Who else missed their Fitbit at the annual ASPR conference?

My Fitbit battery died about a year ago and, depressed with the daily reminder that it took a 5:30 a.m. wakeup call for the gym to make it to 10,000 steps, I retired it.

But with the prime walking location of the Canal St. Marriot (the same hotel where we hosted a 2014 PracticeLink Live! event), we all would’ve made our Fitbits proud. (Especially if you participated in the first annual ASPR 5K!)

It’s always a treat to walk into a hotel lobby in a different city and see familiar faces. (The fresh beignets made in the lobby Saturday morning were also nice!) At this year’s conference, there were plenty of new faces, too. This year’s ASPR Conference had record-breaking attendance, with 37 percent of the group being first-time attendees! It was also the first conference for ASPR’s new executive director, Carey Goryl.

PracticeLink was proud to sponsor the lanyards, conference bag and, even with the 5:45 a.m. start time (ouch!), the first annual 5k run. We were also honored to sponsor Lt. Gen. Honoré’s keynote address.

Lt. Gen. Honoré, who then-New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin nicknamed “a John Wayne dude,” took charge of the city after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Lt. Gen. Honoré’s down-to-earth personality and true American heroism shone through in the lessons he shared with us. Some of the highlights include:

• Work leadership is easy; leading from home is not. Save your best leadership for when you go home.
• When you build a team, you build confidence and speed. You adapt and overcome. When you build a team, you can save lives.
• All of the future opportunities are on the other side of impossible. Come up with your impossible list. 

Thank you, ASPR, for making the $3,375 donation to St. Bernard Project at the conclusion of Lt. Gen. Honoré’s address, a gift possible from the many of you who participated in the morning’s 5k race. And thank you to the General, who graciously signed copies of his book for attendees in the PracticeLink booth. (Congrats to the lucky 10 who found the jump-to-the-head-of-the-line beads under their chairs at breakfast!)

After a full day of sessions, Monday wrapped up with the ASPR-sponsored event at Generations Hall.

Tuesday morning’s keynote speaker, Seth Mattison, challenged us all to take healthy risks, and to “be remarkable consistently.” Other tweet-worthy tidbits included:

• Your courage muscle doesn't work if you don't use it.
• You don't have to ask for permission to be influential. You need impeccable two-way communication, and you need courage. 
• The quality of your communication is based on the quality of your questions. (His favorite questions include: What do you like to do when you're not working? Tell me more about that. Why do you feel that way? What gives rise to that opinion?)
• And my favorite: Love people. Serve people. Add value. Have fun. 

As Tuesday wound down, it was time to pull the door prizes and announce the Bingo card winners. One recruiter happened to win door prizes from at least two exhibitors—and I hope she went out immediately to play the lottery! Congratulations to Hendrick Medical Central's Rachel Lee, winner of the iPad PRO and Apple Pencil from PracticeLink, and Essentia Health's Aaron Franke, who took home our $100 AmEx card Bingo card prize.

After the business meeting (and door prize pulling), we were pleased to host many of you at the PracticeLink Mardi Gras World event. We cherish this time as a way to for us to deepen our relationships and catch up outside of the exhibit hall! The crawfish was plentiful (if an acquired taste); thanks to the Louisiana natives who taught us how to eat them. The Mardi Gras masks seemed to travel well enough home, though I bet there’s lingering glitter in our suitcases that we won’t find until the next trip.

Thank you to ASPR for another well-done conference. Thank you to all the recruiters—and friends—who were willing to share with us both their success stories and their challenges.

It’s not every industry that gets to share stories and feedback like, “You have no idea how many lives you’ve helped save.” Thank you for sharing, and thank you for letting PracticeLink be a part of the physician recruitment community. It is our mission to help you recruit, hire and heal in the communities you serve. We are grateful for the chance to help.

Be sure to take a minute and check out all of our photos from the festivities in New Orleans on Facebook, and if you see yourself – tag yourself!

See you next year in San Diego at ASPR 2017!