Over the weekend of October 11-13, we hosted 40+ attendees — including Ponto wearers and their families — for our annual New Advocates Meeting, which was held at Oticon Medical’s headquarters in Somerset, NJ. A few long-time Ambassadors, including Angela and Sarah Zabel and Kevin Hotaling, also attended in order to share their experiences and provide coaching and inspiration.

Friday night inspiration

We kicked the weekend off with a welcome reception and dinner held at the Bridgewater Marriott where attendees were staying for the weekend. While serving dessert, we conducted a Share Your Story activity during which everyone took a few minutes to introduce themselves and talk about their experiences with hearing loss and journeys to better hearing with Ponto bone anchored hearing systems.

A busy Saturday schedule

Bright and early Saturday morning, we kicked of a full day of educational panels on topics ranging from Ponto 4: Introduction and Design to New Advances in Bone Anchored Hearing Procedure, all conducted by various Oticon Medical staffers and audiology professionals. Hands-on workshops included how to use Canva to enhance social media posts and how to add visual effects and edit self-made videos. We also introduced Oticon Medical Friends, our exciting new community portal through which wearers will be able to stay in closer contact with our company and one another. Meanwhile, our child wearers and their siblings were kept entertained by Mad Science of West New Jersey and The Lizard Guy and his live animal exhibits.

Saturday night, we took a fun trip together on the Sparkling NYC Skyline Dinner Cruise. Attendees and staff enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner and a couple of loops around New York City before reaching the main attraction — a close-up view of the Statue of Liberty. There was also plenty of time for dancing and fun on-board.

 

Sunday wrap-up

Sunday morning, we held a panel discussion on Technology and Access, which included a lively Q&A about insurance-related topics. Then Melissa Tumblin and her daughter Aly presented key Oticon Medical staff members with Ear Community Microtia and Atresia Awareness Awards in recognition of all they’ve done to improve the lives of people with these conditions. The weekend concluded with a farewell luncheon, and then everyone headed back home with the knowledge and motivation to be the best possible advocates on behalf of those with hearing challenges.

We would like to thank all of our attendees and Ambassadors for sharing their stories and further developing a supportive, tightly connected community!

Click to learn more about Ponto bone anchored hearing systems, including Ponto 4, our smallest and first processor with direct wireless streaming and all the benefits of Oticon’s proven Opn™ technology.