Case Study: Alabama Society of Otolaryngology

Who: Teri Dingler, Director, Alabama Society of Otolaryngology

What: Annual Scientific Meeting

When: June 11-13, 2010

Where: Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, Sandestin, Fla.

Details: The Alabama Society of Otolaryngology has gone to the Beaches of South Walton area each year for its annual scientific meeting. About 55 doctors and physicians, mostly from Alabama and a few from surrounding states including Mississippi, Tennessee and Missouri, bring their families for the three-day meeting.

Location: “We like the area and we have good attendance,” says Teri Dingler, the society director who plans the event. “With everything there is to do in the area, we plan to continue to go there.” Attendees like the ambience of the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, the restaurants and the family-friendly feel. “It’s not that crowded,” says Dingler, which she adds often can be the case at family-type resorts or destinations, but not in Sandestin, she says.

Timing: The meeting was held a few weeks after the Deepwater Horizon rig started leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico, but Dingler says there was no evidence of any problems. “We didn’t have any issues with it while we were down there,” Dingler says. “My doctors really enjoy what’s available at the resort. They enjoy the pool, the family activities. I don’t know how many ventured across to go to the beach or if they even worry about going to the beach.”

Advice: “When you’re trying to get attendees to a meeting during the summertime, they want to make a vacation out of it,” says Dingler. When planning events during the summer, she recommends destinations like Sandestin. “You’re more than likely to get the attendees to the gulf area. There are so many activities and things to do and see. And it’s true that you can get seafood anywhere you go, but it doesn’t taste the same as it does at the beach.”