P.A.N.D.O.R.A. is co-sponsoring and hosting the

8th International IACFS Conference

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Bahia Mar Hotel

Jan 10-14, 2007

CONFERENCE INFORMATION

The event will be held at the Bahia Mar Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Investigators from around the world will present abstracts and will share their findings with the conference participants.

Click here for the beautiful PANDORA FLYER FOR THE 2007 IACFS CONFERENCE! Print the flyer and take it to your treating physician and encourage him/her to attend the medical conference. CME's will be provided by the Dade County Medical Association Category 1.

Attendees including Patients, Caregivers, Students and CFS / FM Advocates will have the unique opportunity to attend and participate in 2-days of dedicated patient group sessions and workshops cosponsored by the International Association of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (IACFS) and P.A.N.D.O.R.A. Click here to register and for detailed information on the patient conference structure.

Great excitement is building up as we are less than three months away from the 8th International IACFS Conference on CFS, FM, and related illnesses. The time to register and participate in such an amazing educational event is NOW! By registering early, you will be able to reap the early bird discount.

Click here for the patient conference agenda

Click here for the professional agenda

Click here for the conference patient banquet flyer

Click here for the Acknowledgement of our Sponsors

Click here for hotel, official airlines and car rental & tax service information

Patient conference attendees have the option to extend their conference participation to attend the 3-day Professional Conference for physicians, researchers and healthcare professionals for a minimal fee of $75. Click here to register for the 5 day conference.

The first day of the Patient Conference will have two tracks:

• The 2007 Advocates Extraordinaire!©Advocacy and Leadership Training Track
• Understanding and Living with CFS/FM Track

The 2007 Advocates Extraordinaire!© Advocacy and Leadership training, through the Sand Castles Scholarship Awards is made possible by the HHV-6 Foundation, the law firm of Frankel & Newfield, P.C., and by P.A.N.D.O.R.A. I am personally vested in the successful achievement of this program. P.A.N.D.O.R.A.'s board is volunteering hundred of hours, financial resources and creativity which I hope will result in being able to offer this program to as many patient advocates as possible.

The 2007 Advocates Extraordinaire!© Advocacy and Leadership Training will be a first in the history of the IACFS conferences and of any other CFS conference in the past. This will be an unique experience!

Professionals in the area of congressional advocacy, marketing, and the media will present this training. Patient advocates will experience "hands on" training on how to speak, write and address congressional representatives in the state and federal legislatures. Attendees will learn how to contact members of the media in order to create and raise awareness for the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) community.

The Understanding and Living with CFS/FM track will be of great interest for individuals who are newly diagnosed with CFS and or FM as well as their caregivers who will learn about technology, disability, employment, pain management and much more.

The concluding keynote dinner speaker for the first day is Paul Cheney, MD. Tickets are being sold for $50 for this extraordinaire event. Please join us in honoring a physician whose amazing contribution has made a huge difference in our community of suffering. This is a dinner that you don't want to miss it! Dr. Cheney's presentation as always will be educational, eye opening and state of the art!

On the second day of the conference, the focus will be placed on:

• Family Issues and Pediatrics Track
• Medical Research and Treatment Updates I and II Tracks
• Managing Your Quality of Life Track

All presentations are designed exclusively to better understand the difficult health issues persons with CFS/FM are faced with daily. At the end of the conference, attendees will leave with well-proven tools and skills for improved management of these challenging issues.

Speakers for this most empowering patient conference includes the IACFS Board, other internationally recognized leaders in various CFS/FM healthcare fields, and nationally recognized professionals in fields relevant to the CFS/FM patient community.

Don't miss the opportunity to be able to interact with researchers, physicians and government representatives attending the conference. There will also be opportunities for social interaction with other advocates, other state and national organizations which will be exhibiting during these four days.  Already confirmed are The Lanford Foundation-LIFELYME, Inc. , The National Fibromyalgia Association, the CFIDS Association of America, Inc., and of course P.A.N.D.O.R.A.

Pharmaceutical companies and other businesses who cater to our community are being approached for sponsorships. Allied Health Care providers are being sought to learn and exhibit during the conference.

Information on the 2007 Sand Castles Scholarship Awards

The value for the recipients of the Sand Castles Scholarship Awards to participate in the 2007 Advocates Extraordinaire!© scholarship is $240. It covers the 5-day conference fee.  It is a great scholarship!

The 2007 Advocates Extraordinaire!© Advocacy and Leadership training, through the Sand Castles Scholarship Awards is made possible by the HHV-6 Foundation, the law firm of Frankel & Newfield, P.C., and by P.A.N.D.O.R.A. I am personally vested in the successful achievement of this program. P.A.N.D.O.R.A.'s board is volunteering hundred of hours, financial resources and creativity which I hope will result in being able to offer this program to as many patient advocates as possible.

As one of the 2007 Advocates Extraordinaire! you will be participating in a most empowering event, where advocacy and leadership training by professionals in the area of political lobbying, marketing, media (TV, newspapers, and radio) will be presented. You will experience on a one-to-one basis “how to” speak, write, and address your congressional representatives in state and federal legislatures and how to contact members of the media in order to create awareness of our cause.

My e-mail box is full with requests for scholarships to attend the conference, but unfortunately we have a limited amount of scholarships available.  We are working very hard to find sponsors, donors, and benefactors to assist us in providing funding directed to The 2007 Advocates Extraordinaire! © Advocacy & Leadership Training program.

Every individual interested in participating at the 2007 IACFS Conference needs to be aware that it is primarily through the Sand Castles Scholarship Awards that advocates will be chosen to receive this training. If additional funding comes in closer to the event, we will then later open the program to the rest of the community on first come, first served, if we still have room available for the training.

The main purpose of the program is to teach, empower, motivate patients, caregivers and friends to become agents for change on issues that profoundly affect our community of suffering. We want to give and enhance the tools that will transform a patient advocate into an Advocate Extraordinaire!©

But until additional additional funding is available and as much as we would like to provide scholarship to every individual who has contacted me in this regard, the reality is that because of limited funding resources, we will not be able provide scholarships to everyone who has sent me an e-mail or needs one.

Nonetheless, we encourage you to contact us by e-mail if you want to participate in the 2007 Advocate Extraordinaire! Advocacy & Leadership training program and could use a scholarship. And as it is mentioned above, if a spot comes open, and your name is on the waiting-list, (first come, first served), you will be contacted either before or when you register on the day of the conference.

We are proud of the fact that we are the first CFS patient organization offering this extensive type of training at an IACFS conference and we are also extremely proud of the fact that we are providing the financial incentives to honor these advocates as well by providing financial incentives. It is a WIN-WIN combination!

I sincerely wish we could do more! But one assurance I can give you is that we haven't stopped trying to get additional funding for this purpose. Letters, phone calls, and grant requests have been sent to corporations, private foundations, individuals who have a stake in our community, personal friends and family members.

As I write to you, I have three grants on my desk to pursue and will have a few more when I am done. Rebecca Artman and I are still writing grants to pharmaceutical companies in order to enhance the 2007 Advocates Extraordinaire! Advocacy & Leadership Training Program and the overall IACFS conference.

If you have any suggestions, names of potential exhibitors that you think would benefit the patient portion of the conference or the overall event, please make sure you forward them to me at Suggestions. The IACFS and P.A.N.D.O.R.A. want to provide you with the best possible environment conducive to learning and to empowerment while allowing you to fully enjoy your participation.

Our sincere hope is that once you participate in this great conference you will go beyond merely surviving these illnesses and will begun or continue through your own pathway to becoming an accomplished thriver despite your health challenges.

There are many reasons why a member of our community would do her/his best to attend the IACFS Conference hosted by P.A.N.D.O.R.A.  I highlight a few below:

• The conference agenda is packed with outstanding speakers from the U.S. and abroad lending to a 5 day event with great educational value for the individual with CFS, FM and to their families and caregivers.  

• The participating exhibitors, sponsors and donors are companies and individuals who care for our community and are addressing many of our needs at all levels.

• Your participation through the Sand Castles Scholarship Awards will provide the membership and financial support to the only professional U.S./international organization fully addressing research and treatment issues - The International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  They work tirelessly on behalf of our patient population. I feel strongly that we, as patients need to support them in their efforts to find a cure for CFS, ME, FM, and other related illnesses. We cannot do it alone. They cannot do it alone. But UNITED IN ACTION, we are stronger, and we can make a difference.

In addition, the IACFS is now offering substantial incentives for early registration.  Please take advantage of these incentives and book early!

WORD OF THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS FOR THE 2007 ADVOCATES EXTRAORDINAIRE!©

Please join me in thanking our sponsors for this amazing program:

• The HHV-6 Foundation
• The law firm of Frankel & Newfield, P.C.
• Steven Silverman (P.A.N.D.O.R.A former President)

If you live in South Florida, make sure you check our Empowerment Groups Schedule, What's New and the Wellness Directory.  There is plenty of exciting events happening in 2006. You will not want to miss it!