Hey Larry, I know you talked a little bit in your last newsletter edition about the upcoming virtual conference, but I wanted to confirm that it’s still planned as scheduled. With COVID on the uptick it seems more and more things are getting canceled, even virtual events. Is PARMA still holding a virtual conference next month?

Good question and I’ve also noticed an increase in cancellations recently. I’m not sure the reason for this unless it’s beginning to impact the workers behind the scenes who help put on the virtual events. Regardless, we’re still on for next month and are very excited about it.

The theme this year is the Wild West of Risk. We’ve reduced the cost to attend and it’s only $149 for the first attendee from a public entity and $99 for the second, third, etc. The conference’s educational schedule will remain the same as it has at past conferences---with familiar tracks such as Risk Management, Leadership and Workers Compensation---but the difference at this year is that you will ultimately be able to attend EVERY SINGLE SESSION! I don’t know about you but at every past conference I’ve attended there are always quite a few sessions I really wanted to attend but couldn’t because another one I was interested in was being held at the same time.

You won’t have that problem this year because we are archiving all sessions which means you can view them ALL at your leisure for 60 days after the conference concludes.

And make sure you don’t miss our keynote speaker this year, Dr. Zubin Damania who goes by ZDoggMD. He is a practicing internist who worked for over a decade at Stanford who is also a stand-up comedian. He uses “song, humor and creative storytelling to delve into the challenges of delivering compassionate health care in our severely dysfunctional medical system while proposing collaborative ways to revitalize it.” It will be a keynote unlike any you’ve seen before and we’re very excited to have Dr. ZDogg presenting.

So please plan to attend from February 3 – 5, 2021, you won’t regret it! Register at www.parma.com. And thanks for the question.