2026 Annual Meeting Schedule
| Monday - 11/9/26 | |||
| 7:00pm | Board Dinner (By Invitation Only) | ||
| Tuesday - 11/10/26 | |||
| 8:00am - 5:00pm | Registration | ||
| 8:00am - 12:00pm | Board of Directors Meeting (By invitation Only) | ||
| 8:00am - 12:00pm | Dietary Supplements Forum | ||
| 12:00pm - 1:00pm | Lunch | ||
| 1:00pm - 5:00pm | Environmental Sciences Forum | ||
| 1:00pm - 5:00pm | Conformity Assessment Forum | ||
| 1:00pm - 5:00pm | Construction Materials, Engineering & Testing Forum | ||
| 1:00pm - 5:00pm | Food Sciences Forum | ||
| 2:00pm - 5:00pm | Exhibitor Set Up | ||
| 3:00pm | Break | ||
| 6:00pm - 8:00pm | Welcome Reception with Exhibitors | ||
| Wednesday, 11/11/26 | |||
| 7:30am - 4:00pm | Registration Open | ||
| 7:30am - 8:30am | Networking Breakfast with Exhibitors | ||
| 8:30am - 9:45am | Keynote Presentation | TBA | |
| 8:30am - 12:00pm | Cannabis Science Forum | ||
| 10:00am - 11:00am | Education Session | AI in the Laboratory - Capturing Value and Mitigating Risks Carl Jones | • Where AI adds value today • Where AI does not work in regulated labs • QA review, scheduling, and reporting use cases • Why method automation promises fail Core point: AI is leverage, not a replacement for expertise. |
| 11:10am - 12:10pm | Education Session | Cybersecurity & Operational Risk - Ryan Robertson & Panel | Why laboratories are prime ransomware targets • Downtime risk and business interruption • Owner and executive exposure • Minimum viable cybersecurity for labs • CMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) Core point: Cyber risk is operational risk. |
| 12:10pm - 1:30pm | Lunch, Annual Business Meeting and State of the Union | ||
| 1:40pm - 2:45pm | Education Session | Cost Intelligence & Pricing Reality | • True cost per test by method and client • Why department margins mislead • Pricing discipline in regulated environments • Using cost data to guide capacity and client mix Core point: You cannot manage what you do not measure. |
| 3:00pm - 4:00pm | Education Session | When Growth Hurts Profit - TBA | • Volume growth that erodes EBITDA • Overtime creep and shifting bottlenecks • QC, rework, and compliance drag • Knowing when to say no to work Core point: Not all growth is good growth. |
| 5:00pm - 6:00pm | Past Presidents Reception | ||
| 4:00pm - 5:00pm | Happy Hour with Exhibitors | ||
| Evening on Own | |||
| Thursday, 11/12/26 | |||
| 7:30am - 2:00pm | Registration Open | ||
| 7:30am - 8:30am | Breakfast and Networking with Exhbitors | ||
| 8:30am - 9:45am | Keynote | Mastering CRM: Turning Relationships into Revenue & Proper Bid Management - Andrew Schenkel | This presentation breaks down how companies can use a CRM to organize their pipeline, manage initial relationships, leads, bids, and communication, and ensure no opportunities are missed from first contact through project completion. By improving follow-up, creating better systems, and utilizing the correct KPIs and data, it helps turn more bids into booked jobs and drive a more consistent flow of work. |
| 10:00am | Exhibitor Breakdown | ||
| 10:00am - 11:00am | Education Session | Irreplaceable People and Continuity - TBA | • Single points of failure in analysts, QA, and technical leadership • Informal power and hero culture • Cross training as insurance, not inefficiency • Accreditation and method fragility Core point: Overloaded heroes quit and take knowledge with them. |
| 11:10am - 12:10pm | Education Session | Training that Actually Works - Hollis Cloninger | • Structured onboarding vs sink or swim • SOPs owned by the organization • Training load vs productivity reality Core point: Bad training is expensive and drives early exits. |
| 1:00pm | Networking Lunch Activity / Dinner | ||
