Conference corner: Thanks to our internal staff!

The days are winding down to the long awaited 12^th annual ACDIS conference. Next week, more than 30 members of our Simplify Compliance teammates will make their way to the airport to support the ACDIS community during the largest conference we have ever conducted—with more than 1,500 paid attendees, 50 exhibitors, upwards of 300 exhibitor attendees, and more than 90 speakers and presenters.

In addition to the core ACDIS team, dozens of people lend their time, energy, and innumerable talents. When put all together, they produce the thriving conference we will experience in Florida. We hope you’ll join us in thanking our staff members who make the conference possible.

While it would be nearly impossible to name every person who contributed in some way, we’re going to give it our best shot:

Shannon Storella and the entire events team: Shannon is our fearless leader throughout the conference, from the planning stages to the live event. She keeps us all in line and helps the event run as smoothly as possible.

Kathy Wilson does an amazing job holding the entire event together working between the various departments as well as with the hotel staff and conference center management to ensure everything stays inline. The conference wouldn’t be as successful (or fun) without her!

Our conference presenters have gotten to know Wendy Walsh (or W2, as she signs her emails) very well over the past eight to 10 months. She is our conference producer, helping guide the speakers from the planning stages of their presentations through to execution at the actual conference. She keeps track of speakers’ presentations, makes sure their travel arrangements are set, ensures their presentations meet ANCC continuing education requirements, and a host of other tasks required to keep the sessions full of quality information. She helps prepare our room moderators to produce the best session experience possible.

Maggie Gagnon does a fantastic job both behind the scenes leading up to the conference and throughout the conference to generally ensure that the entire event runs smoothly.

Jess Carbone and Casey Thomas, the brains behind our ACDIS conference app, add messaging, uploaded materials, and train the rest of the ACDIS staff on how to use the app. We love seeing the attendees interact through the app and post updates from the sessions.

Jennifer Hollis has done an amazing job this year helping to organize our food and beverage offerings as well as keeping the exhibit hall running smoothly. If you enjoyed the offerings this year, please thank her!

Mary Ann Genovese and Kerry Neenan and the rest of our exhibit hall support staff do a great job working with exhibitors, organizing floor plans, and assisting and directing attendees during the conference.

Linnea Archibald, Sharme Brodie, Chelsea Brookes, Delaney Rebernik, Allen Frady, Rebecca Hendren, Shannon McCall, Brianna Shipley, and Wendy Walsh: These lovely people will be our room moderators for our six session tracks, making sure the sessions run as smoothly as possible. They’ll let you know where the bathrooms are, ask you to silence your cell phones, and remind you to use the microphones to ask your questions at the close of the session. They will keep the rest of the conference group updated via the app on interesting quotes and tidbits from each presentation as well.

Angie Herrin, Melissa Ketelsen, Kim Mesecher, Laurie Prescott, Penny Richards, Kim St. Lawrence, Bella Turcotte, Melissa Varnavas, and everyone in the ACDIS booth will be available to explain the various books, pocket guides, newsletters, and other products available to help CDI programs train their staff and grow. In between sessions, the booth will be open to attendees who wish to make a purchase or ask a question, and they will be ready and eager to help.

Dave Garvey, Kevin Schmidt, and our registration folks make the registration process run so smoothly, and for answering attendee’s questions, fixing or replacing badges, and providing support throughout the conference.

AnnMarie Lemoine, Mike Mirabello, and Matt Sharpe do a fantastic job organizing all of the pieces here in the office that gets shipped to the conference. Their efforts ensure that we have everything we need to run a successful event onsite.

The list goes on, and surely, we’ve still left off a few names! It takes a huge group of people to make the conference as spectacular as it always is. The conference wouldn’t be what it is without the effort of each and every person on this team.