YODAA Conference 2007 - A Recap
The United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA) brought their inaugural conference to the cozy Lincolnshire Marriott, not too far from downtown Chicago. The conference kicked off with a tour of Hollister's headquarters, along with a welcome barbecque. Throughout Thursday through Saturday, the conference was packed with session after session, providing information, support, and inspiration to all those who attended.
Corporate exhibitors were on hand to allow conference-goers the opportunity to see what the latest products and solutions are while giving the ability to network with representatives in a face-to-face environment that is hard to find elsewhere.
Other conference highlights included the always-popular Convatec party and the elegant closing banquet. In the end, over 500 attendees came out to network, re-connect with old friends, meet new friends, and seek support.
YODAA was fortunate to be allowed to host "a conference within a conference." Over 30 young adults came out to the conference, and we had a blast. While attendees were invited to attend regular UOAA sessions, YODAA had a few of their own sessions as well, including a motivational session by Jenni Prokopy, "The Chronic Babe," and an informational session done by Dr. Rafferty, who frequently answers questions in The Phoenix magazine. After we were done learning, we went out and bonded and had a blast at the Cubby Bear. We closed the conference with the banquet, once again to the tune of Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer."
The conference brought back many veterans, but at the same time many, many new faces. Though it may be a while before we meet again, YODAA truly bonded, and life-long friendships were made, and people felt safe to step out of their comfort zones and open up and try something new. While it was sad to say goodbye, staying in touch is just a phone call, text, or email away. Everyone is excited for the next conference, wherever, and whenever that may be!
YODAA Slideshow
Chicago native, and YODAA member Brian B. took all of the best of the conference in video, picture, and music to produce an awesome slideshow that he is sharing with all of you. Apologize to those on dialup, but the file is a little over 100MB. To save the file. Right-click with your mouse, and click save. Clicking on the link in most browsers will open the file and will start playing.