July marks one year of publishing our very first monthly HLSA newsletter. It has been challenging, a great learning experience, quite a bit of fun and very rewarding. It would also not have been possible without the inspiration and guidance we received from our mentor, Michael Loschke of Arista Advisors, to whom we are incredibly grateful. We (our board) had been talking for some time about doing a newsletter to expand our community outreach, and Michael was the catalyst that made that happen. We wanted to provide added value to our sponsors while also sharing some great information from some of the very smart and experienced individuals we have met through our networking events.
We have been hosting our monthly mixers and special events for well over a decade now with one mission in mind, to thoughtfully connect healthcare professionals as a means to grow connections and opportunities. Most people think of that when they think of networking- you’re looking for new business, new clients, maybe a new job- and those are reasonable and practical goals. But over the years we have also forged some very meaningful connections and friendships, and learned a lot about business in San Antonio.
If asked to point to one source of inspiration for starting a networking group, I would have to point to Johnny Johnson. His real name was Phil Johnson, but I always remember him being introduced as “Johnny” at our regional ACHE conferences in the mid-90s when he was the CEO of what was then McKenna Hospital in New Braunfels. Johnny was of course a fellow in ACHE and had also enjoyed a distinguished health administration career in the US Army, rising to the rank of Colonel before returning to civilian life. He was also a huge proponent of networking and always brought very sizeable stacks of business cards in rubber bands (this was in the earliest days of the internet) to the conference podium to drive home his points when he spoke about its importance to our careers. He would say it is something you have to do continually, a career discipline that can be rewarding in ways beyond the next job lead.
He was right.
David Neathery
HLSA Founder
