A few nights ago, I went out and had a drink with Dennis Maher our keynote speaker for National Shoulder and Elbow Week 2024 in Buffalo NY. We talked a little about how we met up. Like many things in life, the story of how Dennis came to speak in front of a bunch of shoulder surgeons is a round about one and full of some interesting coincidences. Below I will share that story and a few tidbits about our partnership for NSEW Buffalo, 2024.
When we won the bid for NSEW around a year ago I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself, give back to a cause in which I believed and showcase some of the cool stuff that we are doing here in Buffalo to advance shoulder and elbow care for our region and beyond. I was starting from scratch. I’m a surgeon, not event planner after all!
Objective number 1 was finding a venue. How would we keep things within a budget, while still finding a space that was fresh and inspiring?
I spent the summer doing my best impression of an event planner touring about a half dozen venues. My mind kept steering toward art as a theme. I’ve always found shoulder and elbow surgery artistic. And the AKG art museum recently completely a beautiful new renovation and addition. But for various reasons that space just didn’t work out.
After checking out a few others I happened upon the Burchfield Penney Art Center. https://burchfieldpenney.org/. I had heard about if through our orthopedic partner and master wood worker Dr. Santilli (who by the way has donated some beautiful woodwork for the auction- see here: https://youtu.be/Mbv5lQPb44I?si=V86m2l-GXPy67DpK), but had never been there. So, I decided to check it out.
Great space. Beautiful patio overlooking its sister museum the AKG and a wonderful showcase for local artists.
But it was not to be. I had already committed to doing an auction at the event with my patient Kelly Schultz acting as lead auctioneer. https://schultzauctioneers.net/ and the event planner at Burchfield Penney said that they did not do auctions. Bummer.
But something else had caught my eye on the way into the museum. There is a space in the visitor center just to the left as you walk in the main entry way called “Interfield.” It’s an immersive space that evokes a sense of Alice in Wonderland like awe. https://burchfieldpenney.org/exhibitions/exhibition:interfield/.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was one of the most fun spaces I had ever encountered. It’s hard for me to describe. There were repurposed pieces of furniture and structural/ decorative woodwork that adorned the walls and ceiling in a way that I had never experienced. It was an inviting space, one that was both organic and whimsical. One where I felt myself drawn to spend more time to take in all the visual and creativity that had gone into building it.
I asked my guide who had created this. She told me that it was Dennis Maher the founder and director of Assembly House 150 https://www.assemblyhouse150.org/.
I had heard of Assembly House 150 through the Cornell Club of Greater Buffalo who had done a tour there. Unfortunately, I missed the tour and had never checked it out. But now I was on a mission. I had to meet this guy. So, I got Dennis’ contact information from the museum and sent off on my quest to meet Dennis in person.
After a few emails and a few weeks, I met Dennis at his studio/ workshop. It is a completely unique place, a converted church that continues to evolve with new structures like a living, breathing art/ construction exhibition.
By that point I had settled on the Darwin Martin House as our venue of choice for the event. Things just clicked form there. As an architect, Dennis would be perfect to do our keynote, if could convince him to come. It turns out we had something in common. Both of us graduated from Cornell in 1998. Maybe that helped. Truth be told, he told me that he wasn’t sure if I was serious at first.
But I was. I was 100% serious. I wanted our community to see what wonderful work Dennis is doing in bringing an amazing artistic vision to the reclaimed spaces in our beautiful city. I wanted him to show our guests that we are all “builders” to some degree. Dennis is a master at drawing connections across seemingly unrelated fields and tying them together in a way that sparks joy and wonder.
After explaining to Dennis that orthopedic surgeons are the architects and builders of the human body, I convinced him to speak at our NSEW event. I am sure that Dennis is going to do a fantastic job and will unlock a recognition of the creative “builder” energy in all of us. I can’t wait to see how many new connections we all make at this event.
So, join us at NSEW Buffalo on May 17 at the Darwin Martin House. You will hear Dennis speak and get inspired to see the builder in you. Register now.