Facing the Fight of HME's Life

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
— Theodore Roosevelt

In the past few months, I have been interviewed on numerous occasions about the future of Medtrade due to a few companies' decisions not to exhibit in 2008. There have been several rumors and implications posted on the Internet and reported in various articles in reference to this situation as well as about why Medtrade Spring 2008 will take place in Long Beach, Calif. Many of these comments disturb me because they are not based on reality.

The negotiations that occur with all of the Medtrade exhibitors are confidential, and public speculation does not offer a fair or balanced view of what occurred or what the impact will be. Likewise, what is observed by one person may be very different from what is seen by another.

Medtrade has survived in the past not because of any one company's actions; rather, it has survived and served the industry because of the collective efforts of many attendees, exhibitors and industry-based organizations.

The decision to hold the spring event in Long Beach was based primarily on the fact that the Las Vegas Convention Center was not able to accommodate Medtrade Spring this year because of scheduled renovations. Choosing this location was logical due to the large number of West Coast attendees and the city's benefits in terms of hotel accommodations and proximity to several area airports.

In response to the speculation, I have detailed the value of Medtrade to the industry in the business media: It is the meeting place for the HME industry. When you attend Medtrade you are going to get quality education — business-wise from our conferences, product-wise from our exhibitors and best practices-wise from networking with thousands of industry professionals. In light of the challenges facing this industry, each of these is critical to driving your business.