Tag: focm

FOCM Membership Card Ceremony

On February 23 and 24, 2016, I found myself in Miami attending SCOPE (Summit for Clinical Operations Executives).  It is always fun to attend conferences and see old friends and make new ones.  At this meeting three people received their cards.

The first night, my friend Angela Radcliffe had arranged reservations for 16 at a restaurant’s private room and due to some issues had no RSVPs by 3 p.m. and was going to cancel it.  I asked her to give me an hour and I’d see what I could do.  We ended up getting 20 people and they had to move us to a larger room.  It was a great dinner where a lot of people met each other for the first time and Angela led it by sharing a personal story about what drew her into clinical research and everyone else shared their path to the industry.  It was a really memorable night.

On the second night, we arranged a group go to dinner at Larios, the restaurant owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan.  That was also a great group of people.  Not in the pictures: Brian Langin, Alicia Foley, David Fairbrother, Amy Zastawney.

Left side: Nick Hargaden, Cindy Howry, Richard Gastineau
Right side: Bonnie Moore, Julie Orr, Dave Kirschenbaum, Kim Assal, Ted Gastineau
Dan Weddle
Laura Peters
Janet Shropshire

New FOCM Membership Ceremonies

On February 10, 2016, while attending Arena International’s Outsourcing in Clinical Trials Northern California three people received their FOCM cards.

Adam Kuzmicz, who I have known for 10+ years.  Adam is with Parexel.  The photographer really captured his extreme happiness at this moment.  He later said, it was one of the happiest moments of his life.  At least that’s how I remember it.

Barry Murphy with Novotetch was next to receive his card.  He is a little more in control of his emotions than Adam was.

Donna Fraser with Novotech also received a membership card.  Her joy at the moment is quite evident!

Welcome them to FOCM!

 

Adam Kuzmicz
Barry Murphy
Donna Fraser

West Coast FOCM Event

So on February 9, I was in the San Francisco area for an Arena International Outsourcing in Clinical Trials conference and knowing that others I would know would be in town for that, I put together an event.  I got in touch with Sue Simpson, friend for 20 years and proprietor of TasteVin Wine Bar and Bistro, located in San Carlos, CA to schedule the event there.  Then, thanks to Facebook, I saw that the one and only Bob Bildner was also going to be in San Francisco and lawd, lawd, lawd, we had us a time.

Present for the event and receiving major attendance reward points for gift items in the FOCM gift catalog (future possibility) were:
Dave Gibboni, Paul Oldfield, Beth Johnson, me, Sue Simpson, Julie Hammack, Brian Langin, Bob Bildner, Claudia Kunzler, Pippa Wilson and Breyona Fenner.  Bob received his FOCM membership card and I don’t know about you, but to me, it looks like one of the happiest moments of his life.

Please note: any card carrying FOCM member receives a 10% discount when dining at TasteVin.  Membership does have its privileges.

FOCM Event at TasteVin

 

 

 

TasteVin San Carlos, CA
The excited Bob Bildner
TasteVin has FOCM certification and seal of approval

Yumans and Nogalesian Join FOCM at Phoenix Event

On February 8, 2016 while living in Yuma, I had a business trip to San Francisco.  Rather than fly out of Yuma, I drove to Phoenix to fly from there.  That seemed like a good excuse to get people together.  So that night, I invited friends in the Phoenix Metro area to meet at Four Peaks Brewing Company in Tempe.

Pictured receiving their FOCM membership cards are: Greg Stanford, who I have known since 5th grade after he moved from Plainview, TX to Yuma; Denise Jones, who I have known since high school and Jorge Pierson (the Nogalesian) who I met at Univ of AZ.  The overwhelming joy on their faces is genuine.  It was another emotional induction ceremony.

Greg Stanford
Denise Jones
Jorge Pierson

FOCM East meets FOCM West

While living in Yuma, AZ in January – February 2016, FOCM was able to pull together a great group of people to celebrate the new office location of Freeman Law.  Tony Freeman, Principal and Founder was having an open house for his Scottsdale location, located at 4248 N Craftsman Ct #100, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, Phone: 480-398-3100.  I’ve known Tony since we were 13 years old, I think.  My twin brother and I were able to contact several  friends from high school and college living in the Phoenix area that know Tony.  Quite a few showed up to the open house.  Another cool thing I thought was that two FOCM members and friends from North Carolina had recently moved to the Phoenix area and so they came and got to meet my twin and the Yuma, AZ Kofa High School alums and I finally got to meet Daniel.  (that was a long sentence)

Heather, me, Sarah, Daniel
Sarah, Heather and Twins
Freeman Law Open House: Kathy Snow, Don Woon, Debbie Ward, Tony Freeman, Chris Matheus, Jorge Pierson, Liza Peralta, Susie Eddins, Jon Matheus, George Aponte

FOCM Activities – January 2016

January 27, 2016 – I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was in the Houston, TX area for a PRA National Sales Meeting and they’d invited vendors that they partner with or were considering partnering with.

As is my custom, I email everyone I know in the area when I’m traveling and invite them to meet me for drinks/dinner.  I was very fortunate that former co-worker Lori Engallina Smith and her husband Wayne Smith joined me that night, along with my co-workers.  I’ve known Lori since 2002 when I first joined ICON Clinical Research’s Interactive Technologies Group.  This was my first meeting of Wayne.  Wonderful people, great Americans.  The ceremony was powerful, such excitement and thrills.  I forget the name of the restaurant, but it was a Mexican restaurant -shocking, I know.

Welcome Lori and Wayne as card carrying members of FOCM!

Lori Engallina Smith

 

Wayne Smith

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the following day at the PRA meeting, I ran into Dorothy Brown, yes, THE Dorothy Brown.  We’d worked together at Quintiles in the early 2000’s.  Not that long ago, really, no really, it wasn’t, well it doesn’t feel like it was that long ago.

Dorothy Brown

FOCM Card Ceremony

On December 9, 2015, while in RTP on business, Chris McArthur received his FOCM membership card.  It’s taken a while to post this as there were some troubling inconsistencies in his background check but all has been resolved.  A simple mis-identification from the juvenile court system records.  We welcome Chris with full membership privileges.  His 2016 membership dues were waived.  Invoices will shortly be going out for 2017.

Chris and I have known each other ~8 years; having wroked together at ICON in the late 00’s and early ’10s.  Chris is now Director of Business Development at INC Research.

Chris McArthur