Additional Honors: LTEN Salutes Some Star Performers
SPECIAL RECOGNITION – By Tim Sosbe
The winners of the 6th Annual LTEN Excellence Awards were the main honorees at the LTEN Connect virtual training forum, but they weren’t the only members to be spotlighted for their good work.
At the June 9 opening session, LTEN Board President Richard Sampson of Cepheid took a few moments to pay a special tribute to his predecessor, Immediate Past President David Fortanbary of UCB. It was an honor well-earned.
Fortanbary was president of the LTEN Board of Directors for the 2018 and 2019 terms, a period that saw record membership growth for LTEN and many new offerings for members.
“I just want to thank David for all the work and the effort and the passion he’s put in to leading the LTEN organization for the past two years,” Sampson said. “David, we are honored for all the work you’ve done, to be recipients of that, and it’s an honor to continue that legacy.”
Fortanbary, global head of talent acquisition and learning launch excellence for UCB, was grateful for the kind words, the gift clock that accompanied and the chance to contribute to LTEN.
“Leading LTEN these last two years has been an immense privilege,” he said. “I have met so many new people and connected with long-time friends who are passionate about learning in life sciences. The organization is in good hands with our new leadership, and I look forward to serving and supporting LTEN for many years”
Also honored at the LTEN Connect forum were the 2020 inductees into the LTEN Hall of Fame, former board member Evelyn Nichols and former executive director Kevin Kruse.
“It’s really humbling and very nice, especially just knowing it came with approval from the board and I’ve always had great respect for them and all that they’ve given,” said Kruse. “In one way or another I’ve been part of the society and all its flavors since around 1991 or 1992. It has been a long time. It’s really cool.”
“It is definitely an honor,” Nichols said. “I think back to the people that I’ve worked with at many of these companies and also my colleagues who’ve been around for many years and are very deserving too. I’m very humbled and appreciative of the honor.”
You can log into the LTEN Virtual Connect platform to view Sampson’s opening
session, including the Fortanbary honor, as well as the Hall of Fame spotlight. Visit
www.LTENConnect.com for more information.
Tim Sosbe is editorial director for LTEN. Email Tim at tsosbe@L-TEN.org.
