09/24/2025

Will Association Meetings Disappear?

The short answer is, "no"

I was shocked to learn that this year's Aerican Dental Association (ADA) SmileCon will be the last annual meeting in its current format. Rising costs and meeting attendance that never rebounded to pre-COVID levels were cited as reasons.

Privately, many clients have told me that their meetings are losing money. Others have folded one meeting into another to preserve popular meetings that are not financially sustainable. It makes me wonder: Will association meetings disappear?

The short answer is, "no." But the longer answer is that some already have, some will, and many will look different going forward.

Please select this link to read the complete blog post from Mary Byers.