MFAC Recap

I hadn't been there since 2019. It's different now. Not bad different, just different.

The exhibit hall is MUCH smaller. When I looked up and realized I could see all four walls from where I stood, it made me pause. Once I got over that initial shock, I realized this isn't the Midwest of 2015. And it isn't trying to be. That was refreshing.

MFAC (formerly MPC) has the right people involved now. The intention and the execution is spot-on.

If you've skipped this conference for the past several years, it's time to go back. But you'll need to adjust your expectations first.

Highlights

The Midwest invited Scholl College to bring prospective students onsite. In a time when podiatry school enrollment is not exactly breaking records, this was a simple, smart way to support the future of podiatry. Future pods got face time with leaders like APMA President Dr. Patrick DeHeer, Meghan McClelland, and MFAC leadership Dr. Wendy Winckelbach and Dr. Narendra Patel.

The Abstract Research Symposium returned for the first time since 2017 and featured the top 10 manuscripts with awards for the highest-rated presentations.

The “Legends” track brought in big names including Byron Hutchinson and Guido LaPorta.

The Regenerative Medicine track featured two of my favorites: Joanne Balkaran and Andrew Belis. It was also the session with the highest attendance, as reported by attendees and speakers.

Venous Arterialization was another hot topic this year.

Most lectures were 15-20 minutes each, satisfying our very short attention spans.

Both certifying boards – ABFAS and ABPM – offered review courses on Saturday.
The Good with the Bad

Passport to Prizes (aka Bingo).

Attendees who completed the Passport received free registration for 2027 and attendees who completed 50 entries received 50% off 2027. I loved the creative prompts to complete the bingo squares with each exhibitor:

What year was the company founded?
Where is the company's headquarters?
What is the company's new or featured product?
Take a selfie at the booth and post with #themidwest2026
Ask about a trend or innovation in foot and ankle care.
Unfortunately, most attendees didn't even read those instructions and only collected the standard signature from each rep. Even the exhibitors didn't know about the prompts until I went around and mentioned it to a few of them. Worth mentioning – when I opened the Passport to its full 11×17 size, I was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer number of boxes to fill. A+ for thinking outside of the box (bingo pun intended), but the execution needs improvement.

Lunch. Hot buffet lunch served in the exhibit halls (and in the sponsored lunch programs). No soggy boxed lunches. Five stars. But… there were only a few regular tables to sit and eat in the exhibit hall plus a handful of standing cocktail tables. It made it hard to linger and many attendees (including me) left the exhibit hall in search of a suitable surface to eat with a fork and a knife. At first I thought the strategy may have resulted in more activity and movement in the hall during lunch but looking back I'm not so sure of that.

Exhibitor POV Issues. First, The exhibit hall breaks ended at 3pm each day but lectures continued until 5 or later. Many exhibitors left at 3 (understandable) but there were some attendees, and curious hotel guests, that wandered through all afternoon and into the evening. This happens at every conference but the difference here was that there wasn't any security checking badges at the exhibit hall entrance.

Some exhibitors reported concerns about their products, samples, and giveaways being exposed during “off” hours.

Second, I arrived in the exhibit hall on set-up day about an hour after exhibitor set-up had started and walked into a bit of chaos. The expo company was still setting up booth tables and pipe and drape which should have been done at least an hour or two BEFORE exhibitor set-up began.

But the expo company is at fault for that – not MFAC. Every meeting planner has encountered similar issues at least once.

Huge W's:

Easy-peasy influencing = free publicity. MFAC provided an Influencer Packet with graphic templates and sample copy for speakers, attendees, and exhibitors to modify and share their participation at the Midwest.
The MFAC social channels were posting announcements and recaps throughout the entire seminar. That's hard to do because staff gets pulled in a million directions on-site. Very impressed.
Communication to exhibitors from Dana and her staff was excellent. Five stars. 10 out of 10.
The speaker platform, lectern signage, props, scenery, lighting, and overall stage design were fire. It made a huge impact on the vibes.

I do wish the hotel bar opened at noon instead of 3pm. Seriously. I found myself craving a soda in a glass with ice during lunch. And an espresso martini at 1pm. Sorry not sorry.

470+ non-life member attendees

96 exhibitors

Save the Dates

MFAC 2027: March 4-7

MFAC 2028: August 3-6. Note the Summer date rather than Spring… interesting change. But curiosity kills cats so let's not speculate on the reason for the shift. I'm sure it's simply because Summer in Chicago is lovely and March in Chicago is unpredictable.

Dana, thank you.

I hope we're still friends! Remember, you love me BECAUSE I speak my mind!

-Annie