Please Participate

By Tom DiAngelis, PT, DPT
At this time of year, I would be remiss if I did not mention the two most important events that the section gears up for and ask you to participate. I am referring to the PPS Annual Conference and the elections for PPS office this November.
Attendees of the PPS Conference know it has been the place for private practioners to gather and share ideas for decades. The conference has grown significantly over the years—the quality of programming has steadily improved, and PPS has been able to provide more and more for members. While the expense has risen drastically, we have been able to maintain the cost at the same rate. This is in part due to improved attendance, excellent management by our outside conference-planning group, Let’s Meet, our staff, and the increasing number of exhibitors who want to attend. Let’s Meet and the PPS staff have created great demand for the exhibit hall so that we now have waiting lists for exhibit hall space—which helps keep attendance price reasonable. I encourage you to visit the PPS website (www.ppsapta.org) to read about the great lineup of conference speakers this year. The Program Work Group has done an excellent job of providing topics that are relevant to our practices today, as well as help us plan for the future. The annual conference is where the best networking opportunities are for private practice. Do not miss this opportunity that could significantly impact your practice for years to come. If you are attending, download the conference app (PPS 2014) to your smart phone so you can have it all at your fingertips.
The most important event at this year’s conference will be electing new members for the Board of Directors. This is a big election year for the Board as we elect a new president and vice president, as well as one director. We must commend the Nominating Committee—that also has a position on which we are voting—for providing us with a great slate of candidates from which to choose. Their candidate statements were in the last edition of Impact and are available online. I urge you to respect those who are running for office by reading their statements and voting. If you have questions for them, send them an email or call them directly—your vote is important. It is disheartening as a candidate when you work so hard and see so few of our members participating in such an important event for the section, so please cast your vote. Remember, you do not have to attend the conference to vote as absentee voting is available. You can also find information for absentee voting on the website.
This is your opportunity to participate in the two biggest events of the year for PPS and for you as a member. Thank you for your membership and your participation.
