Author: Lorin Mueller

The 2019 SIOP Conference at National Harbor represented a good opportunity for PTCMW to broaden our reach. PTCMW worked with SIOP to make the most of these opportunities. Below are some of the highlights of PTCMW’s activities at the conference. 

• In exchange for helping promote the conference locally, SIOP gave PTCMW a discount on sponsoring the Newcomer Reception. PTCMW leadership and volunteers attended the reception, passed out some leftover giveaways from previous Fall Events, and introduced ourselves to new prospective members. The PTCMW Board thought the Newcomer Reception was a good opportunity to identify new SIOP members who are local to the DC area, or soon would be. We also promoted the PTCMW webcasts to people who were not local to the DC area.
• As part of the sponsorship, PTCMW got a full page ad in the program. We offered a discount to new members in the month of April. A few people have made use of this discount and presuming that they attend a few PTCMW events and maintain their membership for more than a year, the expenditure should be cost-effective, other benefits of sponsorship notwithstanding.   
• PTCMW leadership participated in a couple of executive sessions focused on local I/O groups. We made some good connections and shared some ideas on the topics of maintaining a leadership pipeline, getting routine maintenance activities done, identifying event speakers, and generating revenue.
• As an exclamation point on the conference, PTCMW and IPAC jointly sponsored a hospitality suite for our members and a few guests. To describe it as “wildly successful” would be an understatement. Although we had some hiccups getting the room set up, the event was highly attended, and guests reported having a great time. Several people noted that it was the highlight of their conference. It was great seeing our members relax and connect after a long day of conference activities.

Many thanks to everyone who volunteered to help out with the conference! We expect to see the benefits of our efforts pay off in the years to come.