Loyalty.

It’s a powerful yet complicated concept. You are loyal to a family member, a friend, a partner, or even, I suppose, a pet (sorry, I’m not an animal person). In business, you are loyal to your company or your boss or your co-workers. I know, it’s kind of a dying concept.

To me, loyalty means that you can count on someone, that they will be there to support you and carry their weight, and they won’t just say, “Sorry, you are on your own.” Loyalty is one of the most valuable qualities someone can have.

At least according to Hollywood, the mafia is big on loyalty. Once you become part of “the family,” you take an oath of loyalty. If you break that oath, well, better get fitted for a pair of concrete shoes.

As we head into our eighth year of CMEpalooza, I figured it was a good time to look at just how loyal the CME community has been to CMEpalooza. I’m not talking about your individual loyalty. I have no doubt that many of you have read every single blog post and watched every single session since Derek trotted out the concept for CMEpalooza in the spring of 2014, but since we don’t track our readers and there is no formal registration for our events, we can’t tell how many of you get a gold star. You have our permission to put one on if you want to feel special.

What we can track is the loyalty of our sponsors. Since we began accepting corporate sponsors for CMEpalooza in the fall of 2014, there have been 66 different organizations who have sponsored at least one ‘palooza. That alone is a pretty astounding number. But what is perhaps even more astounding is the loyalty that most of these organizations have shown to us. Of the 66 sponsoring organizations, only 11 have been “concrete boot” sponsors, latching themselves onto CMEpalooza like a pesky barnacle for just one event before sinking to the bottom of the sea. Some of those companies either folded, were gobbled up by a larger organizations, or simply lost our email address. It happens.

While we will, of course, be holding our special sponsor event in a few weeks for those 24 companies (and counting) who have already signed up as sponsors for our 2021 Spring meeting. (SPECIAL REMINDER: Yes, you can still sign up for a sponsorship. All of the information is in our Sponsor Prospectus), today, we want to celebrate those organizations who have shown loyalty to us over the years. We want to honor your faith, trust, and belief in CMEpalooza. Today, we celebrate your loyalty.

THE PRINCES OF LOYALTY (sponsoring >50% of CMEpaloozas)

• Genentech
• Global Education Group
• PlatformQ Health
• ASiM
• Educational Measures/Array
• Healio CME
• RedMedEd
• infograph-ed

THE QUEENS OF LOYALTY (sponsoring >75% of CMEpaloozas)

• Vindico Medical Education
• Clinical Care Options
• Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL)
• RMEI
• PVI

THE KING OF LOYALTY (sponsoring every single CMEpalooza)

• CMEology

 

One of my first jobs as a high school kid was at a local movie theater. It was actually kind of fun. A lot of my friends also worked there, along with a handful of cute girls from other schools who didn’t know how awkward I was in advance of meeting me. I had about 5 minutes to make a good impression. Guess how well I did?

Alas, fleeting youth.

Anyway, at the movie theater, there were good “assignments” and bad “assignments” for the nightly team.

The bad: Working the concession stand. This was where everyone started out, because it kind of sucked. You were on your feet the whole shift, had to deal with cranky customers who couldn’t figure out what they wanted until they got to the front of the line despite waiting for 15 minutes behind dozens of other people, and you had to constantly refill the popcorn maker without burning yourself. On busy nights, the time passed quickly, but on slow nights, you just had to stand there and stare into space. There was nowhere to hide.

The good: Being an usher. What’s fun about carrying about a broom and dustpan and cleaning up the messes the customers make? Well, if you walked into an empty theater, you could usually sit down and watch 10-15 minutes of whatever movie was playing before anyone missed you. Plus, it was dark, so if you did a half-assed job, no one cared. I would often time my entrance into a theater so that I could pick up the movie where I left off 2 hours ago. For some movies that played in multiple theater simultaneously, I could watch the whole thing (more or less) in one shift.

Apropos of nothing, a quick movie theater story because it remains to this day one of my favorites. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen to me, but was relayed by a friend of mine.

(Customer walks up to the concession stand)

Customer: Yeah, I’d like a hot dog and some lemon chips?

Friend: Lemon chips? I’m not sure what you mean.

Customer: Yeah, lemon chips. (Points)

Friend: Um, you mean nachos?

Yes, people, the world is full of geniuses.

So why am I telling you about my movie theater days today? Well, because the days of movie premieres (Fridays) were always the busiest. This was an era where you would actually sell out the entire theater, sometimes hours in advance, for a film that had a lot of hype. I can’t imagine with all of the avenues of entertainment available at our fingertips today that that ever happens (yes, yes, we’re making the whole pre/post-COVID assumption).

It’s the same deal with CMEpalooza. On the day that we put out our meeting agendas for public consumption, we get a massive rush of traffic to our website that dwarfs what’s been going on with the Robinhood thing-a-ma-bob (but hey, if you made a million dollars last week, buy a CMEpalooza sponsorship, won’t you?).

We’re ready for the big rush, because today indeed is the day when we unveil the CMEpalooza Spring agenda. As always, we’ve put in quite a bit of thought into our sessions, and we think we have a really interesting mix for you. There are definitely a few quirky, out-of-the-box formats we’ll be trying out that may or may not work (Of course they’ll work! We are professionals here!). We always try hard to bring in some new stars that haven’t been on the CMEpalooza marquee before, so you’ll hopefully see some names in here you don’t recognize but can’t wait to hear from.

So take a look at what we’ve got in store, double check your calendar to make sure you have Wednesday, March 24 blocked off (yes, Derek, this is a reminder specifically for you), and order up a box of Junior Mints to be delivered that morning. Or lemon chips. That works too.

Some people probably think that the CMEpalooza team is super creative in coming up with ideas for our various sessions. While it pains me to disavow you of that idea today, I figure after more than a dozen ‘Paloozas have come and gone, I’d let you in on how we really get our best session ideas.

[Derek/Scott sit down at the dinner table]

Derek/Scott: “So kids, what did you do at school today?

Kids: “We played this cool new game with our class. It was called (fill in the blank).”

Derek/Scott: “Huh, that sounds interesting. How does it work?”

Kids: (Begin 5 minute circular explanation that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense)

Derek/Scott: (Make a mental note to check the Google after dinner to find out how the game really worked)

And that’s how the proverbial sausage is made. OK, maybe not always, but probably at least a handful of times over the years.

Perhaps you recall last week that Derek gave you all a sneak peak at one of the sessions we’re planning for CMEpalooza Spring (Wednesday, March 24) focused on the “Would You Rather” theme. Yes, that came from the Warnick kids.

Today, you get another sneak peak (does it stop being a “sneak peak” once we tell you about every session before publishing the actual agenda? Hmm) from me for a Spring session we have planned based upon everyone’s favorite elementary school game, Two Truths and a Lie. Guess where the idea came from for that one? Wrong! I came up with it totally on my own. It was 100% my idea. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a fool. A fool, I say!

See, that’s an example of what they call “a lie” to get you into the spirit of the game.

For anyone not familiar with how this is played, you read three statements. Two are true. One is a lie. Your job is to pick the lie. Easy enough, right? Let’s see how you do with a few pieces of biographical data from Derek and I, as well as a few CMEpalooza-themed items. Answers are at the bottom of the page.

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE – SCOTT

Question 1

A. I played backup bass guitar for a band while at Syracuse University, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Kurt Cobain randomly came on stage one night to sing Come As You Are with us.

B. At my local gym in Philadelphia, I once guarded NBA Hall of Famer Maurice Cheeks at a pickup basketball game

C. While vacationing in Vancouver, I ate dinner sitting next to Movie Hall of Famer (not a real thing) Liam Neeson

Question 2

A. My first job after college was in Yuma, AZ

B. My first CME-related job was in El Paso, TX

C. My last newspaper job was in Decatur, IL

Question 3

A. I hate mozzarella cheese

B. I hate cheddar cheese

C. I hate provolone cheese

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE – DEREK

Question 1

A. While not vacationing in Exton, PA (I worked there), I ate breakfast sitting next to NBA Hall of Famer Maurice Cheeks

B. My best friend in high school once went out on a date with Brooke Shields (but only one date)

C. While visiting a friend who was attending Oxford University, I played a round of laser tag with rebel billionaire Richard Branson

Question 2

A. As a kid, I would help my Grandpa Warnick nose ring pigs on his farm in southern Delaware

B. As a kid, I would help my Grandpa Landis wash parts at his transmission shop in Lancaster County,  PA

C. As a kid, I would help my dad setup new IBM computers for his business in Milford, DE

Question 3

A. I like dark chocolate

B. I like milk chocolate

C. I like white chocolate

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE – CMEPALOOZA

Question 1

A. The most watched CMEpalooza of all time occurred in the Spring of 2020

B. There have been 11 companies that have sponsored every CMEpalooza since its beginning

C. The most watched session in CMEpalooza history currently has more than 2,500 views

Question 2

A. Derek hosted the first CMEpalooza as a solo venture

B. CMEpalooza has twice taken place over the course of multiple days

C. We have never had a CMEpalooza panelist back out on the day of a live broadcast

Question 3

A. Lawrence Sherman moderated the only 2-hour CMEpalooza session in our history

B. Brian McGowan was the presenter of the first-ever CMEpalooza session

C. John Ruggiero has appeared as a CMEpalooza panelist more than anyone else

 

 

 

CORRECT ANSWERS: A, B, C, B, C, C, B, B, A