A local dentist has been selected to service on a Virginia Health Care Foundation board.

Ralph L. Howell Jr., a partner and owner of R.L. Howell & Associates, was elected to be a part of the foundation’s Board of Trustees.

R.L. Howell & Associates has served Suffolk residents since 1959 and has offices on Western Avenue and Harbour View Boulevard.

Howell previously served as president of the Virginia Dental Association.

He also represents the state group as a delegate to the American Dental Association, where he serves on the continuing education recognition program committee.

Additionally, Howell serves on the strategic planning committee for the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, the board of the Virginia Dental Association Foundation.

More than just professional organizations, Howell also has dedicated time to community groups by acting as the vice president of the Colonial Virginia Council Executive Board for the Boy Scouts of America and previously serving as the president of the Suffolk Rotary Club.

Howell received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the College of William & Mary and his doctor of dental surgery degree from the Medical College of Virginia.

The Virginia Health Care Foundation is a non-profit organization that is committed to increasing access to primary health care for uninsured Virginia residents.

Since its inception in 1992, the organization has funded 322 community-based projects throughout Virginia, and its programs have served more than 600,000 uninsured Virginians.