Tag: ICON

FOCM Membership Ceremony

From the archives – wow how could it be 5 years ago already. Yes I’m that far behind in posting. Starting Global Life Sciences Alliance https://globallifesciencesalliance.com/ in 2020 has kept me very busy. However, one credo* that FOCM lives by is there is no time limit to posting membership ceremonies and we refuse to not share these fine individuals caught in one of the happiest moments of their lives. This is evidenced by my most recent post from 2018 – https://focmnetworking.com/networking/focm-events-happen-spontaneously/

The subject of today’s post is from a FOCM networking event in Houston, TX in September 2019. The event took place on September 10, the night before the Outsourcing for Clinical Trials Texas conference. It was held at Goode Company Armadillo Palace; 5015 Kirby Dr, Houston.

I know a lot of people in the Houston metro area from having worked for ICON Clinical Research’s Interactive Technology Group with its headquarters in Sugarland, TX. So I was happy to be attending an event in Houston – giving me a reason to have a networking event and reconnect former co-workers and friends.

Receiving their membership cards in the traditionally somber ceremony, Trish Jacquet, now with Medidata Solutions and Matt Foster, now with Veeva Systems could not contain their excitement.

Trish Jacquet
Matt Foster

*any and all credos are subject to change at the whim of FOCM’s founder

FOCM Membership – New Member

Is it possible I’m almost 10 years behind in posting membership photos??!!??   Why yes, yes, it is possible and entirely true.  But with my dogged persistence, in the end we’ll be all caught up.

Whilst (I love using this old-timey word whenever I remember to throw it in) I wish I were more caught up, sometimes its nice to see things from long ago. Remember taking your film to be developed and then waiting for the pictures to be ready.  Sometimes it would days to months since the time the photo was taken.

So here is Gracelyn McDermott pictured with her FOCM membership card which I mailed to her as I was out of them at the (I think it was) DIA 2014 and mailed it to her. Grace and I worked together at ICON for about 10 years.

Gracelyn McDermott membership

She took a photo of herself with the card so that I could post it.  I assure you that when she learned that she was getting her membership card, she was exuberantly happy and delighted. FOCM is proud to say that her career has skyrocketed ever since.  Grace is now the

FOCM Networking Event in Boston

Crazy, I know, but rather than go back to 2016 and find pictures from a networking back then (which I commit to still doing to get caught up), I decided to go with a more recent event.

On July 27, while in Boston for the 2nd Ophthalmology Drug Development Summit sponsored by Hanson-Wade, a FOCM event was held at the Back Deck, 2 West St., Boston, MA.  This group (pictured) is quite unique in the origin of the connections it represents.  It represents quite a timeline of my life and career.  Attending were:

Christie Schmitt Coombs – we know each other from our home town of Yuma, AZ; having gone to high school together.  Her sister Carolyn and I graduated the same year.  I worked with her sister Linda at a summer camp during college.

John Ketchum – we worked together at Burroughs Wellcome (my first job out of college) and stayed in touch while he traveled the world for Novartis, from which he recently retired.

Brian Langin – we worked together at Quintiles (my job after Burroughs Wellcome) and again at YPrime (where I worked prior to current job).

Amy Zastawney – we worked together at ICON (after a short stop elsewhere, my job after Quintiles).

Brian Langin, Amy Zastawney, John Ketchum, Me, Christie Schmitt Coombs

The FOCM meeting record does recognize that Cory Winters, with Bio-Telemetry Research also attended, but he had to depart early and that was before I thought to take a picture.  FOCM member Vicky Martin brought Cory into the network.  Time will tell if she is to be thanked, we’re just waiting on Cory’s background check to come through.

Also I’d like to point out that our bartender was Denver Lincoln and he took our photo, so I took his so he can get credit for it and to give him some promotion as he works two jobs while working on his stand-up comedy. When he gets famous, you can go through me to get his autograph and to book him for events.

Denver Lincoln