Bellwether League Inc., the Hall of Fame for Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership, will host a virtual event to induct this year’s eight-member Bellwether Class and honor the three-member Future Famers Class and the 2020 Ammer Honoree, states a league press release.
“Our Board’s overriding priority in determining this year’s event was to ensure the health and well-being for all of our attendees, while creating a venue that will salute the tremendous contributions and lifetime achievements our awardees deserve,” said Nick Gaich, Bellwether League Board Chairman (Bellwether Class of 2013). “Although our annual celebration this year will not be an in-person event, along with your support and participation, I know that our online broadcast will serve us well in recognizing all of our 2020 recipients’ accomplishments worthy of their distinction.”
The decision was made in the best interests of all, according to Rick Dana Barlow, Bellwether League Co-Founder and Executive Director.
“With the coronavirus pandemic claiming lives, affecting health and disrupting life all around, it was the right thing for the Board of Directors to do,” Barlow said. “It was by no means an easy decision to make because we would like our Honorees and Future Famers to enjoy fully the fruits of their careers and achievements. But we recognized that travel restrictions, legitimate concerns about the spread of the virus even with proper physical distancing and facemask-wearing, and the increased responsibilities and need of our healthcare community to remain at their posts as more contracted the virus, meant we had to set an example. For the best of the Bellwether Community, we chose health and safety over live celebration and camaraderie this year.”
As a result, the Bellwether Class of 2020 honorees will be inducted via an exclusive online broadcast this year. The Future Famers Class of 2020 and the 2020 Ammer Honoree also will be recognized for their achievements. The 13th Annual Bellwether Induction Event will be a 90-minute dedicated online broadcast scheduled for Monday, October 5, the same day of the original live event, which once again coincides with National Healthcare Resource & Materials Management Week. Bellwether League will promote the time of the online broadcast once the schedule is finalized.
Limited sponsorship and support opportunities are available – including video testimonials and tributes. Contact Bellwether League Inc. headquarters via email for more details at [email protected].
Meanwhile, the 8th Annual Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Forum is being postponed to 2021 and likely will be rebranded to reflect updates going forward.
The Bellwether Class of 2020 includes: Jack R. Anderson, Doug Bowen, Gregory R. Bylo, Fred W. Crans, Kathleen Garvin, Edmond D. Hardin, Jr., David Reed and Rita L. White.
The Future Famers Class of 2020 includes: Hunter Chandler, Director, Supply Chain Information Systems, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC; Jack Koczela, Director of Services, Supply Chain, Froedtert Health Integrated Service Center, Menomonee Falls, WI; and Kenneth Scher, CMRP, Vice President, End-to-End Supply Chain, Nexera Inc., New York.
The first Honoree of the new “Dean S. Ammer Award for Healthcare Supply Chain Performance Excellence” is Randy V. Bradley, Ph.D., CPHIMS, FHIMSS, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management and Information Systems, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Haslam College of Business, Department of Supply Chain Management.
