Set Parameter Value Without Using Hidden Fields?

I've been using .NET for a little while now. And, I now want to learn to use it the RIGHT way. And, by that, I mean I shouldn't be using hiddenfields on my .aspx page and setting values for those hidden fields in my codebehind. Problem is, I don't know how to ask the question.. so bare with me.. getting a value from a gridview, detailsview, or in this case a DataList when it's bound on a .aspx page, and passing it into my stored procedure? Here's my code of how I do it now..

here's the label for the Department from my datalist, which is on my .aspx page
<asp:Label ID="lblFullDept" runat="server" Text='<%# Eval("FullDept") %>' />

here's the hidden field from my .aspx page
<asp:HiddenField ID="hdnFullDept" runat="server" />

And now for my code behind - where I find the value during the databound of the datalist, and then set the value equal to the hidden field.

Protected Sub dlInfo_ItemDataBound(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Web.UI.WebControls.DataListItemEventArgs) Handles dlMnfo.ItemDataBound
Dim lblFullDeptCompare As Label = CType(e.Item.FindControl("lblFullDept"), Label)
hdnFullDept.Value = lblFullDeptCompare.Text
End Sub

And finally, the sql portion, where the value is passed as a parameter...

Protected Sub doInsertActivation()
Dim conn As SqlConnection
Dim comm As SqlCommand
Dim reader As SqlDataReader
Dim connectionString As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("xyz").ConnectionString
conn = New SqlConnection(connectionString)
comm = New SqlCommand()
comm.Connection = conn
comm.CommandType = Data.CommandType.StoredProcedure
comm.CommandText = "abc123"
comm.Parameters.AddWithValue("Department", hdnFullDept.Value)
conn.Open()
reader = comm.ExecuteReader()
reader.Close()
conn.Close()
End Sub

Yes, this works, but I just feel like I need to learn a more efficient way of doing this, as I'm constantly grabbing data and inserting it into sql.