Holy cow, it is embarrassing to think that when I was a kid we had that slogan printed on our high school football team t-shirts. I guess it worked, as we usually won, even if we were not the biggest or most talented team. I was thinking about slogans and marketing type things the other day as we start to prepare for conference season, and that slogan came to mind. Man, I would never use it! However, it certainly was bold that I did as a kid. The slogan made me think about the corporate posturing that occurs at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting (and others, for that matter). Each year, companies come with booths that are bigger, bolder and costly. They staff the booths with armies of people in suits, with nice smiles, and free coffee. It’s a decent strategy. It certainly gets attention, and admittedly, I appreciate the free coffee. I have to also admit that many times in the past, I’ve also suffered from booth envy. We even used to spend $25K every year to throw parties to try to keep up with some of the bigger labs. Upon reflection, I have determined that it’s really not that important. If it wasn’t for the great friends at SOT (and other conferences) and my guilt towards wanting to support the next generation of scientists, I don’t even know that I would attend the meeting. After all, the world is becoming smaller. Our ability to connect with clients and colleagues now is easier and more efficient than it ever has been. From a business development standpoint, it’s great to reach out to colleagues and potential business partners, and have a place to meet them. However, I am happy with a humble booth and a targeted approach to meeting new people and connecting with old friends.
Lovelace Biomedical is not the biggest lab in the world. However, we like to think we are a good partner with excellent technical competency, service, quality and capacity for nonclinical development.
Lovelace is the largest private scientific laboratory in New Mexico, and services the international community in toxicology, especially gene therapy and inhalation toxicology. I will be there with a few colleagues in a small booth just on the other side of the free coffee. We will hope that after you get your free coffee, you will stop by and say hello.
-Jake Mcdonald, CSO