I had to the chance to go to FNCE this year in Chicago for a day. For those of you that don't know FNCE is the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo. It is the annual national conference hosted by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. I haven't been since I was an intern back in 2010 when it was in Boston. I was very excited to attend this year, because it was in Chicago (3 hours north of Indianapolis). Even with having a small (10 month old) child, I wanted to try to go. Shout out to my amazing mother, who came up with me and watched William for the day. That was such a huge blessing and really made it possible for me to go.
I was actually given a scholarship to attend FNCE this year. The local Dietetics Association that I belong to - CIAND (Central Indiana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) gave out a $250 scholarship. I thought I would apply and I was so excited that I was chosen. With this scholarship I took a day off work and headed up to Chicago for the conference.
If you haven't had the chance to attend FNCE, then mark the upcoming dates on your calendar, save some money and try to go! It is worth the time and money. It is such a HUGE conference and there are so many neat speakers. You have the chance to earn SO many continuing education units and network with amazing dietitians.
I wanted to share with you some of the highlights from my 24 hours at FNCE.
Purdue Alumni Reception
I was able to get up to Chicago on Sunday evening and attend the Purdue Alumni Reception. I was so glad that this event was sponsored by the Department of Food and Nutrition and by the Alumni Board. There was a great turn out and such a fun chance to see old classmates and professors. I was able to bring my Mom and baby with me so that was neat to show off my little guy and have some help watching him.
Networking Luncheon
On Monday there was a luncheon at a hotel near the conference for the authors of a book that Barb Mayfield is leading. It was so great to have a chance to network with some other amazing dietitians. This nutrition communication book will be such a great resource for dietitians and I am excited to see it come together and so thankful to be included on this project.
Educational Sessions
I love being able to go to continuing education sessions and I wish I could have attended more of these. I had fun though attending three of them during the day on Monday. My favorite had to be the main speaker on that day, which was Kimbal Musk. He is such an interesting person and it was so neat to hear him talk about his philosophy with food. Plus his mom is a RD! Another interesting session was one on Type 1 Diabetes in Africa. Very neat and made me want to go on a medical mission trip.
If you haven't been to FNCE before, mark your calendar and try to go next year. Some other fun parts to FNCE is the Expo Hall, the awesome networking events with the DPGs and of course the main speakers. It is such a neat conference and I am so thankful for being able to go this year!