While some find themselves in the hospitality industry by chance and then learn to make it a career, Bill Reed is one of those rare birds that has been in it since graduating from college, and his dedication has only grown.
Reed’s work for the 16.000-member American Society of Hematology (ASH), which serves researchers and clinicians who battle blood-related disorders and diseases such as leukemia and sickle cell anemia, lets him see the very tangible results meetings provide.
“It’s not only what meeting planners do, but what happens when there’s face-to-face meetings,” Reed says. “It’s viewed less as an expense of having a meeting, but the expense of not having a meeting,”
In his one-year role as chair of PCMA’s Board of Directors, Reed says a prime focus will be to accelerate its global outreach.
“We are not looking to open offices or establish [overseas] chapters,” Reed says, “but how we can deliver education by perhaps partnering with societies or groups in a local region to provide education, and to customize the education. There’s a great opportunity to help our customers understand meetings on a global level.”
And like many who sign up for a leadership stint at one of the big industry associations, Reed has had an exceedingly full plate since joining the PCMA Board, but the rewards are well worth it.
“For me and for ASH, I very much connect my work to the ultimate outcome of creating patient care,” Reed says. “The work I do creates an environment where hematologists learn about the latest treatments so they can better treat people with blood diseases after than before the meeting. In those days when there’s more work that can possibly be done, I like to think of the patients, and that keeps me going.”
