FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 20, 2007

CONTACT:
Frank Skinner
Jennifer Palcher-Silliman
(404) 252-3663

ATLANTA — The Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA) set a new record for attendance at its Annual Meeting, June 9-12, in Philadelphia. The education line-up featured eight market research presentations, eight expert-panel discussion sessions and special presentations on pressing industry issues. The HCEA Annual Meeting also offers a unique venue for the interaction of the world’s leading healthcare exhibit marketing companies, medical association meeting planners and supporting industry companies featuring the top exhibit design and technology organizations in the business. Held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, the meeting was attended by 800 participants – an 8 percent increase over last year’s attendance.

The HCEA Annual Meeting, which was themed “Discover the Keys to Success,” gave attendees plenty of education options for increasing the value for their organizations. Highlights of the educational program included sessions on groundbreaking research studies on the effectiveness of healthcare convention marketing, physician and nurses perceptions at healthcare exhibitions, results measurement, regulatory issues for both pharma and medical device companies, new technologies and the debut of the HCEA 100 Index, a new research report on the 100 leading medical conventions in the industry.

The HCEA Exhibition, featuring an open-flow layout with 115 exhibiting companies and a “passport visitation” traffic-building activity, was the place to be for learning about a variety of state-of-the-art healthcare exhibiting products and services. And HCEA’s ever-popular networking functions gave attendees ample opportunity to interact with colleagues, Philadelphia-style.
HCEA’s keynote speaker was Chip Eichelberger, a world traveler and speaker who helped attendees expand their approaches to managing change and team building.

Describing the value and need for quality education in the industry of healthcare convention marketing and medical meetings, Eric Allen, HCEA Executive Vice President, explained,  “Quality research and education is vital to every part of our industry. We require more direction and planning based on actionable and measurable research, which means more informed decisions, better strategies and greater value for our organizations,” explained Allen. “This year’s Annual Meeting offered the pinnacle in educational resources for our members and the industry.”

HCEA’s 2008 Annual Meeting will be held June 21-24, in Salt Lake City.  For more information on the 2008 Annual Meeting, keep checking the HCEA website at www.hcea.org, or contact HCEA headquarters at (404) 252-3663; fax (404) 252-0774; or e-mail at hcea@kellencompany.com.

HCEA is the only association solely dedicated to improving the effectiveness of all conventions, meetings and exhibitions for the healthcare industry.  HCEA represents organizations involved in healthcare exhibitions and conventions.