From the 2nd Annual to this the 13th, I will have attended 9 out of the 13 conferences whether I was reimbursed by my facility or PAID myself. I strongly believe that this is the best and only opportunity for BUYERS to learn about many aspects of their jobs/careers from their peers. It has always been a worthwhile experience from my prospective, with the information presented, to the conversations with those in attendance, to the displaying vendors. My statement to everyone is: Find a way to make it happen! And don't you do this everyday in relation to pharmacy product issues? Just do it. (Where have I heard that before?)

Name of Facility: Erie County Medical Center Corp

City, State: Buffalo, NY

Years as a Buyer: 32

Thank you for your kind words. Too often it is we at Pharmacy Purchasing Outlook who end up explaining the benefits of the Conference. It is refreshing to read from someone who not only "gets it," but has enough enthusiasm to put his feelings in writing. We hope it will set some fires under the rears of stragglers who still feel that the Conference is too big an endeavor for them to undertake.

The PPN Conference IS the most important meeting for Buyers of every discipline to attend, as much as pharmacists, physicians, dentists, et al attend conferences for their educational betterment. But our meeting is about SHARING. Mentors and Novices alike both benefit from the face-to-face exchange of ideas only our Conference offers. And, the PPN Conference is the only meeting where you're the STAR, not some annoying bit player.

Note that every year we hear stories of Buyers saving for the Conference; we see & hear of vendors giving their credit cards to pay for attendee's registration fees; and then of course, there's our Scholarship fund for Under-Funded Buyers, which helps approximately 35-55 attendees a year.

There are many, many ways to get to Vegas. Check out the Conference Information section of the Forum, and the earlier post titled "Vegas" under General Chatter here, for more ideas on how to get help with funding your attendance, including one from an enterprising, long-time Buyer supporter who has helped get about 13 of his state's Buyers funded by a vendor.

And again, thank you for your words of encouragement.

Name of Facility: Summerdale Enterprises, Inc.

City, State: San Diego, CA