STAY THIRSTY Enjoy free wine tasting and martini sampling in the ORX exhibit hall.

We've all been there. Conferences so big and impersonal you felt lost in the masses. Exhibit halls so crowded it was nearly impossible to learn about new products to improve your OR. Crowded bars only open for one hour while dozens of people are ahead of you in line waiting to get a drink.

Enter OR Excellence — the friendliest, most fun and important networking meeting you'll attend this year. We will treat you like a special guest.

Learning shouldn't end when you leave the classroom. Conferences are important opportunities for surgical leaders to meet fellow colleagues and develop relationships that will last careers and lifetimes. The ability to call or e-mail a peer facing the same challenges as you can often be one of the most important benefits of attending a conference. Likewise, the opportunity to chat with vendors in a low-pressure, pleasant atmosphere can turn you on to new products or services to solve nagging issues in your OR today. At ORX, we make it easy and fun for even the shyest attendee to walk away with great memories, new friends and terrific ideas for their ORs.

Let's face it, learning about patient warming systems, orthopedic instruments, regional anesthesia and other OR solutions is just a little more fun over a glass of wine or an inventive martini. That's why we let our exhibitors do the serving on the most fun and innovative exhibitor floor you've ever been on. During our opening night wine tasting and closing night Martini Madness events, each vendor will have a different varietal or martini concoction and they'll do the pouring while telling you about their unique product or service. No pressure, no standing in endless lines, just a room full of new friends exchanging great information. And once you've found that special white, red or amazingly delicious martini, you'll be anxious to share your discovery with other attendees, helping you make even more valuable connections.

"I learn so much. ORX really is a reunion of comrades in the same field as I am. I have been to other conferences and ORX is by far my favorite," says Tammy Luther, BSN, MSSL, of CaroMont Health in Gastonia, N.C. "The staff make it fun. The vendors are great and the social event atmosphere makes it into a party. I'm already looking forward to New Orleans."

When great education is delivered in a fun, interactive environment in a beautiful location fostering outstanding networking opportunities, a conference turns into something very special. ORX is more than a meeting — it's a reunion where new family members are always welcome. We would love for you to join us in New Orleans to feel the ORX difference for yourself.