The Academy’s 50th Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium was held in Chicago, and we were curious what attendees felt were the best takeaways from the annual event, which drew nearly 2,000 attendees. Our booth was hopping, and we really enjoyed talking to so many people. Our staff photographer was there taking pictures, and attendees gave our news and editorial staff lots of ideas for stories and new offerings.
Of those who responded to our question, What were some of the biggest takeaways from the event, 63 percent said they liked that they had the opportunity to network with colleagues, 26 percent said they learned lots through the organized sessions, and 11 percent said the meeting provided the best update on the latest in industry trends. No one said that getting a cool new T-shirt was the best part, but it was edged out by networking with at least one of the respondents. (To mark the symposium’s anniversary, the Academy gave away nearly 600 commemorative T-shirts displaying the organization’s 50th anniversary logo on the front and a concert-style listing of the 50 annual meeting locations on the back.)
Attendees did say it was hard to pick just one response. “It’s hard to choose between able to network and learned lots from sessions!” said one of our followers. “The meeting affords the ability to network with ease, but I’d never want to take away from the time and effort of the presenters willing to share their work!”
Another follower said, “Loved networking with all my peers and love my comfy new T-shirt!”
And if it’s March, then it must be time for March Madness. If you’re like this writer, you know next to nothing about basketball and even less about March Madness, but there are a lot of college basketball fans out there who are waiting and wondering who the big winner will be. Of those who responded to our question, Who will you be rooting for, 24 percent said they would be cheering for UConn, the returning champs and this year’s favorite to repeat, 10 percent said they’re rooting for North Carolina, 33 percent said they would be cheering for another team, but didn’t name them, and 33 percent said they don’t follow basketball either. Maybe we’ll get in the loop in time for next year.
This week’s question returns to something O&P related. When it comes to fabrication, do O&P facilities outsource the work, do it in-house, or use a combination of the two. Our question is up and in full swing: What does your facility do most often? So far, our voters say that most of the work is done in-house.
Tell us what you think. We’d love to hear from you.
