Hi everyone!
Cherry Ames, RN™, signing in as your live blogger for the next few days of the INANE conference. I am so excited to be here and participating in this fabulous event! It’s enough to make my head spin, being with 140 nursing editors, publishers, supporters, distinguished guests and others. Not sure what category I fall into although I suppose I am famous in my own little way. 
The conference got off to a great start, with a lovely cocktail reception in the Walnut Room. I have to give the planners credit: they know not to make their participants wait for the tasty treats! There was a lovely assortment of cheeses and grilled vegetables, just enough to whet my appetite.
The group then adjourned to the main conference room where we were all welcomed by the chairperson of the conference planning committee, Dr. Peggy Chinn. Other members of the committee include Lucy Bradley-Springer, Mickey Dougherty, Laurie Gottlieb, Susan Henly, Debra Jackson, Sandy Kasko, Tina Marrelli, Judith Mitiguy, and Suzanne Smith. Thanks to this dedicated group of women for their hard work pulling this event together.
Dr. John P. Elia
The opening session was titled, “The Unvarnished History of a World-Class City: San Francisco in the 19th and 20th Centuries,” and was presented by John P. Elia, PhD, who is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Homosexuality and Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Health Education, San Francisco State University. Dr. Elia is a lifelong resident of San Francisco and had some fascinating anecdotes about “the city by the bay.” One of my favorites was learning about Lillian Hitchcock Coit, benefactress of the Coit Tower which was completed in 1933. Coit was one of those eccentric characters that dot the history of San
Lillian Hitchcock Coit, wearing a fire helmet
Francisco and make it the interesting city that it has always been. She was a gender-bending rough-and-tumble type of woman who smoked cigars, gambled avidly and lived raucously. She also had a bit of an obsession (or, as Elia said, fetish) for firemen, stemming from being saved from a deadly fire when she was just 15. She grew up to become a volunteer firefighter who rode along with the firemen to all of the fires in town beginning at the age of 15 when she was dubbed the mascot for Knickerbocker Engine Co. No. 5. In those days, fires broke out frequently due to the materials used to construct buildings at the time. Lillian Hitchcock Coit was frequently found helping put out those fires. According to Elia, Coit Tower was designed to resemble the nozzle of a fire hose.
Elia stepped through other interesting episodes of San Francisco history, wrapping up with pictures of Haight-Ashbury, Harvey Milk, and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. All in all, it was a very interesting and informative session.
After the presentation, a delicious buffet dinner was served (although I have to admit, I was still feeling a little full from the hors d’oeuvres!). I didn’t have a chance to do too much networking since I had my reporter’s notebook out and was scribbling thoughts to write this post. Maybe tomorrow I can recruit some other participants to give me a hand with the live blogging, especially since there will be concurrent sessions and I can’t be two places at once!
Conference chair, Dr. Peggy Chinn
Tomorrow looks to be a very full day, starting with a continental breakfast at 7:30 am followed by a Speed Meet & Greet at 8:45. I have to say, that will be a new event for me and I am looking forward to it. I’ll be sure to post details for everyone tomorrow–it may be late because I do have tickets for the Bay Cruise and Dinner. Whoo-hoo, so much activity packed into a few short days. I am working hard to make the most of every minute.
Please feel free to leave a question or comment, especially if you want more information about what is going on at INANE 2011. I look forward to hearing from you!
Note: ‘Cherry Ames’ is a registered trademark of Springer Publishing Company, LLC and used with permission.
Dear Cherry – thanks for attending the INANE Conference and for your help with Leslie Nicoll’s excellent presentation on Facebook! You are a welcome new addition to INANE – which is an amazing group of people who are dedicated (as you are) to nursing and excellence in nursing publication. I look forward to your next blog about the conference.
Thanks, Lucy! It is an amazing group of people and I am so glad to have had the chance to meet many of them over the course of the conference. This is such a wonderful event!
The 2011 INANE Conference was informative and well organized, Thank you Planning Committee! I am so proud of my nurse editor colleagues and how their words change the world. I am a better person for having heard your voices and read your words. I leave San Francisco with my heart filled and my commitment to expand my social connections.