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BLFIRE19 attendees to see some fresh updates this fall

SCHAUMBURG, IL (April 06, 2026) — Those heading southeast this fall to attend the 19th annual Bellwether League Foundation Induction & Recognition Event (BLFIRE19) at Georgia Southern University's Armstrong Center in Savannah likely will notice some meaningful changes intended to brighten the spotlight on awardees and streamline festivities.

What's fresh and new this fall at GSU?

For starters, the 9th annual Bellwether Leadership Symposium (formerly known as the Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Forum when it debuted in Chicago in 2017), will open with GSU supply chain students presenting their 2026 Collegiate Capstone Project report involving Piedmont Healthcare and then feature this year's BLFIRE19 at GSU's Armstrong Center William J. McFaul Memorial Keynote by Régine Villain, Ammer Honoree Class of 2023, a healthcare supply chain executive and human-centered leadership advisor, who will explore the human factor in an increasingly AI-enamored industry and world.

Next, BLF recognizes and honors the Future Famer and Ammer Honoree Classes of 2026 with new logistics. Each class will be photographed at the close of their respective remarks. This frees up the VIP Reception that follows to be an uninterrupted time of conversation, dining and fellowship. BLF also will formally launch its "Keepers of the Lighthouse" campaign that visually shows all the donors and sustaining partners since BLF's inception in 2007.

Following the VIP Reception, BLFIRE19 attendees will gather to witness the induction of the Bellwether Class of 2026 into the Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of Fame, along with special recognition of BLF's sustaining and event partners, donors and collaborators, and Collegiate Capstone Project student and faculty participants and scholarship recipients.

BLFIRE19 is scheduled for Monday, November 16, 2026, at GSU's Armstrong Center in Savannah, GA, starting in the late afternoon (3 p.m. Eastern) and extending to the early evening (8 p.m. Eastern).

For more details and how to register online, either contact BLF by email at info@bellwetherleague.org , visit its website at http://www.bellwetherleague.org or click on the QR code below. Registration is open, along with donation and partnership opportunities.

About Bellwether League Foundation

Bellwether League FoundationTM (BLF) is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization that offers programs to educate, endow and evaluate professionals in healthcare supply chain performance excellence. BLF accomplishes this through its primary operation, the Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of FameTM, its growing philanthropic efforts, which include Collegiate Capstone Projects and scholarships and its various multimedia properties.

The Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of Fame evaluates and validates professionals submitted for consideration in its three award programs: Bellwether Honorees, Ammer Honorees and Future Famers. The Hall of Fame also offers educational and professional development content via the annual Bellwether Leadership Symposium and its "Leaders & Luminaries" multimedia properties of online and printed content.

The Hall of Fame selects deceased, retired and currently active professionals with a minimum of 25 years of exemplary service and leadership performance in supply chain operations that meet its criteria to be recognized publicly as Bellwether Class Honorees.

Future Famers represent supply chain professionals early in their healthcare careers (first 10- 12 years) who do not yet qualify for Bellwether consideration but have contributed meaningfully to the profession and industry.

Honorees who receive the "Dean S. Ammer Award for Healthcare Supply Chain Performance Excellence" represent noteworthy executives and professionals in the middle of their careers who, through their innovative leadership and influential project management experience, best exemplify the practice and spirit of healthcare supply chain performance excellence.

To date, the Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of Fame has inducted 148 innovators, leaders and pioneers in healthcare supply chain management in seven distinct categories: Provider- Based Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing, Distribution, Group Purchasing, Consulting Services, Academia and Media. The Hall of Fame also has recognized 42 Future Famers and six Ammer Honorees.

BLF's philanthropy efforts support capstone educational and developmental projects, grants and scholarships to college-bound high school students who plan to study supply chain curricula, current college students who major in supply chain-related careers and professionals who pursue continuing education through associations and universities.

BLF salutes its six sustaining sponsors at the Founding/Platinum level — GHX, HealthTrust, Owens & Minor, Premier, Vizient and Wingfoot Media — and more than 21 additional sustaining sponsors at the Gold, Silver and Bronze levels. This is a dedicated group that represents manufacturers, distributors, group purchasing organizations (GPOs), integrated delivery networks (IDNs), consulting firms, associations and media outlets. BLF also appreciates and thanks its devoted corporate and professional donors for their generosity, participation and partnership.

Launched in late July 2007 by a group of influential veterans in the healthcare supply chain industry, Bellwether League Foundation began as a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit corporation that upgraded to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in January 2021.