David C. Cone, MD

642. That’s the number of attendees who gathered in Phoenix for the 2008 NAEMSP Annual Meeting in January.  This is a tremendous leap in attendance: last year’s figure of 538 was a record that we did not think we would surpass for quite a while.  We held the January 2007 meeting at the former Registry Resort in Naples, where we held three of our annual meetings back in the 1990s.  While prices in the Naples area are no longer within our reach, we were able to secure a special deal for the 2007 meeting due to a cancellation.  We attributed the 2007 attendance record to our return to the very popular resort, and expected that this year’s number would drop off a bit.  Happily, we were very wrong.

 

There are likely a number of reasons for the increase, all of which reflect well on the Association.  First, our program committee has consistently assembled an outstanding program, and word has gotten around that the didactic sessions at our meeting are always “cutting edge” yet practical.  Second, we have noticed a steady increase in both the quality and the quantity of the research presented at our meeting, attracting a number of academic participants to our meeting who might not attend a less academic event.  Third, we have been attracting a number of related organizations to our meeting.  For example, the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services and Advocates for EMS both run their annual board meetings at our meeting, and these bring a number of the nation’s EMS leaders to our venue who might not otherwise attend.

 

In addition to the 642 registrants, we also hosted 58 companies as exhibitors with 174 representatives, for a grand total of 816 attendees.  Those who attended may have noticed that we were just a bit tight on space: too many “auditorium” seats and not enough “classroom” (with tables) seating at the didactic sessions, not much breathing room in the poster session, and exhibitor booths spilling into the foyer.  While the extra posters and exhibitors are clearly a good thing, we could have accommodated even more with additional space.  Noting that the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak has a “sister” facility, the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort, just up the road, our meetings manager, Joyce Miller, has persuaded them to allow us to switch to that facility for the January 2010 annual meeting.  This will give us additional space, with a total of 65,000 square feet of meeting space (indoors and outdoors), including a brand-new 12,000 square foot ballroom for the principle didactic sessions, annual business meeting, and evening social functions if the weather won’t permit using the terraces.  We hope to be able to accept a higher number of scientific poster presentations, and additional exhibitors.  Better still, this swap won’t cost us or you anything: our contract, including the room rates, remains as before.  Our thanks to Joyce and the rest of the office staff for making these arrangements.

 

Finally, our profound thanks go to our Program Committee and its chair, Laura Walker, who assembled an excellent schedule of speakers and events.  Laura will be serving as program chair for the 2009 meeting as well, and I hope that this will prompt even greater attendance when we convene at the Hyatt Regency in Jacksonville, Florida on January 22.  We hope to see you then!