A summary of the recent CMEpalooza 2023 planning meeting.

Scott: “OK, let’s discuss ideas for the Spring meeting. What do you have?
Derek: “Oh buddy, I’ve got some great ideas this year. I am going to blow your mind!”
Scott: [rolls eyes] “I bet. Let’s hear them.”
Derek: “Imagine this… a session done entirely in haiku.”
Scott: “No.”
Derek: “OK, how about this: CMEpalooza…ON ICE!”
Scott: “No.”
Derek: “Not an Ice Capades fan, eh? Fine, I have more. Are you sitting down?
Scott: [glares and motions to the chair he is sitting in]
Derek: “Perfect. Now, I know you’re not a huge fan of musicals, but-”
Scott: “No.”
Derek: “Right. We could…ask people to submit abstracts again?”
Scott: “Bingo. Let’s do that.”

It’s that time of year. and CMEpalooza Spring planning has begun (It’s Wednesday, April 12. Save the date in your calendar if you haven’t already.) Like last year, we want to include the CE community into the planning and development process of the CMEpalooza agenda. Anyone who is interested is welcome to submit an idea for a CMEpalooza Spring session.

The process is fairly simple. If you have an idea for a session that you would like to lead at CMEpalooza Spring, just complete the CMEpalooza Spring 2023 Abstract Submission form by the end of the day on Wednesday, February 15. After that, Scott and I will review all the proposals we receive and select at least five for the official agenda.

Here are a few guidelines:

1. This is a virtual conference and all sessions are done via StreamYard. It’s easy.
2. Proposals will only be considered if they are submitted via the abstract submission form
3. The deadline for proposals to be submitted is by 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 15.
4. We are open to pretty much any idea as long as it relates in some way to CME/CE. The more creative, the better. My dream is for someone to propose a musical (this is not Scott’s dream, as noted above).
5. Interactive formats with multiple presenters, such as panel sessions and interviews, are encouraged.
6. Please verify the availability of all presenters for the date of CMEpalooza (Wednesday, April 12) before submitting their name in your proposal.
7. We don’t want to limit creativity, so there isn’t a limit on the number of proposals you can submit, but use common sense and be reasonable. We will likely only choose one proposal for which you are listed as the lead contact, so don’t submit 10 proposals or something crazy like that.
8. We will try to notify you within a week of the deadline if your proposal has been accepted or not.
9. If you have any questions, feel free to email Derek (thecmeguy@gmail.com) or Scott (scott@excaliburmeded.com), or find us at the Alliance conference in a couple weeks.

I think that about covers it. I especially want to encourage people who have never presented at CMEpalooza to submit a proposal. We are always happy to have new presenters participate. Maybe you are intimidated by getting up in a front of a room full of your colleagues and presenting material — not a problem with CMEpalooza. Maybe you are worried that your idea would be too “out there” for a traditional conference — not a problem with CMEpalooza. Maybe you are just too lazy to want to put together a slide deck for a presentation — so are we, which is why we often encourage our panelists to use few (if any) slides.

So in the immortal words of “woman on a subway car” from Coming to America, “Go on honey, take a chance!”

Click here for the CMEpalooza Spring 2023 Abstract Submission form

Ugh. This is one of those blog posts I have to write where I brag about CMEpalooza in order to make a point about CMEpalooza even though I really really don’t like bragging about CMEpalooza because it makes me feel icky. Not that CMEpalooza is icky (It’s not. It’s great.), but bragging in general is icky (side note: I am the worst salesperson in the world. Never hire me to be your business development guy. I’ll just say things like “Well, yeah, we’re pretty good at XYZ, but other companies are good at it, too. We might be better than them at it, though I haven’t seen their work lately, so it’s not for me to judge.”)

Anyway, the point of all this is that are planning to release our CMEpalooza Sponsorship Prospectus next Wednesday (December 7) and — here comes the braggy part — a lot of the sponsorship opportunities sell out very quickly. Once the prospectus is released, we award sponsorships on a first-come, first-served basis. Last year, all of our Gold Sponsorships were snapped up on the day the prospectus was released (I think. Scott can correct me here.) (note from Scott: Much as I love to correct Derek, he’s right this time)

(Here comes more bragging.) The reason I bring this up is that this year, for the first time ever, we are pre-releasing our Platinum Sponsorship ahead of the rest of the prospectus. We’ve offered the Platinum Sponsorship each of the last 3 years, but so far, there have been no takers. We understand that it’s a big ask financially, but as Jennifer Tilly so eloquently put it during one of the epic scenes of Let It Ride, “What is it they say? Nothing ventured…nothing ventured.”

For anyone who may be interested in venturing into this new realm, this is your opportunity to lock in our premium sponsorship ahead of time and brag to the whole CME community about how you are at the top of the CMEpalooza sponsor heap. A Platinum Sponsorship includes all of the following:

• The opportunity to work with the CMEpalooza planning committee (that’s Scott and I) to develop a sponsored breakfast or lunch panel that can include representatives of your company for both CMEpalooza Spring and Fall
• A CMEpalooza Spotlight session (held on a different day than either of the CMEpaloozas)
• The ability to contribute a sponsored post to the CMEpalooza blog twice during the year
• Special exclusive events for your staff hosted by the CMEpalooza team. This could be a trivia night (with prizes), a stand-up comedy night (Scott thinks he is funny), or something else we’ll brainstorm with you.
• All of the other usual CMEpalooza Sponsor goodies, including a premium listing at the top of the Sponsor recognition web page and your own acknowledgment slide at the beginning of each and every CMEpalooza session
• And more… (who wants a set of Ginsu knives?)

The cost for a Platinum Sponsorship is $25,000. Maybe you want the chance to make CMEpalooza history. Maybe you see this as the way to launch your organization forward in 2023. Or maybe your accountant is telling you to reduce your organizational income by the end of the year. Whatever the reason, if your organization is potentially interested in the Platinum sponsorship, contact me (thecmeguy@gmail.com) or Scott (scott@excaliburmeded.com) ASAP and we can discuss.

Here is a re-creation of Scott’s reaction when he found out I had already updated the CMEpalooza archive page with all of the sessions from CMEpalooza Fall (the role of “Scott” is played by Bert):

Rude but understandable since I usually don’t update the archive until, oh, around the time we are announcing the next Palooza agenda. (note from Scott: Are you picturing Derek/Ernie playing with his rubber ducky at his desk instead of updating the agenda? I sure am.)

Anyway, a big thank you to our friends over at Array for sponsoring the CMEpalooza archive and giving me the motivation to update it a little (lot) quicker than usual.

Lastly, a huge thanks to all of you who watched CMEpalooza Fall 2022 and made it a success. We had more than 200 live viewers for half of the sessions and are well over that mark for most of the rest if we include on-demand viewers of the archived versions. We continue to be amazed and humbled by the support you all have given to our little conference. See you in the spring!