Nancy Schweers and I represented ILCA at the AAP in Boston last fall.  It
was a pretty amazing experience, because many, many physicians stopped by
our booth. We were a very dull display compared with the pyrotechnics of the
formula companies, who had amazing displays with automatronic dinosaurs,
etc. Our booth was on the far end of an obscure area of the furthest away
exhibit hall in a galaxy far, far away.  We had our humble display, and
handed out brochurces for ILCA and IBLCE.  LLLI and Lois Arnold from the
Human Milk Bank Assoc. and NABA were in the same hall, so unless the docs
ventured over our way they would have missed all of us.  But I think our
presence was important, and the public relations opportunities were many as
we got a chance to answer questions and describe what an LC is and does.  I
was heartened when so many physicians said they had LCs in their
institutions or communities.  It was common to hear them say "We couldn't do
without her."  Nancy says this is a bit of a departure from previous years
when she has attended medical assoc. meetings and found more resistance and
less acceptance to the idea of our field.  I, too, would like to make a plea
to our friends in the medical community to advocate for a price break for
non-profits (esp. ones who are kind of out of the United Way funding loop.)
The prohibitive costs of housing, feeding, transporting, and displaying the
people to staff the booth, and the exhibit fee are just beyond us.  I
suppose another alternative would be for all the bfg groups to band
together, pool money, and do one, larger, open-square floor display with
each group taking a table.

Barbara

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC
Private Practice, Austin, Texas
Owner, Lactnews On-Line Conference Page
http://moontower.com/bwc/lactnews.html