 |
| Members having fun at a business meeting |
Like thousands of other public health-involved professionals, I attended the APHA Annual Meeting this past October in San Diego. It was one of the best APHA conferences I have ever attended, and I have gone to the majority of the meetings since 1983. I asked myself what made this conference so different from others so that perhaps I could learn from it for future meetings.
Obviously, the weather was a key factor. Being sunny and warm both enabled and encouraged participants to go outdoors during session breaks and for needed decompression time. The
 |
| A seagull enjoying the harbor views |
convention center’s multiple outdoor terraces with tables and chairs made it so easy to walk outside and view the adjacent harbor. Maybe I was projecting, but it seemed that everybody was smiling! The physical layout of the convention center, vis-a-vis the location of the participating conference hotels, also made the multiple daily commutes between hotel and convention center much easier than when hotels and the convention center are very spread out from each other. For me personally, I was still full of energy after two full days of the conference because of the easy "commute."
Another great thing about APHA is that there are multiple opportunities to network — both to meet new people and to catch up with former colleagues. Some people that I used to work with in
 |
| A visitor to the CHPPD booth |
Philadelphia are now working in California, and this was a great time and venue for reconnecting. Being part of the program is always rewarding and engaging, and I was a session moderator and presenter this year. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I was asked to be the "official" photographer for CHPPD at the 2008 Annual Meeting. This afforded me the chance to go to most of the business meetings, the Governing Council, the awards dinner, and make multiple stops by the CHPPD booth. It was a good way to see so many people, to observe firsthand how much commitment there is to our Section, and to feel part of it and the larger convention effort. Next year in Philadelphia — my home town!
By Lynn Kotranski, lynne@phmc.org
* The photos in this article were all taken by Lynn Kotranski at the 2008 Annual Meeting.