Author: Mario L. Rocci, Jr, PhD Published on 9/19/2014 12:00:00 AM

This proverb, popularized by Hillary Clinton in the late 90s, is multicultural in origin and refers to the belief that a child has the best chance of becoming a well-rounded and productive contributor to Society if an entire community plays a part in their development.  

In an analogous way, ASCPT benefits greatly from the multiple disciplines that play a role in defining and advancing our field. These advances are shared formally through publications and presentations at our Annual Meeting, and informally through collegial scientific interchange and networking at our meeting, as well as throughout the year.   One valuable avenue for collegial scientific interchange and networking at our meeting is through engagement with our exhibitors.  Many of ASCPT’s loyal exhibitors employ members of our Society (including yours truly!) who are committed to advancing the field of Clinical Pharmacology as individuals.  In addition, the companies they represent, whether CROs, pharmaceutical companies, instrument vendors or consultant firms, have invested heavily as corporate entities in Clinical Pharmacology, and play an active role in the development of new drugs or in broadening our understanding and use of existing drugs. These companies are highly competent in their chosen fields.  

In addition to the commitment our exhibitors make to our field, they have also made a solid financial commitment to ASCPT by exhibiting at our Annual Meeting.  This financial support helps us defray some of the high costs associated with an Annual Meeting of our caliber.    
So as you can see, there are a variety of important reasons why a high degree of active engagement between our meeting attendees and exhibitors makes sense!  During ASCPT’s upcoming 2015 Annual meeting in New Orleans, we’ve made a series of positive changes to facilitate networking with our exhibitors.  These include, but are not limited to:

• HAVING ALL EXHIBITORS IN A SINGLE, EXPANDED RECTANGULAR EXHIBIT FLOOR PLAN
• LUNCHES AND THREE RECEPTIONS IN THE EXHIBIT HALL
• EXHIBITOR “PRODUCT THEATER” PRESENTATIONS IN THE EXHIBIT HALL
• ATTENDEE PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOTS IN THE EXHIBIT HALL BY OUR PHOTOGRAPHER
• A “PASSPORT CONTEST” WHERE MEMBERS CAN HAVE SOME FUN AND WIN PRIZES BY VISITING WITH OUR PARTICIPATING EXHIBITORS IN THE EXHIBIT HALL 
• UPDATED EXHIBIT HALL HOURS FROM 11:00 AM - 6:30 PM TO MIRROR ATTENDEES’ FREE TIME DURING THE MEETING
• SCIENCE IN THE HALL – ASPARAGUS METABOLISM RESEARCH PROJECT

So as the President-Elect of our esteemed Society, I request that all of you take some time out of your busy meeting schedules to network with our exhibitors in order to learn more about the part each one of them plays in serving our discipline.  Remember… "It Takes a Village".  

See you on the exhibit floor!