8 minute read

2020 Annual Conference & Expo

from April—June 2020

by NMEDA

from April—June 2020, page 8

Arbitration Clauses are a Deal...

THE BUSINESS OF CARING

They say hindsight is 20-20,

and I’m sure as we look back on the 2020 NMEDA Annual Conference & Expo, a little more than a month later, there are some things we’d do differently considering where we are today with the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are many things I’m sure we’d be grateful we got to enjoy before things really

got turned on their head. All I know, is the 2020 conference is one we will all remember whether it’s because it was our last one in Daytona Beach, FL, because it was the last time anyone traveled for the next few months, or because it was the last one before we co-locate our conference with ADED. Let’s all take a brief look back…

The conference kicked off on Tuesday evening with our opening general session where new NMEDA President, Christian Quandt, welcomed attendees. NMEDA CEO, Danny Langfield, joined by ADED Executive Director, Liz Green, shared some long-anticipated news about the 2021 co-located conferences. You all have probably heard by now that the 2021 conferences for each association will take place in Columbus, Ohio from September 16-21. NMEDA’s events will take place the 18th–21st with joint activities taking place throughout. Danny also shared the details of a new conference contest, “What’s Your Sign?” This fun networking game encouraged attendees to mix and mingle while discussing business topics, with the opportunity for 12 individuals to win $100 each.

BraunAbility CEO, Stacy Kroon, welcomed keynote speaker, Sunjay Nath who kicked off the evening. After leading us in a comical game of “Sunjay Says” (see funny photos on pg 35), he shared the 10-80-10 principle which encouraged us to take a look at our businesses and employees and think about ways to encourage a shift, for individuals and practices “stuck” in the acceptable 80 percent, into the desired “top” 10 percent. The expo hall opened promptly after the opening session and folks got to explore all the latest technologies and offerings in the mobility industry while enjoying cocktails, tasty fare, and the company of their peers.

As always, attendees arrived Wednesday bright-eyed and ready to learn. Our dealer learning track sessions provided a wide variety of topics including creative and productive tips on the new track “Innovation & Technology.” Wednesday wrapped up with possibly the most anticipated event of the conference, our general session, “The Rolling Disrupters.” Four exceptional individuals who all “ride” on wheelchairs shared their inspirational stories about overcoming assumptions and shattering expectations. The panel, moderated by NMEDA friend and consultant Mike Savicki, included Dr. Rory Cooper, University of Pittsburgh’s Human Engineering Research Laboratories, Sam Schmidt, Conquer Paralysis Now and Indy Car Racer, Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham, Wheelchair Motocross Athlete, and Noah Currier, Oscar Mike Apparel & OMFoundation. You can view the session on our NMEDA Facebook or YouTube pages.

A special networking event took place Wednesday evening for our VIP Vocational Rehab (VR) attendees. This year NMEDA made a special “push” to increase VR attendance and the efforts proved to be a huge success. Over 30 attendees representing 20 states joined the conference resulting in valuable relationships built and increased understanding of the mobility

industry. Check out some attendee feedback on pages 36-37.

Thursday included some bonus training sessions, including the Turny Evo Seat technician training and “Someone’s Turning the Wrench,” for our DRS attendees. The closing general session, “Women in Mobility: Insights & Perspectives,” invited a few female industry leaders, Staci Kroon, BraunAbility, Noel Marshall, Schaeffler-Paravan, and Catherine Martin, Ilderton Conversions, to share their experiences and perspectives on the state of the industry and how important diversity and inclusion, on many levels, is so important for businesses these days.

The final day of conference came to a close with our annual auction fundraiser, raising just over $50k, and our awards banquet where we honored some exceptional mobility industry leaders by welcoming them into the NMEDA Hall of Fame. For details on all of our awards presented at conference see pg 41.

Thank you to all who attended and we look forward to seeing you next year in Columbus!

CONFERENCE LINKS

Full Conference Photo Album www.nmeda.com/2020Photos

Post-Conference Survey Results

www.nmeda.com/2020SurveyResults

The Rolling Disrupters General Session Recording

www.nmeda.com/RollingDisrupters

VR Attendees: 35

”Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this year’s NMEDA conference. It was an informative conference and I received a lot of new information that I am sharing with our VR Program administrators. It was great to see the current state of technology regarding automotive mobility issues and I thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and presentations, as well as the Expo.

Oregon

“This was truly one of the best conferences I have ever attended. I learned so much from the vendors and being able to actually see the assistive technology/ automotive mobility devices. I very much enjoyed the networking opportunities with the vendors as well as other

VR professionals. South Carolina

”Thank you for supporting

VR attendance at the 2020 NMEDA conference. I enjoyed meeting colleagues in the field of Driver Rehabilitation, a variety of dealers and modifiers, as well as other VR professionals. The greater my understanding of each facet of vehicle modification service provision and the concerns of each expert area simply enhances my ability to better educate and support our state VR staff. Connecticut

“This was the best NMEDA

Conference I have ever attended, and our Agency is grateful for NMEDA’s support of our attendance this year. You guys did a great job setting everything up and we really appreciate it. North Carolina

”I loved the ‘Recommended

Practices for Driver Rehabilitation & Vehicle Modifications’ document that was distributed at the VIP reception. This document is a great resource that would have really helped me understand the process quicker and deeper when I first began to learn about vehicle modifications. I would love to be able to use parts of this for training sessions. Florida