Welcome to our 35th Annual PADONA Conference! What a blessing to be back together again at the beautiful Hotel Hershey! We are grateful for your ongoing support of PADONA. Without you, this conference would not be possible. A few notable conference items:

1)  Exhibit times are scheduled as follows:
       a. Wednesday, March 29 | 10:00am – 10:45am & 2:30pm – 3:15pm
       b. Thursday, March 30 | 10:00am – 10:45am & 2:30pm – 3:15pm

2)  Exhibits will close at 3:15 PM on Thursday, March 30. Please be cautious of your noise level when breaking down your exhibit as there is an educational session occurring in the Garden Terrace East. You will need to remove your exhibit, particularly in the Garden Terrace West, as quickly as possible to allow the hotel staff to set up for the Celebration party on Thursday evening.

3)  Break Exhibitors will be permitted to set up 30 minutes prior to the scheduled break times. Breakdown of your display must be completed immediately following the exhibit time.

4)  You and your representatives are invited to attend breakfast and lunch on both Wednesday and Thursday along with our attendees. Lunch will be available in the designated locations on both days between 12:00pm – 1:30pm.

5)  This year, we are hosting a Business Partner luncheon on Thursday for all our business partners that includes exhibitors and sponsors from 12:00N-1:30PM in the Circular Dining Room. PADONA leadership, staff, and board members have been invited to join you.

6)  On Thursday evening, we have scheduled a special event to celebrate PADONA’s 35th Year of serving nursing leadership in long term care. We are hosting a celebration party, with a live band, hors d’oeurves, and drinks in the Garden Terrace Ballroom. All business partners are invited to attend and network with conference attendees.

7)  You and your representatives are also encouraged to attend our Vendor Appreciation Reception on Wednesday evening 5:30-6:30 PM. This is an additional opportunity to network with peers and conference attendees.

8)  We will continue with the vendor sign-off to encourage conference attendees to visit every booth. This year, we will provide gift cards as door prizes for those attendees who return their completed vendor sign-off form. For ease of identifying the area of the Commonwealth in which attendees are located, we have placed a colored sticker on the top of each exhibitor sign-off form. Area 1 is green, Area 2 is yellow, and Area 3 is blue.

9)  We are holding our annual scholarship raffle throughout the conference. A huge thank you to those who donated raffle items. We invite you to participate in the raffle and donate to the development of our future nurses.

10)  Please note that any gift/raffle item that you include at your booth will be your responsibility to distribute.

Please remember to wear your name badge at all PADONA-sponsored functions, including meals, party, and reception. Your name badge is your admission to all conference related events. At the conclusion of the conference, you will receive an email link to our exhibitor evaluation survey. We welcome your feedback as to how we can improve our event.

I hope you enjoy the conference, connect with those you haven’t seen over the past year, strengthen current client relationships, and make new connections and business development opportunities!

Respectfully yours,
Candace McMullen (RN, NHA, MHA, CLNC, CNDLTC)
Chair, Board of Directors / Executive Director