inMotion Magazine

Thrive 5 PRESIDENT AND CEO is when we, as a team of board, staff, volunteers, and supporters, are organized around our mission. When we reach and serve more people. When we identify and solve systemic challenges. We thrive when we educate federal lawmakers about who our community is and why we need their support to pass legislation that will help us understand why so few amputees are assessed for and receive needed prosthetic devices and care. We thrive when we modernize how we reach and serve our community by providing 24/7 access to information through community connections and resources, or by hosting virtual support groups during a pandemic. We thrive when we engage and listen to our community year-round, and especially at the Amputee Coalition’s National Conference. Which brings me to this year’s extended national conference! The 2021 Conference is an opportunity for people living with limb loss and limb difference to network with each other, seek and provide support, hear from a diversity of experts about living life well with limb loss, and interact with a breadth of solutions on the market. Conference is also our largest activity designed to “reach” the community en masse based on our founding principles, including the importance of peer support and elevating expertise only gained through lived experience. Conference allows for education and engagement across all four program areas (education, support, prevention, and advocacy). National conference furthers our goal of being a thought leader and convener and serves as a sponsorship driver for our organization. During our conference, attendees can engage with prosthetic and assistive device manufacturers and other vendors as consumers — to learn more about the latest technologies and leverage that experience to engage their clinicians and make informed decisions about their care and needed supports. Through previous post-event surveys and feedback, the Amputee Coalition learned attendees participate in conference for a sense of community, education, and access to vendors. We have listened to your responses and have been diligently creating a conference to meet these desires. We also understand the disappointment that was felt when we had to announce another year of a virtual conference. Since that announcement we have been building innovative programs and support sessions at a pace that will help engage more members of our community. Interestingly, the virtual conference has also offered some benefits for the limb loss and limb difference community. Here are just a few of the comments we heard from the 2020 National Conference: “This was great, so much better than I thought it would be. I like that the sessions we couldn’t attend will be available until the end of the year.” “You call it a conference; we call it a get together. Not so much a party, it’s the only way we get to see our friends once a year and it’s always a celebration filled with hugs and smiles and laughs and love” “The ability to attend from home and to watch recorded sessions increases accessibility for everyone. I believe the virtual opportunity should be incorporated into future conferences. The low cost for virtual attendance helped too.” We hope that this year’s conference brings you increased community connections, education, and insight that lead to actions that will help you thrive. Also, that our virtual breakout sessions with other members of the community will fill your spirits to last until the next time we can all be together in-person once again. Tell us how you’re thriving this fall at comms@amputee-coalition.org. Wishing you a fun-filled fall, full of lasting memories, Mary Richards President and CEO Amputee Coalition