CAMPS: On its own
By HME News Staff
Updated Mon April 30, 2007
SAN DIEGO - For the first time in 15 years, the California Association of Medical Product Suppliers (CAMPS) held its annual convention on its home turf March 7 and 8--not at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas.
CAMPS usually sponsors the trade show and holds its convention there. But this year, due to differences with trade show organizers, the association decided not to do either. It won't organize educational sessions; it won't even have a booth.
"They did not value our commitment and effort--let's just leave it at that," said Bob Achermann, executive director of CAMPS.
CAMPS held its annual convention in a ballroom at the Hilton San Diego Mission Valley. It featured about 25 exhibitors with tabletop displays and more than a dozen educational sessions covering everything from national competitive bidding to training to mergers and acquisitions. The convention drew more than 160 attendees.
"We're enthusiastic," Achermann said. "We'll do it again, and we'll make it bigger and better."
In hindsight, while its members benefited from CAMPS sponsoring Medtrade Spring--they could kill two birds with one stone--the association is probably better off on its own, Achermann said.
"We didn't have time to do all the things we wanted to do, because we were part of something so big," he said.
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