This year’s PrimeFare East meeting, held June 5-6, enjoyed record-setting attendance with 172 practitioners in attendance and 148 total speakers and supplier representatives, for an overall meeting attendance of 320. The practitioner attendance represented an increase of 21 percent over the previous year, and the suppliers represented a 12 percent increase.
“While we would be more than happy with this type of increase in numbers any year, we are particularly pleased with this year’s record-setting attendance to the symposium, given the economic climate,” said Cathie Pruitt, president and CEO of PrimeCare Network. “The same holds true for the increase in exhibitors. We are very much aware that the manufactures and other suppliers are scrutinizing the bottom line and making some tough decisions on which meetings to attend and which ones to cut. At the same time, PrimeFare East 2009 had 52 returning exhibitors and nine new ones.”
“PrimeFare East was the most effective trade show we’ve worked this year when considering total cost, number of attendees, and the participation of attendees,” commented Gary Mahler, president of PEL Supply Company, Cleveland, Ohio.
Veteran exhibitor and speaker, Russ Hornfisher, director of sales for Becker Orthopedic, Troy, Michigan, also provided feedback, saying, “After 11 years of attending PrimeFare East, I am still meeting new customers at the meeting and gaining new business from these contacts, and the same holds true at PrimeFare West.”
Jane Edwards, PrimeFare director of operations, noted, “PrimeFare East continues to add representation from a broad geographic range. This year’s meeting saw attendees from 22 states, or 44 percent of the U.S. In comparison, last year’s symposium had 16 states represented.”
As an attendee who traveled 1,127 miles by motorcycle to attend his second PrimeFare Symposium, Chris Huff, CO, a partner in Advanced Orthotics & Prosthetics, Troy, New York, sent PrimeCare staff the following feedback on his second PrimeFare East experience: “I really enjoy coming to the PrimeFare meeting for several reasons:
- The educational courses are fantastic. Every year I learn something new to take back to my practice to improve our patient care.
- The people I meet are very friendly and helpful. I network and develop contacts in case I need assistance with a difficult case. This year, Joe Reagan from A Step Ahead even gave me a tour of his practice in Nashville and showed me what a wonderful practice he has.
- The weather and roads are wonderful. How could I resist the chance to ride my motorcycle down through the beautiful Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains in warmer weather?”
PrimeFare West 2010, to be held again at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, will take place on February 19-20, and PrimeFare East 2010 will be held again at the Nashville Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 4-5, 2010.
