This past Friday I got my large French Vanilla ice coffee light with cream and with four Splendas, set my iPod to listen to podcasts, and hit the road to Baltimore for the EMS Today Conference in Baltimore. The trip was pretty uneventful, making one stop at the Walt Whitman rest area for… well… rest, and arrived in Baltimore around 12:15.

I parked by the M&T Bank Stadium (where parking for conference attendees was free) and walked the 4 or so blocks over to the convention center. Once there I checked in to get my conference badge from Lauren who was extremely helpful and answered all my important questions… namely where I could find the restroom. Did I mention I drink large coffees? So of course right after that break, I got an ice coffee from the lobby Starbucks, where I was glad to see that the decline in customer service at Starbucks was not just a New York City phenomenon.

Once done there, I descended to where the exposition hall was. Going down the escalator was what looked to be an 8-10 foot tall banner from Zoll touting some of their exhibits… including a panel for The Chronicles of EMS. I have to say that it is great when innovators support innovators, and that was just one of many examples of that I saw while there.

Entering into the exhibit hall I went left and began going up and down the aisles checking out vendors and their products. I’ve gotten pretty used to doing exhibitions, so I walk in the middle of the aisle unless I see something I’m interested in. If a vendor throws a hook my way in an attempt to real me in, I’ll generally start off by asking, “What’s the price point?” which usually makes them wince. I’m not a fluff kind of guy, I’m all about the bottom line. This is kind of my way of really saying “I’m not interested in your product which is probably overpriced, but thanks anyway,” and most of them back off. I was pleasantly surprised that there weren’t very many of those at all.

Finally I reached the Zoll booth which was actually right by the entrance only in the complete opposite direction from where I had headed when I first walked in. As I looped around the booth grabbing some literature and checking out the latest Zoll innovations, I found myself looking at none other than Ted Setla (@Setla).

So I approached him and said, “Hey, I know you!”

He looked at me with a slight look of fear before there was that spark of recognition… and thus began the rush of meeting face to face those who I’ve been conversing with over the past 11 months or so. Ted and I talked briefly about his set-up and what was going on so far at the show. He explained that Justin and Mark were down the aisle at the live podcast for EMS Garage (@emsgarage), and then I was able to turn an old partner of mine who spotted me there onto Ted and the Chronicles of EMS.

Leaving Ted to continue to swoon the passerbys at the Chronicles of EMS Booth, I wandered down to where the EMS Garage was doing a live podcast. It was a standing room only crowd, so I stood off to one side in order to get a good view. Then I worried that I might be violating fire code by blocking a fire lane because it was pretty crowded for the podcast, and I moved closer to a a beautiful tall redhead who I completely accidentally bumped into. She turned to me, turned away, and then quickly turned back and said, “Oh my god. I know you.” I had literally just bumped into soon to be Paramedic Epi_Junky of Pink Warm and Dry. Imagine that coincidence!

The live podcast was featuring Justin Schorr (@thehappymedic) and Mark Glencourse (@ukmedic999) who had to depart mid-stream for their presentation back at the booth Ted was holding down. The host Chris Montera (@geekymedic) then called up Jamie Davis (@podmedic) and… of all people… me to come up and join him!!!

You can watch the video that was live streamed of the podcast by clicking on the picture above

After extolling the virtues of Social Media for EMS Agencies and soliciting fertilization for my farm in Farmville, I finally had the opportunity to actually meet Jamie and Chris who are incredibly passionate about EMS and Social Media. There can be no better advocates for that marriage than those who are turning out high quality content… and those two are definitely at the top of the list.

While basking in the afterglow of the live podcast I also was finally able to meet the fabulous Chris Kaiser (@ckemtp) who I constantly find myself nodding in agreement to his blog posts and I found myself doing the same thing in his presence as well. I was also afforded the opportunity to finally meet Rhett Fleitz (@firecritic) who I’ve corresponded with numeorus times about all sorts of issues and his podcast partner John Mitchell (firedaily). This was closely followed by meeting Justin Schorr and having a nice conversation with him about the going ons and how word about #CoEMS is spreading. At this point, pretty much everyone went their own way with plans to meet up later that night at the big Blogger/Tweeter Meetup… and I once again found a restroom. Did I mention the Starbucks Coffee was large too?

After using the fine facilities in the exhibit hall, I still had about an hour before me lecture to kill, so I found a nice comfy spot on the second (third?) floor. While I was there checking Twitter and some e-mail, I was approached by none other than the EMS Blogfather Kelly Grayson (@ambodriver) and his friend. I don’t remember exactly what was said, because I was in shock that THE Kelly Grayson had felt the need to come over and introduce himself to me. It was a shocker moment which I shared on Twitter:

My girlfriend was concerned by that tweet, and called me. That conversation went something like this:

Her: Is everything okay?
Me: I just met Kelly Grayson!
Her: Kelly who?
Me: The EMS Blogfather, Kelly Grayson!
Her: I have no idea who that is.
Me: You know the book that sits ontop of my computer? He’s the one who wrote it!
Her: Oh. Cool!

Now I’m not always the sharpest tack in the box, because after that conversation with her I realized that I also potentially met another iconic EMS Blogger who prefers to preserve his anonymity. I happen to have alot of respect for anonymous bloggers because I think others undervalue or overlook their contributions simply because they don’t use their real name. It’s not the blogger’s identity that matters, but the content that they produce. Anonymous bloggers usually have to build a bridge of trust from the ground up by providing solid reliable information instead of the trust that gets afforded to you when you disclose your name and service. So a hat tip to that gentleman for remaining fiercely independent.

So after my session, which ironically (or not) was about Social Media, I headed over to where the big EMS Blogger Meetup was at the Pizzeria Uno. There I got to continue chatting with those I had met earlier as well as finally actually meet Mark Glencourse, and we even shared a Kodak moment that you can see somewhere out there on the internet. I have to be honest, the excitment that Ted, Justin, and Mark have for the Chronicles of EMS is not only off the charts but damn near contagious, and that can be a strong catalyst for the change we need.

I also had the opportunity to meet Mike Ward (@fossilmedic), Chris Eldridge (@thedridge), Sebastian Wong (@sebwong) and Carissa O’Brien (@carissao) who insists that I trademark my eyebrow. The conversation was interesting, the gossip about who else was going to join the “FireEMSBlogs.com” lineup was entertaining, the experience enlightening, and the food was delish.

Unfortunately, the clock struck 10 and it was time for me to make my departure since I still had a 4 hour drive ahead of me after my 1.7 kilometer walk back to my truck. Leaving such fine company was a bit sorrowful. There were conversations that had started online concluded, and in their place new ones arose in person that undoubtedly will be continued online. It served as an important illustration of what effective communication among passionate people can accomplish, and the power that Social Media has in helping that along.