Features
Staff set up the Exhibition Hall (above) and assemble attendees’ registration
bags (below) at the 2016 ASH Annual Meeting in San Diego.
a behind - the - scenes look at the
ASH Annual
Meeting
every december, tens of thousands of researchers,
clinicians, and health-care stakeholders gather for
the American Society of Hematology’s (ASH) annual
meeting. More than a year’s worth of effort ensures
that the meeting goes off without a hitch, and there’s
a legion of dedicated ASH staff and volunteers
working behind the scenes who make it look easy.
ASH Clinical News spoke with William Reed,
senior director of meetings and community engage-
ment at ASH, for a look at the backstage work that
happens before the annual meeting.
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ASH Clinical News
When does planning begin for the annual
meeting?
A common misperception is that the ASH
meetings team works on one annual meeting per
year. The reality is that we work on multiple years
simultaneously, and planning each annual meeting
is a continuum. For instance, my task list today
includes items for the 2017 annual meeting, the 2018
annual meeting, and even a couple regarding the
2023 annual meeting.
An event of this size, magnitude, and
November 2017