FEATURE
technology. Devices will be located
around the convention center, each
preloaded with our own searchable,
annual meeting–specific database. If
someone needs to search for an abstract
or the location of a session room, all they
have to do is ask Alexa. The system will
also alert us if it doesn’t have an answer
to someone’s question and we can update
the database accordingly. This is helpful
for attendees and our meetings team,
because, rather than hearing about an
issue after the meeting, we can find a
solution in real-time.
What session are you most looking
forward to at this year’s meeting?
My favorite – and this is true of every
annual meeting – is the Best of ASH
Session, which is created by the meeting
co-chairs during the meeting. For me,
the appeal is two-fold: I love to hear the
key takeaways from the meeting and
it’s usually the first time I can sit down
and listen to the content; on a personal
level, it is the first sign that the end of the
meeting is winding down. Seeing that
session come together is exhilarating, but
it’s also a time for reflection.
What happens when the annual
meeting ends?
After one meeting ends, we look
ahead to the next, and that includes
seeing what we can do better. We
push ourselves to improve every year.
There is no such thing as a perfect
meeting at this scale, but we want to
come as close to perfect as we can.
We do a series of debriefs to figure
out what went well and where we can
improve. That’s emblematic of how
ASH operates with everything, but,
because the ASH meeting is on such a
large scale, one improvement could
have an immediate impact on tens of
thousands of people.
“We push
ourselves to
improve every
year. There is
no such thing
as a perfect
meeting at this
scale, but we
want to come
as close to
perfect as we
can.”
—WILLIAM REED
Every year, our team goes through
a little emotional comedown on
Tuesday afternoon when the annual
meeting is complete. We put our
heart and soul into something for an
entire year, and take personal pride
in making it happen. At the end of
the day, though, all the work is about
ASH’s mission to help hematologists
conquer blood diseases worldwide.
What do you love about the
annual meeting?
The foundation of our annual
meeting is providing our audience
the best science in the world. It takes
extremely careful planning to bring
it to our audience, yet we also like to
surprise and delight attendees with
more social or whimsical touches so
that people go back home inspired.
We can’t lose sight of the fact that,
amongst a gazillion details, the
annual meeting is all about advancing
the science, improving the lives of
patients, and helping hematologists
go back to their clinics or labs re-
energized. ●
ASH Clinical News
79