What Do Hospital Executives Think About Healthcare Reform?

At the 2010 Healthcare Facilities Summit we asked a number of executives from some of the nation's largest health systems: "How Do You Think Healthcare Reform will Impact Your Organization?"



Featured in this clip are (in order of appearance):
Michael P. Owens- Producer- HEALTHCARE FACILITIES SUMMIT (CraigMichaels, Inc.)
Mark Loukides- Executive Director of Facilities Development- GREENSVILLE HOSPITAL SYSTEM
Mike Chihoski- Senior Vice President, Corporate Engineering- OSF HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Brian Weldy- Vice President of Facilities and Engineering- HCA, INC.
Fritz Reuter- Senior Vice President of Facilities Development & Real Estate- NEW YORK- PRESBYTERIAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Charles Weinster- Vice President of Real Estate Planning & Development- CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BOSTON
Steve Cockerham- Vice President of Facilities Planning, Design & Construction- BJC HEALTHCARE
Zeke Triana- Director of Facilities Planning, Design & Construction- CEDARS- SINAI MEDICAL CENTER

For additional information about the Healthcare Facilities Summit please visit:
http://www.healthcarefacilitiessummit.com/

Thinking Outside the Glass Box: Kevin Surace Speaks at SOS 2010

Kevin Surace, Chairman & CEO of Serious Materials was the kickoff speaker at the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit giving a very energetic and inspiring presentation titled: THINKING OUTSIDE THE GLASS BOX

As CEO of Serious Materials, Kevin leads the company in its mission to reduce energy usage and CO2 generation of the world’s largest contributor, our buildings. In his talk, Kevin shared how Serious Materials is building a great company based on sustainability…and how EVERYONE can benefit.

We are happy to share the full video of Kevin's presentation with you here!

Kevin Surace Speaks at the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit from CraigMichaels, Inc. on Vimeo.

Inside the Carbon War Room

Prior to President Clinton's inspiring speech at the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit we were fortunate to have Jigar Shah, CEO of the Carbon War Room (and Founder of SunEdison) give a talk about the business case for combating climate change.

It was one of the highlights of this year's summit and we are happy to be able to share it with all who were not fortunate to be in attendance.

The Passing of Art Linkletter

America has lost one of its true remaining icons with today's passing of Art Linkletter. Since the launch of CraigMichaels in 2002, we had been fortunate to have Mr. Linkletter speak at six of our events over the years, with the last one being just short of a year ago (May 31, 2009). Art's speeches were always a genuine combination of inspiration, motivation and humor that deeply moved our audiences time and time again.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Art's family, especially his wonderful wife Lois of over 70 years. Below is a brief interview I recorded with Art just prior to his speech at last year's Campus Summit in April where he reflected on the challenges facing America.

We will miss you Art...

2010 Sustainable Operations Summit a Huge Success!

Five years ago at the conclusion of the inaugural Sustainable Operations Summit, I knew we had a special event that would only get stronger with each annual installment. This past Tuesday at the conclusion of the 5th Annual summit, I found myself worrying if we would be able to make this event any stronger than it was this year?

Over the past five years some of the world's leading green minds have spoken at the Sustainable Operations Summit: Al Gore, RFK Jr., Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, Ray Anderson, David Suzuki and dozens more. We have brought all of these visionairies to educate and inspire our intimate summit audiences with great results.

This past Tuesday we were honored to have President Bill Clinton as our closing keynote speaker at the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit. President Clinton, as expected, stole the show and perfectly tied together all of the issues that were discussed during the previous 2 days of the summit. With an audience of just under 250 people this was truly a once in a lifetime experience for everyone in the room and set the bar high for us to top next year!

In addition to President Clinton, the summit program included thought provoking and informative presentations by Kevin Surace- CEO- Serious Materials, Jigar Shah- CEO- The Carbon War Room, Michelle Moore- Federal Environmental Executive, Stephen Ayers- Architect of the Capitol, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro and dozens more. We would like to thank everyone who made this summit such a great success (suppliers, sponsors, speakers and delegates) and we hope to see you all again next year!

Oz Pearlman...The Devil!

One of the many benefits of living in New York City is the daily access to world-class arts & entertainment. As a life long New Yorker, I would have to say this is the best thing about our city. Of course you can go see a show on Broadway or catch an upcoming band at a small club on the Lower East Side, but you can also find amazing entertainment in the most unsuspecting of places as well. Like last year when I was indulging in some necessary winter carbs at the wonderful Park Side restaurant in Corona and had the good fortune of meeting Oz Pearlman.

While waiting for our food, the owner of the restaurant dropped by our table to say hello and told us that there was a magician in the house that he was convinced was "the devil" because his tricks were "just not right!!". Later that night, the magician Oz (pronounced "Ohs") dropped by our table and we quickly understood what Tony was talking about as he began to freak us out with his magic and mind reading.

I was so impressed after meeting Oz that I booked him to fly out and entertain the delegation at CraigMichaels' Retail Facilities Summit and he blew them away...and we are excited to announce that Oz will be now joining us for the third time at the 2010 Campus Development Summit and Campus Technology Summits next month at the Arizona Biltmore Resort, to entertain and mesmerize!

Oz just launched a new website which you can check out here: www.magicofozpearlman.com

Ray Anderson joins President Bill Clinton as a 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit Headliner

Following up on the recent announcement that President Bill Clinton will be speaking at this year’s Sustainable Operations Summit, we are excited to confirm that Interface Founder & Chairman Ray Anderson will also be joining us as the Opening Keynote speaker! Often referred to as the “greenest chief executive in America”, Anderson will be sharing insights from his new book ‘Confessions of a Radical Industrialist’ which provides practical ideas that every business can use to improve their bottom lines and do right by the earth.

For those of you who may have missed the incredible news, we are honored to confirm that President Bill Clinton will be joining us as the Closing Keynote speaker at the summit taking place May 16-18th at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, TX. With an attendance of less than 300 people this will be a very exciting and unforgettable experience for all involved!

We are also very pleased to announce that we have confirmed a diverse and impressive list of panelists to round out the conference program for this year’s summit.

Additional confirmed speakers include:
Kevin Surace- Chairman and CEO- SERIOUS MATERIALS
Stephen Ayers- Acting Architect and Chief Operating Officer- ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Daniel Wallach- Executive Director and Founder- GREENSBURG GREENTOWN
Suzanne Malec- McKenna- Commissioner, Department of Environment- CITY OF CHICAGO
Mert Livingstone- Vice President, Global Site Operations- JOHNSON & JOHNSON
Kevin Kampschroer- Director, Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings- US GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (GSA)
Doug Gatlin- Vice President, Market Development- US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL (USGBC)
Brenna Walraven- Executive Managing Director, National Property Management- USAA
Chris Brophy- Vice President of Energy & Environmental Services- MGM MIRAGE
David Haft- Vice President of Operations Sustainability- FRITO-LAY
Ariella Maron- Deputy Commissioner of Energy Management- CITY OF NEW YORK
Tim Cole- Director of Sustainability- FORBO/ Chair- USGBC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jim Hunt- Chief, Environmental & Energy Services- CITY OF BOSTON
Brian Weldy- Vice President of Facilities & Engineering- HCA, INC
Carl Kernodle- Vice President of Architecture & Design- HYATT CORPORATION
Rob Rolfsen- Director of Sustainable Development- CISCO SYSTEMS
Dane Parker- Director of Global Environment, Health, Safety & Facilities Sustainability- DELL
Dave Newport- Director, Environmental Center- UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
Emma Stewart- Senior Program Lead, Sustainable Operations- AUTODESK
John Davies- Vice President, Intelligence- GREENER WORLD MEDIA
Shana Weber- Director, Office of Sustainability- PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Bill Triplett- Vice President of Design & Construction- H-E-B
Scott Shippey- Director of Design- CHIPOTLE
…and many more to be announced shortly!

Bill Gates on Energy at TED

For a person who produces conferences for a living (Hello Me!) the annual TED conference is the Superbowl of the conference industry. If you are not familar with TED here is a description lifted from their website:

Each year, the world's leading thinkers and doers gather in for an event many describe as the highlight of their year. Attendees have called it "The ultimate brain spa," "Davos for optimists" and "A four-day journey into the future, in the company of those creating it."

Less than two weeks ago Bill Gates gave a very thought provoking speech on energy at the 2010 TED conference. The people at TED have since uploaded video of Mr. Gate's speech that some are calling the "Most Important Climate Speech of the Year". Watch the speech below to come to your own conclusion. Anybody know how I could convince Bill Gates to come on board the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit?

Brick City's Cory Booker Set To Inspire Campus Summit!

It's been a busy week here in the production department at CraigMichaels! Following the announcement that President Clinton will be joining us at the Sustainable Operations Summit, we are thrilled to inform you that Newark Mayor Cory Booker will be the Opening Keynote Speaker at the 2010 Campus Development & Campus Technology Summits.

If the name Cory Booker is foreign to you now...I promise it won't be for long! As the Mayor of Newark, NJ since 2006; Booker has been leading the troubled city in a direction that many thought would have been impossible. He has greatly reduced crime, convinced businesses to once again return to the Newark area and, most importantly, inspired the city's people to achieve and expect more from life.

Mayor Booker brings his passion for social change to the podium. Sharing stories informed by real life, he demonstrates the need for everyone to take responsibility in helping this nation live up to its promise. Cory Booker is destined to become a BIG player in national politics, so having him at our summit is a real privilege.

Below is a somewhat recent interview with Mayor Booker where he discusses Sundance Channel's reality mini-series 'Brick City' which follows his herculean efforts in Newark.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

President Bill Clinton at SOS 2010!

It's been a little while since I updated this blog. Been working on a few things...like shoveling snow, working out the logistics for our Sports & Entertainment Facilities Forum...and confirming BILL CLINTON to speak at the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit!

That's right! President Bill Clinton will be closing out the summit which is taking place May 16-18th at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, TX. We at CraigMichaels are beyond excited and are now counting the days (94 to be exact!) to the start of the summit.

Since we launched the Sustainable Operations Summit in 2006 we have been fortunate to have welcomed some of the world's most engaging thought leaders. President Clinton not only continues this tradition but once again solidifies this summit as one of the most respected environmental conferences today. Previous speakers at the summit have included: Al Gore, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., David Suzuki, Paul Hawken, Ray Anderson, Amory Lovins, Dan Esty, and Andrew Winston to name but a few.

Catch Him If You Can! Frank Abagnale Speaking at our K12 Summit

We recently had Frank Abagnale, former con artist extraordinaire whose crimes inspired the memoir and movie Catch Me If You Can, as the opening Keynote speaker at the co-located K12 Facilities Summit and K12 Technology Summit on October 18th, 2009 in Austin, TX.

When we first announced Frank Abagnale as the Opening Dinner Speaker we had a number of people questioning why we invited a convicted criminal to speak. Well in just over 30 years, Frank Abagnale has gone from a man in hiding to a man very much in the public eye. At the summit he took our audience on a hilarious and poignant journey of his time as a criminal being pursued, but the message was about his personal transformation. His story is a true morality tale that takes you from the depths of despair to the triumph of personal redemption.

Frank actually encouraged us to record his speech...so we are happy to share it with you here.

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Is There an Appropriate Age to Grant Internet Access to Students?

A very interesting (and sometimes controversial) question that is brought up by parents and school administrators is: "At what age should children be given internet access?". I posed this question to some of the nation's leading school district CIOs at the 2009 K12 Technology Summit and recieved a lot of interesting responses.

What is your take on this question?

Sustainability at Arizona State University

We are really excited to confirm that we will be closing out the 2010 Campus Development Summit with a Sustainability tour of Arizona State University. I took some time to wander around the ASU campus while attending Greenbuild this fall and was truly amazed at what they are doing there. We have been fortunate to have a number of leaders from ASU speak at our summits over the past few years (Bonny Bentzin, Jonathan Fink and Jim Buizer to name a few) and their knowledge and commitment to the environment has always been a highlight of our programs.

Below is a video that gives some insight into the innovation happening at ASU these days. Full details about the campus tour will be revealed shortly.

Kick off the New Decade with Profitable Solutions to Climate Change (Courtesy of Amory Lovins)

First and foremost Happy New Year! Not only the start of another year but the start of a fresh decade! Reflecting on this past decade, I am sure that most would agree that we as a country are eager to start a new chapter...one that is both positive and profitable!

At the 2009 Sustainable Operations Summit we were very fortunate to have, Hero of the Environment, Amory Lovins speak at our opening dinner reception about Profitable Solutions to Climate, Oil and Proliferation. As always, Amory came equipped with wonderful data and numerous scenarios that truly opened up the minds of our delegation resulting in an inspiring kickoff to the summit. We are now happy to share Amory's presentation with you here on SummitUp!

Oh...and before I forget. The program for the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit is currently under development and we will be announcing the first round of speakers in the next 2 weeks! We have a great lineup in the works for you this year. So don't forget to mark your calendar for May 16-18th at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, TX.

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