Somewhere in the not-so-fine print of the CMEpalooza 2017 Sponsorship prospectus is this little wrinkle, “NEW IN 2017: All silver sponsors receive an entry in our drawing for a FREE CMEpalooza Company Spotlight.” 

Honestly, part of me included this because I feel bad for Derek. CMEpalooza Spotlight was his baby way back in the infancy of CMEpalooza, and it simply never caught on. But there is also a part of me who thought that it was actually a pretty interesting idea that shouldn’t just die on the vine.

In June 2015, we had one 30-minute pilot broadcast with Educational Measures that was well attended and I thought was pretty darn interesting, but poof, no one signed up for another. As with many innovations, CMEpalooza Spotlight appears to need a little push to get it rolling downhill, which is why we added that little perk to our higher tiers of sponsorship this year.

We’ll be holding our CMEpalooza Spring Company Spotlight drawing on Monday (held in an über secret location that will probably be leaked to the media by one of our disgruntled interns in an hour or so). Consider this a final reminder to any organizations on the fence about a premium sponsorship – if you want in, you need to let us know ASAP if you want to qualify for this drawing. We currently have 2 Gold sponsors and 4 Silver sponsors for our Spring event, which leaves room for 2 more Silver sponsors.

Once we have selected a winner in our random drawing, we’ll start putting the wheels in motion for the Spotlight broadcast itself and provide everyone with more details.

Another election fraught with suspense is complete. And unlike some of our democracy’s more recent transitions that were accompanied by a consensus of love and unity, this one is unfortunately likely to be fraught with hand-wringing and controversy. That’s just what happens when you have so many worthy ideas that get left behind.

This is the first year where we’re releasing the full voting results from our Spring process. Because there were no names attached to any of the proposals (and some — including the overall laggard — came directly from Derek or I), we’re hoping that no one’s personal feelings are hurt and that our overall audience can see just how close some of these votes were.

When our Polling Stations locked their doors last Friday night, 222 ballots had been cast, far exceeding Derek’s prediction of “2” and even slightly bettering my more rosy expectation of “200.”

Thanks to everyone who took advantage of the CMEpalooza democracy to chime in.

We understand that your favorite candidates likely didn’t all win, and we sympathize with you. Our interns have been instructed to stay as late as they need to tonight and every other night this month taking calls from angry voters. We promise that your concerns will be heard.

With that, here are the results (winning sessions are in BOLD):

OUTCOMES
Incorporating Cost-Effective Creativity Into Outcomes Design – 24.9%
What is Data Visualization, and How Can I Apply It to CME Activities? – 40.7%
Project Outcomes – 34.4%

EDUCATIONAL DESIGN
An External Perspective on Educational Design in Adult Learning – 14.0%
Does Innovation in Educational Design Truly Make a Difference – 39.5%
Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: Learning Preferences of Healthcare Professionals – 46.5%

CASE-BASED APPROACHES
Celebrating Our Mistakes: A Retrospective Analysis of “What Went Wrong” – 42.1%
Taking an Innovation Risk – 34.2%
Everyone’s Favorite Character: The Disgruntled Faculty Member – 23.8%

COMMERCIAL SUPPORT
Eliminate the BS in Outcomes Reports and Get to the Point – 23.2%
The Complaint Desk – 35%
Two Scoops of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Please – 41.9%

ACCREDITATION
Achieving Accreditation with Commendation: It May be Easier Than You Think – 29.2%
Is That Compliant? Celebrating Fact from Fiction in Accredited CME – 49.7%
CME/CNE/CPE/CPD: Is There Really a Difference – 21.0%

CME POTPOURRI
Networking with the Best of Them: How to Make Friends and Influence People – 41.5%
A Primer for the Independent Medical Education Industry – 21.7%
The Million Person CME March – 36.7%

So now what? Derek and I will be retiring to our CMEpalooza South headquarters in the newly-refurbished Del Boca Vista luxury condominium complex and inviting potential moderators to meet with us and convince that they are responsible enough to take on the necessary duties. We expect the recruitment process to take only a few days, at which time we’ll be able to release the official times and faculty lists for each session.

In the meantime, we’ll wait for another Saturday Night Live parody of our crew. I have to admit that Bette Midler does a great Derek.

Our crack interns have been busy running various scenarios this week as the votes for our CMEpalooza Spring have come pouring in.

Click here for the CMEpalooza Spring ballot

“What if we have a 3-way tie in the Outcomes category?”

“Should we be worried about that strange block of votes that apparently came in from ‘somewhere in Asia’ last night around 2 a.m.?”

“Who is going to pay the tab for the next case of Red Bull?”

You know, important stuff.

The drama and mystery ends today, when the polls for CMEpalooza Spring close at 5 p.m. ET. If you have already voted, thank you. If you haven’t, please do. We’ll announce the winning sessions early next week and start lining up moderators and panelists shortly thereafter.

Wish us luck.

Click here for the CMEpalooza Spring ballot