Media

Supply chain hall of fame seeks innovators, leaders, pioneers
Bellwether League Inc. calls for Honoree Class of 2010 nominations

SCHAUMBURG, IL (February 26, 2010) – There’s a luminary in your midst that defies conventional celebrity status – someone who deeply impacted your healthcare organization and its ability to deliver high-quality service.

Bellwether League Inc., the healthcare supply chain hall of fame, would like to introduce him or her to the industry and to the world. But it needs you to nominate him or her for consideration for its Honoree Class of 2010, which will be recognized on Oct. 5, 2010, at its 3rd Annual Induction Dinner Event that occurs during National Healthcare Resource & Materials Management Week.

Creative thinkers who take the initiative, expand the boundaries of what’s possible, and perform in a way that improves and promotes the principles and profession of supply chain management exist in every organization, past or present.

To date, Schaumburg, IL-based Bellwether League Inc., a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit corporation, has identified and honored 21 such innovators, leaders and pioneers in healthcare supply chain management.

The inaugural Bellwether Class of 2008 included Dean S. Ammer, Ph.D., Lee C. Boergadine, Gene D. Burton, Charles E. Housley, Thomas W. Kelly, William J. McFaul, Tom Pirelli, Donald J. Siegle and Alex J. Vallas.

The Bellwether Class of 2009 included George Ainsworth, Charles Auslander, Guy J. Clark, Gordon A. Friesen, Lillian R. Matiska, Brien Laing, William M. McKnight Jr., Sara I. Mobley, Paul B. Powell, Samuel G. Raudenbush, Warren D. Rhodes and James E. Stover.

Bellwether League Inc.’s Board of Directors selected all 21 based on their intellectual and operational contributions to healthcare through their supply chain achievements in hospitals, group purchasing organizations (GPOs), manufacturers and distributors, consulting firms, educational institutions and media properties. Read their profiles on BLI’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org.

Bellwether League Inc. seeks nominations in any of five distinct categories. They are: Education & Media, Supply Chain Management, Group Purchasing, Supplier and Consulting Services. The Education & Media category includes college/university professors and researchers, publishers, editors and writers. The Supply Chain Management category includes professionals working at hospitals and other non-acute care facilities, hospital systems and integrated delivery organizations. The Group Purchasing category includes professionals from among the national, regional, state, metropolitan and local group purchasing programs. The Supplier category includes professionals employed by manufacturers and distributors of products and services purchased by healthcare providers. The Consulting Services category includes those professionals advising, instructing and motivating healthcare supply chain management professionals as the primary focus of their practice over the years.

Nominees can be retired or currently active professionals with a minimum of 25 years of exemplary service and leadership performance in supply chain operations. Anyone can nominate a qualified professional for Bellwether League Inc. Honoree recognition via Bellwether League Inc.’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org. Qualifications include advancing the profession and industry influence, work experience, work performance and active participation in professional organizations. Bellwether League Inc.’s official nomination form can be found on its Web site.

About Bellwether League Inc.

Launched in late July 2007 by a group of influential veterans in the healthcare supply chain industry, Bellwether League Inc. identifies and honors men and women who have demonstrated significant leadership in and influence on and contributions to the healthcare supply chain, including professionals from hospitals, non-acute healthcare providers, manufacturers and distributors of healthcare products, group purchasing organizations, consulting firms and educational institutions.

Bellwether League Inc. is funded by five Founding Sponsors – Hospira, Kimberly-Clark Health Care, MedAssets, Owens & Minor and Premier Purchasing Partners – and a host of additional industry sponsors.

Bellwether League Inc. selects individuals that meet its criteria to be publicly recognized and recorded in print and online media for their contributions in advancing and improving all segments of the healthcare supply chain. The criteria include ethics, innovation, integrity, leadership, longevity, mentoring, reputation, speaking, teaching, writing and volunteering.

The Board of Directors of Bellwether League Inc. comprises a veteran group of industry advocates who have volunteered their time and expertise to create and continually develop the organization and its ongoing educational activities. The Board includes:

• Jamie C. Kowalski (co-founder and chairman), CEO, Jamie C. Kowalski Consulting LLC, Milwaukee, WI
• Rick Dana Barlow (co-founder and executive director), president, Wingfoot Media Inc., Schaumburg, IL
• Robert P. “Bud” Bowen (secretary), retired CEO, Amerinet Inc., St. Charles, MO
• Patrick E. Carroll Jr. (treasurer), president, Patrick E. Carroll & Associates, Cypress, CA
• James F. Dickow, director of supply chain management, facilities and operations consulting, Lerch Bates Inc., Mequon, WI
• James R. Francis, chair, supply chain management, and chief supply chain officer, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
• John B. Gaida, senior vice president of supply chain management, Texas Health Resources, Arlington, TX
• Thomas W. Hughes, executive director, Strategic Marketplace Initiative, Scituate, MA
• Vance B. Moore, president, Resource Optimization & Innovation, a division of the Sisters of Mercy Health System, Chesterfield, MO
• Richard A. Perrin, president and CEO, AdvanTech Inc., Annapolis, MD
• Jean M. Sargent, director, supply chain, USC Health Sciences, Los Angeles

For more information, to become a corporate or individual sponsor or to nominate honoree candidates visit Bellwether League Inc.’s Web site at www.bellwetherleague.org. Additional photos available on request and online.