Tpa Conference & Expo

Tpa Conference & Expo is a 3 day event being held from 10th July to the 12th July 2015 at the The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in The Woodlands, USA. This event showcases products like pharmacies, consulting firms, hospitals, long term care facilities, and owners associated with this field etc. in the Medical & Pharmaceutical industry.

In my presentations to pharmacy students, I often emphasize that change is a part of our many personal and professional challenges. It is unescapable! Well, the TPA staff also is experiencing new challenges. I want to update you regarding various TPA colleagues and staff positions. To date and chronologically, these fairly recent changes have impacted the roles of several TPA staff members, including Joy Kovar, Renee Jainese, Sandra Nelson, Kurt Wehrs, Lisa Goerlitz and June Mason. You likely already are aware that back in December of 2014, Joy decided to transition away from being a part-time, in-house employee. Her long work commute along with her then pending surgery and family demands influenced her decision. I offered Joy a six month consulting role in order to transition the balance of her bookkeeping responsibilities to Renee and her Texas Pharmacy Foundation staff role to Sandra. Joy’s contract ends on June 30 and she will be honored for her many years of service to the Association and the Foundation during the TPA Conference in July. In January, I modified the job responsibilities for Kurt and Lisa. Kurt was asked to revitalize our corporate relations and strategic business initiatives. And Lisa absorbed his role regarding education and membership. Then in late March, June informed me that because of significant changes in her personal life, she would be returning home to be with her family in New York. Her final day at TPA was April 30 and she already is living in the Big Apple. Fortunately for us, June accepted an outside services agreement to continue to handle her Conference-related responsibilities until July 31 and will be on-site during our Conference at The Woodlands. Finally, after nearly five months in his restructured position, Kurt has determined that corporate relations and strategic planning issues fit him well. He has played a productive role in our strategic planning efforts, membership surveys and focus groups research, relationships with our existing and new business partners, etc. And he has been a solid contributor to TPA for many years. A few weeks ago, Kurt shared with me that he would like to continue with his TPA responsibilities but also have the ability to provide his services to other clients. I agreed to develop a consulting relationship and a tighter definition of TPA’s needs and expectations for his consideration. We executed the consulting contract this week, effective July 1. His last day at TPA will be June 30, but his contributions will continue much beyond that date. Please know that TPA is on solid ground; going through many changes, but still advancing the effort to better serve you, our members. Whether or not you knew these three staff members that are departing, believe me, they deserve our deepest appreciation for their tireless contributions to the Association and its members. Each has undergone challenging times during their tenure and have endured. On behalf of Texas pharmacists, pharmacy students, pharmacy technicians and their staff colleagues, I express my personal, heart-felt thanks and best wishes to Joy, June and Kurt for allowing our paths to cross and for your contributions.