Why You Should Attend the 10th Anniversary FOCUS Conference in Orlando this May - A Story about last year's FOCUS Conference by RT SPACE member Jerry Edens

Even in This Economy – The FOCUS Conference Just Gets Better and Better!
by RT SPACE member Jerry Edens RRT, M.Ed.

I attended the 9th annual FOCUS conference this past May and all I can say is WOW!

This conference continues to take leaps and bounds in quality, attendance and fun and I want to tell you that from the minute I arrived, to the minute I left, the people who produce the FOCUS conference, that is, RT SPACE member Bob Miglino RRT and roughly 30 of his RT and Sleep friends who form the "crew" each year, saw to it that I had a great time. As I and over 2000 others can attest, this was a first-rate conference from A to Z, a conference and one that continues on track to becoming the biggest and best in all of Respiratory Care and Sleep Medicine!

Where to begin! First, let me say that springtime in Orlando is delightful. Disney’s Coronado Resort, an 1800 room hotel with a Mayan theme, was resplendent with beautiful gardens, a beautiful lake (around which the 5K race took place), great swimming pools and more. That resort, packaged with everything FOCUS provides, made it a great “get-away”, and affordable for most every budget.
What’s really amazing about this conference is the fee that attendees pay in relation to what is included in the conference; in other words, the value of the conference – excellent lectures by some of the most famous speakers in the county, good food and drink and a ton of fun. FOCUS also provides a reduced "significant other" registration that allows attendees to bring spouses to enjoy the conference economically (no CEU’s for them, however) and students receive a whopping discount, a great deal for them, especially when considering that this discounted fee includes CEU’s, three meals and two great nights of entertainment.
Academically, last year’s FOCUS conference featured 18-20 ceu’s plus 5 early-bird breakfast workshops that were very well received. An asthma educator workshop was also presented the day before the conference with 135 people participating. Lectures then ran for three days in ten interesting tracks that were packed with attendees. Prominent speakers such as Bob Kacmarek RRT PhD, David Chang Ed.D RRT, John Marini MD, Ira Cheifetz MD, William Dement MD were very much appreciated by attendees. Indeed, one of the innovative things FOCUS does with its lectures is to present every lecture twice, so no one has to miss anything; something else very much appreciated by the attendees and the brand new Pulmonary Function track of lectures was a big hit.
The keynote address also did not disappoint. Conference chairman Bob Miglino solicited the expertise of the world famous Disney Institute.

Another touching and wonderful thing was done at the conference. FOCUS decided again, to utilize “the power of numbers” to raise money for a worthy charity. In 2007, that charity was the Alpha-1 Foundation. In 2008, it was The Smile Train Foundation. For 2009 it was The Fisher House Foundation, a charity that provides comfortable and economical accomodations next to our country’s military hospitals for the loved ones of wounded veterans.

FOCUS also conducted two new activities this year, both totally free of charge and both open not only to attendees but to their family members as well. The first, was a great evening on Wednesday night that featured “The Backbeats” a Beatles tribute band. This great night, sponsored by Draeger Medical, had over 2,000 people rocking, dancing and singing to all the great hits of the “fab four” and everyone attending received a complimentary drink ticket good for a cocktail or a soft drink. It was a great night, totally free and right there in the hotel. The second new thing FOCUS did this year was to have a 5K Run/Walk race. This went off very well with over 200 people participating and everyone receiving a t-shirt. Winners received cash prizes and the kids race, run after the adult race, was a lot of fun as well, with over 40 children running, receiving t-shirts and, if they placed, winning Disney gift cards.

The exhibit hall was very busy and 160 exhibitors utilizing more exhibit space than ever before said that they were very happy with the interest shown their products by the attendees. As I said earlier, FOCUS provides an incredible amount of food and drink in the exhibit hall and this year, "Dr. Phil” (a hilarious impersonator) cut the ribbon for the opening gala. Austin Powers, Wayne from Wayne’s World and Dr. Evil impersonators were also on hand for picture taking and FOCUS provided strolling musicians, caricature artists, stilt walkers and the like. People literally didn’t want to leave the hall when it was time to go, that’s how much fun everyone was having.
The next day was more of the same with the addition of two big events. The first, was the picking of the winner of the 2009 Ford FOCUS automobile. Let me tell you, you could hear a pin drop as almost 2000 people assembled in the exhibit hall to watch "Austin Powers" pick the lucky winner. Everyone was happy for the shocked winner, Tammy Harshman, (she took the $10,000 cash) who stated that she had never won a thing in her life. $10,000 CASH – now that’s what I call a souvenir!
The second big event of the night was the fantastic evening at Epcot which was kept open for FOCUS attendees until midnight. The rides were a lot of fun and some lucky attendees managed to get seats to see Jose Feliciano who performed that night. Again, this whole night was included in everyone’s registration and was sponsored by Hamilton Medical who was showing their new line of ventilators at the conference.
Another full day of excellent lectures followed and the conference ended on Saturday afternoon.

It was a superb show and Chairman Bob Miglino, who is absolutely everywhere checking things, ensuring the smooth running of events and literally bussing tables when not introducing speakers, is again, to be commended on his incredible attention to detail.
The FOCUS conference is festive, fun, innovative and informative. Everything I’ve been hearing for years about their ability to combine strong academia with powerhouse fun is true – every word of it. You couldn‘t ask for a better slate of topics and speakers and again, what was included in one’s registration fee was simply amazing. The Focus crew can’t do enough for you and one comes away feeling that they went to someone’s home for a great party.

The FOCUS conference is the antithesis of being the "same old thing" and each year FOCUS comes up with new, innovative ideas that leave 99% of the attendees WOW’ed. People don’t like the FOCUS conference – they LOVE it! It was a great time as these pictures clearly show and next year FOCUS will be going back to Disney World for their 10th anniversary conference. The dates are May 13-15, 2010, again, at the Coronado Springs Resort which, Disney just announced, will be completely renovated by the time of next year’s FOCUS conference.
I encourage people to start saving NOW so as not to miss what is going to be another fantastic conference one I know the FOCUS producers are going all out for, to celebrate the milestone of their 10th anniversary conference.
Disney Coronado rooms will be only $129 a night once again and frankly, one would be hard-pressed to “do” Disney any more affordably than they will be able to, thru FOCUS. Bob Miglino even announced at the conference that the 2010 registration fee will stay exactly the same as in 2009 and that attendees who went in 2009 will save $50 on their 2010 registration fee.
My suggestion – Don’t miss it. Save your money and time off for May 13-15, 2010 at Walt Disney’s Coronado Resort in Orlando. Personally, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.