Vegas, baby, Vegas.

Excuse me, I mean ACORD LOMA, baby, ACORD LOMA.

Yes, we are gathering again in Las Vegas on this holiest ofSundays—Cinco de Mayo—to prepare for three days of information,collaboration, and education as the 10th year of this merger ofconferences between ACORD and LOMA begins on Monday.

This has been a good marriage for both organizations. Theirdifferences and their similarities are strong enough that visitorsto the forum are certain to find something that interests them,whether it is in a general or breakout session or among thehundreds of vendors plying their wares.

The conference business bends and turns often with the vagariesof the economy, but one thing continues that simply can not bereplaced: the one-on-one meetings between people with similar goalsand challenges.

In an industry that has way too much proprietary information, itis important for the greater good that we share a bit of what we doto ensure that each of us spends more time on the so-calledimportant stuff—like growing our business—and less on stillimportant but common issues such as data standards.

Of course standards is what ACORD is all about. They have becomea world leader in the establishment of standards for all lines ofbusiness and all nationalities and sharing is the single mostimportant aspect of what they do.

My goal over the next few days is to meet as many people aspossible and find out what concerns they have for their businessand for the industry as a whole. That seems like a simple goal, butit also means sharing some of myself and some of yourself. Let meknow how it's working for you.