February Proofs editor's notes

By Kevin Henry, editor, Proofs

It’s February and, in the dental industry, that can mean just one thing … it’s time to think about Chicago.

The collective eyes of dentistry will be on the Windy City from Feb. 25-27 as the 145th Midwinter Meeting is held. This year brings changes as the Midwinter Meeting will be in a new venue (the McCormick Place West Building) and has a new timeline (just three days for the commercial exhibition and scientific program). Early talks I’ve had with exhibitors indicate there’s a lot of excitement about a shorter meeting in a new venue.

But it’s not just the newness that has people excited about Chicago. Granted, the Midwinter always has a degree of electricity surrounding the meeting, but 2010 promises to have a little extra buzz. Numerous people I spoke with while attending the Yankee Dental Meeting in late January in Boston seem to think this could be the best Midwinter Meeting ever. Could a perfect storm be brewing? Think about it … even in last year’s tough economic times, Chicago was a very good show for many companies. Now fast forward a year … the economy is on the rebound … and there’s a new venue … and a more compact buying time for dental teams on the show floor, with one less day on the schedule. Could this be the greatest Midwinter Meeting ever? Absolutely; it has the potential.

“Greatest ever?” you may be asking yourself. Certainly perspective plays a huge role in what is the “greatest ever” of anything, but everything I’ve seen and heard is pointing toward a tremendous meeting. Now it’s up to you to make it that way. If you’re working the show floor at Midwinter, you have a big opportunity ahead of you. Are you prepared? Are you excited? Are you ready to be in the middle of what could be a “perfect storm”? Start thinking now about what you could do to make a great show even better, from your company’s standpoint and your own. Go back and read Dr. Louis Malcmacher’s article from last issue and remind yourself to be proactive.

I’ll see you in Chicago. I’m looking forward to being there, and I hope you’ll say hi if you see me roaming the halls.

Two quick notes on different topics …

1. Be on the lookout for the March issue of Proofs as we have our biggest international manufacturer directory ever, as well as a primer on social media and how it can help your business connect with an entire generation of customers.
2. If you or your company is interested in advertising in Proofs (e-newsletter or print edition), drop an e-mail to Marv Ashworth at [email protected].

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