Junto ("june-toe") is sponsored by Franklin Street, a branding and full service advertising agency specializing in health and wellness. We call the blog Junto in homage to Benjamin Franklin, who created the first "Junto" brainstorming group, which established the first American public hospital.

SHSMD 2010, Chicago-Style

Posted: July 29th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: All Junto Health Posts, Healthcare Advertising, The Whole Enchilada | Tags: , , | 1 Comment »

We do our homework at Franklin Street. Researching Chicago for the annual Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) Conference this September, I discovered there are more than 200 theaters, almost 200 art galleries, and more than 7,300 restaurants in the Windy City. Talk about variety! Did you know another nickname for Chicago is The City of Big Shoulders? This odd moniker comes from the 1916 poem penned by Carl Sandburg in reference to Chicago’s workingman roots.

Chicago is home to many of our nation’s firsts – the first Ferris wheel premiered at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the first mail-order business was established in 1872 as Montgomery Ward & Co., and the world’s first skyscraper was built in Chicago in 1885 to house the Home Insurance Company. Roller skates, Cracker Jacks, and the zipper all hail from Chicago, too.

Thanks to a massive engineering project in 1900, the flow of the Chicago River was reversed and now empties into the Mississippi River, rather than into Lake Michigan. And yes, they dye the river green every St. Patrick’s Day.

Ever heard of the Willis Tower? How about the Sears tower? Well, the latter was renamed the Willis Tower in recent years but it remains the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. From the tower’s Skydeck at 110 stories above the city, you can see four states – Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. And how do you reach the Skydeck? On one of the fastest elevator rides in the world – 1,600 feet per minute!

We’re proud to serve as your official SHSMD concierge. So when you’re in Chicago this September, stop by the Franklin Street booth and pick up your “Smart Little Map to a Great Big City,” register for daily gift giveaways, or just stop by to chat.

You’ll be glad we’ve done our homework.

One Comment on “SHSMD 2010, Chicago-Style”

  1. 1 Rebecca Jones said at 3:35 pm on July 29th, 2010:

    Great information about Chicago!. Do you know if the Otis Elevator Company started in Chicago? (I should have done my homework on that one, I suppose.) In the meantime, I’ll share a corny Chicago joke that McLean Stevenson (Colonel Blake on M*A*S*H) told when he was a guest on The Tonight Show: "Once the wind stopped blowing in Chicago and the whole city fell down." I told you it was corny.

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