This month, Parker Seminars celebrates its 60th anniversary where it all began: Orlando, Fla. In 1951, when much of the profession was struggling, the first Parker Seminar, featuring seven attendees, was held as the result of chiropractors requesting help from Dr. James W. Parker. At the time, Dr. Parker had established 18 successful chiropractic clinics in the state of Texas in only 18 months. The seminars started as a "one man show," with Dr. Parker featured as the only speaker.
Dr. Parker was the first to develop a series of chiropractic protocols and procedures, as well as communication strategies to better educate patients of the value of chiropractic. He also recognized the importance for chiropractic research. Throughout his 18 clinics, he collected more than 44,000 case studies for research that helped perfect the success principles, office procedures, and practice expansion methods taught at Parker Seminars. The Parker Chiropractic Research Foundation, Inc., was also established to continue this ongoing research.
The first seven Parker Seminar attendees were so enthusiastic about the applicable results they received at the initial seminar, they persuaded Dr. Parker to hold another seminar six months later in St. Petersburg, Fla. Attendance increased by 27 doctors.
The success achieved by those early doctors was so extraordinary, more and more requests poured in for specialized instruction. The attendees contacted their colleagues and former classmates around the nation, insisting they attend.
Dr. Parker was a master at seeking out the best in people and creating leaders who could share the information with others. As Parker Seminars grew, Dr. Parker started inviting some of his students and friends who had also experienced success in their clinics to speak at the seminars.
For the next six years, Dr. Parker took Parker Seminars to nearly every major city on the North American continent. Almost 100 seminars were conducted during this time; often every weekend for two or three consecutive months with attendance spiraling upward.
While conducting his traveling seminars, Dr. Parker also continued his research. He observed and studied chiropractic offices in the cities and towns he visited. His travels took him to over 2,000 chiropractic offices where he collected data and studied the facets of success as years went by.
In 1958, Dr. Parker established a Parker Seminars headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. This was due to the need for a permanent headquarters in order to conduct expanded research and provide better instruction facilities. For the next 13 years, Parker Seminars were primarily held in Fort Worth, with notable exceptions including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Europe.
By 1970, the seminars had grown so large that Dr. Parker moved them to Dallas, Texas. This was due to the need to accommodate patrons with expanded hotel options who were coming from all over the world.
Parker Seminars held its 224th seminar in Snowmass, Colo., in 1976, with an attendance of nearly 2,500 chiropractors and chiropractic assistants. By this time, Dr. Parker and his seminars were again traveling to major cities including Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, and Atlanta, as well as holding at least three seminars each year in Dallas. Since 1976, there have been few, if any, Parker Seminars with fewer than 2,000 attendees.
In 1979, during Parker Seminars Las Vegas, 4,400 attendees listened to guest speaker and future-commander-in-chief, Ronald Reagan. The former president is just one of many world famous speakers, educators, scientists, and celebrities who have presented during Parker Seminars.
The 300th Parker Seminar was held in Las Vegas in 1989, where a record-breaking 8,000 chiropractors, chiropractic assistants, and chiropractic students attended.
Today, Parker Seminars has hosted more than 420 seminars across the globe and trained over 35,000 doctors of chiropractic and more than 200,000 chiropractic assistants. Parker Seminars features three North American programs every year. This includes the legendary Parker Seminars Las Vegas, recognized as the largest gathering of chiropractors, chiropractic assistants and chiropractic vendors in the world. International seminars have been held in Japan, Europe, Mexico and Australia.
Parker Seminars embraces the entire profession, regardless of one's philosophy or techniques. Not only is it a place of inspiration, learning, networking and motivation, but each seminar also offers a variety of continuing-education options for both the doctor of chiropractic and chiropractic assistant. Some of the biggest names in chiropractic provide tips on patient communication, philosophy, health and wellness, personal development and other specialties including marketing and business management. In addition, the seminars include the largest expo in the profession, where vendors display the latest industry products and technologies.
International Parker Seminars are made possible through professional alliances with international organizations, in effort to raise funds for chiropractic research and education -- and advance chiropractic in those countries.
Every dollar invested at Parker Seminar supports chiropractic education and research through Parker College of Chiropractic. Together with a highly dedicated staff, Parker Seminars has the tremendous leadership and passion of Dr. Fabrizio Mancini, Parker College president, and Dr. Gilles Lamarche, vice president of Parker Seminars and external relations.
Parker Seminars still operates under the storied Parker Principles, a series of life principles personally developed by Dr. Parker. The core of Parker Seminars is based off of one of Dr. Parker's principles: "Loving service my first technique."
Parker Seminars invites everyone involved and interested in chiropractic to attend, in hopes that together, chiropractic will become the preeminent healing profession in the world.
Editor's Note: Article submitted by Parker Seminars to commemorate its 60th anniversary.
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