Start your day off right by having breakfast provided by the Michigan
Pharmacy Foundation. A continental breakfast will be available from 7-9 a.m.
on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

For many attendees, exhibits will be a highlight of the MPA Annual Convention &
Exposition. The Exhibit Hall will offer you the opportunity to take a break from the
programming and a chance to relax and acquaint yourself with pharmacy products,
services and representatives. Don’t miss out on this once-a-year opportunity.
Exhibit Hall hours on Friday are from noon until 2 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. and on
Saturday from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. To allow ample time with the exhibitors
and give you the opportunity to eat at one of many onsite restaurants, continuing
education programs will not occur on Friday and Saturday from noon until 1:20
p.m. Children under the age of 16 years of age will not be allowed in the Exhibit
Hall. Absolutely no food or beverage may be brought into the Exhibit Hall unless
ordering from the hotel’s catering department.

Student pharmacists, this is especially for you! Stop by this informal reception
after you leave the Exhibit Hall on Friday. Hours are from 7-9 p.m. All registered
student pharmacists are invited to attend, as well as anyone participating in the
MPF Adopt-A-Student Campaign.

Up to three teams of three will compete head-to-head, with winners from each Michigan college of pharmacy moving on to a final round of questions, similar to how the game show Jeopardy is played. The winning college will receive a traveling trophy to exhibit at their college of pharmacy for the year. Stay tuned to future MPA communications for information on how to register your team for this event. Or, contact La Vone Swanson at (517) 377-0231.

Join your classmates and future colleagues on Saturday from noon until 1:20
p.m. This luncheon is sponsored by the Michigan Society of Health-System
Pharmacists (MSHP). Ticket is required. Pre-registration is necessary. Onsite
registrations for this luncheon will not be accepted.

On Saturday, pharmacy technician members are invited to attend the Michigan
Society of Pharmacy Technicians (MSPT) annual meeting and luncheon from
noon until 1:20 p.m. The MSPT Technician of the Year Award and Service Award
will be presented during this luncheon. Ticket is required. Pre-registration is
necessary. Onsite registrations for this luncheon will not be accepted.

Consultant Pharmacists Society of Michigan (CPSM) will hold its annual membership
meeting and luncheon on Saturday from noon until 1:20 p.m. During
this luncheon, the CPSM Pharmacist of the Year award will be given. Ticket is
required. Pre-registration is necessary. Onsite registrations for this luncheon
will not be accepted.

MSHP Delegate Caucus breakfast will be held on Sunday from 7:30-8:30 a.m., by invitation only.

The Pharmacy PAC Luncheon will be held on Friday from noon until 1:20 p.m.
Current pharmacy-related issues will be discussed. Proceeds will benefit
Pharmacy PAC. The Good Government, Legislator of the Year and Good Public
Health Policy Awards will be given during this luncheon. Ticket purchase is
required. Pre-registration is necessary.

Members can earn one hour of live continuing education credit by joining Pharmacy PAC and PSI for a Legislative Caucus Meeting on issues and advocacy in pharmacy. A PSI Coop Member Only Meeting will take place from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, with registration at 6:15 p.m. Immediately following will be a Pharmacy PAC Caucus Meeting on pharmacy issues from 7:30-8:30 p.m. More information and registration is available online.

Join us at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday for a cocktail reception and at 7 p.m. to formally
inaugurate 2010 MPA President Steve Czerkes at MPA’s Annual
Banquet and Awards Ceremony. Awards to be presented include the
Pharmacist of the Year, Bowl of Hygeia, the Fred W. Arnold Public Relations
Award, Executive Board Service, Innovative Pharmacy Practice, Distinguished
New Pharmacist Practitioner, Executive Board Medal, Hall of Honor and Years of
Membership. The student patient counseling competition winners will be recognized at the awards ceremony as well. Tickets are required for the Annual
Banquet. Advance purchase is necessary. Admission to the annual banquet is
included in all 3-day convention registration rates. All convention registrants
are invited to attend the cocktail reception at no charge.

Local association leaders are invited to attend this informative lunch meeting.
The program will be held on Sunday after the House of Delegates session by invitation only.

Michigan Pharmacy Foundation will once again be holding the Adopt-a-Student program at the MPA Annual Convention and Exposition. MPA was provided with feedback from students regarding the program, and changes were made to simplify the process. Student pharmacists wishing to become adopted should complete the instructions listed here. Parents wishing to adopt a student will receive instructions via e-mail if they sign up for the program in their convention registration.

Peruse the auction area and place your bid on fine merchandise. All of the proceeds support the Michigan Pharmacy Foundation’s activities to advance the
practice of pharmacy through pharmacy education, practice innovation and
research. The MPF Silent Auction will be open for bidding Thursday, 6-8 p.m.;
Friday, 7 a.m. until 6 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m. until 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 7-9:30
a.m. The Auction closes bids at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. Winning bidders may
claim prizes from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Michigan Pharmacy Foundation is hosting its first annual “STUFF THE BUS: Personal Care Because We Care!” personal care products donation drive at the Michigan Pharmacists Association Annual Convention & Exposition, Feb. 26-28 at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.

All items will be presented to the Mother Waddles Perpetual Mission in Detroit on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 9 a.m. during the Convention’s Keynote Session in the Ambassador Ballroom at the Marriott. For nearly four decades, Reverend Charleszetta Waddles, affectionately known as “Mother Waddles,” devoted her life to providing food, hope and human dignity to the disadvantaged people of Detroit. The mission plans to distribute the care items collected this weekend to the Coalition on Temporary Shelter Detroit, Fort Street Presbyterian, St. Cecelia and St. Leo homeless shelters, Detroit area school programs, AIDS Partnership Michigan, homeless veterans, Henry Ford Hospital Dialysis Center, and Detroit Central City Community Mental Health.

Lloyd Young, Dean of the Wayne State University Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, will also be present to assist MPF with presenting the donation to Andrea Ellis, daughter of Mother Waddles.

Pharmacy professional are encouraged to donate personal care items at the MPA office, 815 N. Washington Ave., Lansing, MI, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; during the Annual Convention & Exposition, Feb. 26-28 in the Mackinac Ballroom on Level 5 at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center; or at any MPA meetings or events preceding the convention.

Suggested donation items include combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, feminine hygiene products, diapers, deodorant, disposable razors, shampoo, conditioner, soap bars, toilet paper, cotton swabs, hand sanitizer, chap stick, hand/body lotion, dialysis socks, wrap-around neck pillows and any other items of a personal care nature. Food will not be accepted..

This is just one way Michigan pharmacy professionals are reaching out to care for patients and those who need support and encouragement!

Please watch your mail a few weeks before the Annual Convention for an envelope that will include a bag to assist MPF in collecting donations. Every donation matters and what you are able to share will make a difference! For more information, please contact MPA Receptionist Bridget Long at (517) 484-1466 or Bridget@MichiganPharmacists.org.

Michigan Pharmacists Association is hosting Michigan’s candidates for governor in a forum to discuss their vision for the state, specifically in health care, education and business, at its Annual Convention & Exposition, held Feb. 26-28 at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. The forum will be featured as the convention’s Opening Session on Friday, Feb. 26, from 4:30-5:50 p.m. in the Ambassador Ballroom of the Detroit Marriott.

Candidates who have indicated their attendance as of Feb. 15 for the forum at the largest state pharmacy convention in the nation include:

• Sheriff Mike Bouchard
• Michigan Senator Thomas George
• U.S. Congressman Peter Hoekstra
• State Representative Alma Wheeler Smith
• Ann Arbor Businessman Rick Snyder

Plan to visit the MPA Store where you can purchase tote bags, lapel pins, pseudoephedrine logbooks, the Pharmacy Certified Technician Training Manual, PLUS CD, law books and more. Store hours are Thursday, 6-8 p.m.; Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; and on Sunday from 7-9:30 a.m. and then from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

The 2010 House of Delegates session will take place on Sunday, Feb. 28 from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Individuals attending MPA’s House of Delegates must register in the MPA Ambassador Relations Room on Friday between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., or Saturday between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Delegates who have not pre-registered must report to the credentials desk from 8:30-9:30 a.m. on Sunday. Delegates must wear delegate ribbons for admittance. If your appointment as a delegate was not verified by the chapter president or secretary and you will be serving as a delegate, you must have the chairman of the delegation complete a Change of Delegation form in the MPA Ambassador Relations Room or at the credentials desk just prior to the beginning of the House session. The Distinguished Local Association Achievement Award will be presented during this session.