Tom Pugh, a team leader in the CES, who coordinated the conference, said: "The primary reason for the conference was to acquaint the agency’s newly designated work/family and health/wellness coordinators from each regional office to the extensive services offered by the CES and to motivate them to more fully implement these services in their components. Because the span of possible ser-vices is very broad and it is more complex to develop them at field locations due to limited resources, it is understood that implementation will be incremental and take some time. Selected services may be offered in the beginning and they may evolve into more comprehensive program over time. Participants were encouraged to get at least some services started and to get some points on the score board as soon as possible."

At the start of the conference, CES Deputy Director Bill Alker, told the group: "We want to maximize our ability to provide services and information to all employees. We can learn about your current activities and challenges. We want to listen to you and learn how we can be more responsive in this area."

The agendas for each day, packed full from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., allowed time for attendees to participate in open discussions about their needs, as well as periods of questions and answers at the beginning and/or end of each day.