ATLANTA – There is a meme going around that goes like this: “Nobody claim 2022 as ‘your year.’ We’re all going to walk in real slow. Be good. Be quiet. Be cautious and respectful. Don’t touch anything.” Like many show directors across the country, I routinely go from optimism to pessimism as the pandemic ebbs and flows, but cautious optimism is a necessary part of the job.

The new year will likely resemble a facsimile of “back to normal” but we can’t say for sure and neither can anyone else. Like everyone, we will closely watch the state and federal guidelines and act accordingly.

While I can’t predict the future, I can look back on 2021 with a keen eye on what worked and what needs work. Ultimately, that is my philosophy when it comes to Medtrade. I am committed to fine-tuning the show, trying new things, and analyzing the results.

Medtrade West in Phoenix went a little better than expected, and as of now the plan is to come back to Phoenix for Medtrade West, now scheduled for April 4-6, 2022. Meanwhile, Medtrade East is scheduled for Oct. 24-26, 2022 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

One thing I saw many times at both shows was an eagerness to get back together for in-person interaction. This eagerness was all across the age spectrum, proving that we are indeed a social species and the best networking takes place face to face.

York Schwab is associate show director for Medtrade.