On the road again, sharing solutions with friends

One of the defining characteristics and hallmarks of the Bellwether Community — particularly those who are Bellwether Hall of Famers, Ammer Honorees and Future Famers — are their active participation and support of industry events and professional associations and trade groups.

Those within the Bellwether Community embrace and imbue the notion that knowledge and wisdom from experience should be shared with others to improve the profession and industry as a whole for the benefit of patient care.

Here's a look at the travel itineraries of the Bellwether Community in 2026 so far from their lenses and the pages of BLF's bimonthly e-newsletter, "REMEMBER."

• Several members of the Board of Directors (BOD) and Advisory Council (AC) traveled to industry events throughout the year. They included BOD Chairman Barbara Strain (Bellwether Class of 2021), Board Outreach Ambassador Fred Crans (Bellwether Class of 2020) and AC member Carl Meyer (Bellwether Class of 2019) at the Federation of American Hospitals Conference and Business Expo in Las Vegas, February 23-25; Carl Meyer at the HIDA Executive Conference in Bonita Springs, FL, March 10-13; Barbara Strain, Carl Meyer, AC member Ryan Burke (Future Famers Class of 2022) and Angie Bruns (Future Famers Class of 2024) at the Spring IDN Summit in Orlando, April 20-22; and AC member George Godfrey (Bellwether Class of 2025) at the SMI Spring Forum in Dallas, April 28-30.

• Board Chairman Barbara Strain (Bellwether Class of 2021), Board Treasurer Ed Hisscock (Bellwether Class of 2022), and AC members Carl Meyer (Bellwether Class of 2019), and Angie Bruns (Future Famers Class of 2024) attended the Spring IDN Summit in Orlando. AC member George Godfrey (Bellwether Class of 2025) attended the SMI Spring Forum in Dallas, April 2830; BOD Secretary Rachel Anderson (Future Famers Class of 2023), BOD Outreach Ambassador Fred Crans (Bellwether Class of 2020) and AC member Ryan Burke (Future Famers Class of 2022) attended Health Connect Partners in Louisville, KY, May 13-15; and Barbara Strain attended the Professional Women in Healthcare Leadership Summit, May 18-20, West Palm Beach, FL.

• Board Secretary Rachel Anderson (Future Famers Class of 2023) attended the 2026 HealthTrust University Conference in Denver, July 20-22. Board Chairman Barbara Strain (Bellwether Class of 2021), BOD Outreach Ambassador Fred Crans (Bellwether Class of 2020), and AC members Ryan Burke (Future Famers Class of 2022) and Jake Groenewold (Bellwether Class of 2021) attended AHRMM in San Antonio, July 26-28.

• At AHRMM on July 28, a quartet of Bellwether Community award winners presented the general session, "Navigating Supply Chain Leadership Through Crises Today and Tomorrow," sharing their wisdom, knowledge and experience with attendees. Amanda Chawla, MBA, MHA, FACHE, FAHRMM, CMRP, (Ammer Honoree Class of 2024), AHRMM Board Past Chair, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain and Post Acute Care Officer, Stanford Medicine, moderates a panel discussion that features panelists René Gurdián (Future Famers Class of 2022), Vice President, Supply Chain Management Data Analytics and Transformation, Ochsner Health; Randy Bradley, Ph.D. (Ammer Honoree Class of 2020), Dean, Jack C. Massey College of Business and Professor of Supply Chain Management and Information Systems, Belmont University; and Jake Groenewold (Bellwether Class of 2021), retired System Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer, Froedtert ThedaCare Health, explored decision-making and activities before, during and after crises emerged, including sharing tips on how to prepare for, lead though and learn from managing crises that attendees could customize for their own operations.

• For the 19th consecutive year (mirroring BLF!), BLF AC member Carl Meyer (Bellwether Class of 2019) spent July 4 playing 100 holes on a golf course to raise money for Hire Heroes USA to help veterans and military spouses move into civilian careers. Meyer played at least 100 holes in a single day at Chenequa Country Club in Hartland, WI. His effort started as a personal challenge in 2007 and has blossomed into a yearly fundraising tradition.

• Board Chairman Barbara Strain (Bellwether Class of 2021), Board Secretary Rachel Anderson (Future Famers Class of 2023), BOD Outreach Ambassador Fred Crans (Bellwether Class of 2020), and AC members Carl Meyer (Bellwether Class of 2019), Jake Groenewold (Bellwether Class of 2021) and Angie Bruns (Future Famers Class of 2024) attended the Fall IDN Summit in Phoenix, August 31-September 2); Crans and AC member George Godfrey (Bellwether Class of 2025) attended the Vizient conference in Las Vegas, September 21-26; Meyer attended the HIDA Streamlining Conference in Chicago, September 22-24; Strain attended the 2026 AHVAP Conference in Grapevine, TX, October 5-8; AC member Ryan Burke (Future Famers Class of 2022) attended the Premier conference in National Harbor, MD, October 6-8; and Godfrey attended the SMI Fall Forum in Tampa, FL, October 12-14.

• At press time, Board Secretary Rachel Anderson (Future Famers Class of 2023), and AC members Ryan Burke (Future Famers Class of 2022) and Angie Bruns (Future Famers Class of 2024) were scheduled to attend the Council of Supply Chain Executives in Nashville, TN, November 4-6; Tom Harvieux, (Bellwether Class of 2021), was scheduled to attend Vizient's Large IDN Supply Network (LISN), November 10-12; and BLF BOD and AC members will be seen at BLFIRE19 at Georgia Southern University's Armstrong Center in Savannah, GA, November 16.