & the department gained an invaluable faculty member. However, at the time, there was no way to know how momentous this decision would be.

I wish I had photos of the young recruit, but we weren't digital then & I would have to dig through negatives, if I could find them. Just take my word, he was a young, fresh face.

I was in my late 30s then & he told me he didn't have any friends as old as I was. I try to remind him of that since he was now aged WAY past that point!

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I'm sorry we can't make it. Congratulations again, Dr. Lindauer, and thank you for everything!

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Dr. Lindauer,

Thanks for being an expert teacher of so many things. Not only the tangible lessons like drawing biomechanical diagrams and properly using a force gauge. But also the less tangible lessons, like modeling how to treat others with care and kindness and how to insert some fun and whimsy into the everyday and the mundane. Your impact on myself (and certainly so many others) is far-reaching and will influence how I practice orthodontics and how I treat my patients each and every day.

Congratulations on an amazing career and thanks for all you have done for us and our profession! Sorry I'll miss the celebration, but I'll use that time to bend an extra mesial-out TPA in your honor.

Ben Lowe

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You led us to a All-School Flag Football Championship!

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Congratulations to the guy that never ages! 

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Congratulations to the guy that never ages! 

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I can’t thank you enough for believing in me and taking a chance all those years ago. My two years at VCU were amazing! I’m so grateful for the incredible orthodontic foundation you provided. Your dedication, time, and energy made all the difference in helping us become better clinicians and better people.I know you can’t officially say it, but I have no doubt the Class of 2004 is your all-time favorite! Congratulations on an amazing career and on the countless lives you’ve impacted for the better. Wishing you a happy retirement and many safe travels !

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Dr Lindauer, you have been the best boss I have ever had. I appreciate your honest and frank communication style and will truly miss fighting with you over turning on the giant (loud) halloween skull every year. I hope you take it with you in retirement!

Thank you for leading our team and for looking out for our staff. I am so glad we will continue to have you on Mondays into the future. I hope you stay with us as long as Dr Gills!

I wish you all the best in retirement!

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Harry Potter at Halloween, It was such great fun for everyone.

AAO 2016, what a great adventure to prepare the entire scientific program of the meeting. It was a privilege working with you as a team.

Thank you Steve for all the great moments of this department.

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Dr. Lindauer,

It was such a privilege to train under your vast wisdom, patience, and kindness. As residents, you’ve given us joyful memories of dressing up elaborately for Halloween and riding rollercoasters with you, and also the ability to draw a force diagram for any biomechanical scenario! You will be missed as the chairman, but your impact will undoubtedly live on.

Thanks for lifting up the program, its residents, and countless patients because of the hard work and heart you put into everything you do.

Sincerely,

Linda

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Thank you for your leadership, your guidance, and your example. You showed that it is in deed possible to have a combination of calm answers, a brilliant orthodontic mind, and deep and enduring love of roller coasters. I will always remember the careful and thoughtful process in which you approached orthodontics as well as the big smiles and laughs that brightened the clinic and the meetings we had. Thank you sincerely and I wish you the best.

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Thank you for all you did for my family, my co-residents and VCU Ortho!

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Thank you for all you did for my family, my co-residents and VCU Ortho!

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Dr. Lindauer,

You have made a bigger impact than you could even imagine. I'm writing this message from an out of town orthodontic CE and whenever people ask what program I graduated from and I say VCU, they say "wow that's an incredible program!" And your contribution made it that way. The reputation you have given our program has opened the pathway to success for everyone who has gone through the program.

Not only that but you've created a culture where all residents, faculty, and team members could enjoy what they did. You've inspired us all to be shrewd evaluators of the literature to always do what's best for patients and we all appreciate you.

Happy Retirement and looking forward to celebrating you soon!

Matt Eppright