|
|
<< back to the 1999 archive listing << Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation Commentary From The Executive Director A review of high points of 1999 and a preview of 2000 and beyond Again, we find ourselves at the end of a year. This time though, it is a very special year for a number of reasons. Of course, we all know it is the end of a century, the twentieth century and we will roll over the annual calendar to the year 2000 in just a matter of days. What will the new century bring to your Association? I want to take a little time to give you a preview of future goals and to review our 1999 accomplishments. Of the many accomplishments during 1999, Members voting to change the Association name to International Association for Food Protection has to rank at the top of the list. We received ballots from nearly 40% of the Membership, which is an astonishingly high response rate. Equally impressive is that of the ballots returned, 94% voted for the new name. We are excited by the opportunity created with the new name and look forward to your help in spreading the word to your colleagues. Another piece of great news comes from our financial report for the fiscal year ending August 31. We completed the year with revenue exceeding expense by nearly $32,000 which was about $19,000 ahead of budget. This was accomplished in a year in which we kept dues steady by allowing an early payment discount for Members paying their dues timely. Although we had a great year financially, the Association is still carrying a deficit in our general fund of $38,600. We have a plan in place to erase our deficit by the end of 2000, and I believe we are on track to accomplishing this goal. During 1999, our Annual Meeting in Dearborn, Michigan was very successful with more than 1,130 attendees from around the globe. We were fortunate to have many excellent food safety topics presented during the program. Workshops were held on "Procedures to Investigate Foodborne Illness" and "An Insider's Look at Microbial Risk Assessment." The Risk Assessment Workshop was also presented in Washington, D.C. last April to a full house. At the end of October, we traveled to Chicago to exhibit at the Worldwide Food Expo and had the opportunity to meet many interested individuals. Particularly gratifying was the number of people stopping at our booth from outside of North America! Some recognized our journals, but most were interested in becoming Members in the new International Association for Food Protection. Since returning, we have seen many membership application forms returned to our office. In addition, we drew for a registration to next year's Annual Meeting and three Memberships. The winners are announced on page 847 of this issue of DFES. We again made progress on reducing the processing time of manuscripts for publication in the Journal of Food Protection and saw increased submission rates for both JFP and DFES. The journals are the pride and joy of this Association and we must continue to do everything possible to present the professional image of the Association through our journals. We rely on both the Journal of Food Protection and Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation to carry the Association message of "Advancing Food Safety Worldwide." As we enter the New Year, efforts will be focused on attracting new Members and providing new services to our long-time Members. Some examples of improved, new services include the availability of submitting abstracts for presentation at Annual Meeting online at our Web site. We are also working towards a "Members Only" section of the Web site that will contain an up-to-date Membership directory. This will assist Members in contacting other Members. In today's mobile society, Members change jobs rather quickly. The "print version" of our Membership directory becomes outdated rapidly. The ability to look up current contact information for more than 3,000 colleagues will be a convenience for all Members. Other online services being developed are e-commerce to include registration for Annual Meeting and workshops online, and the ability to sign up for Membership, purchase publications, and renew your Membership at foodprotection.org. We look forward to the increased versatility e-commerce offers to our Members and look forward to implementing this new technology during the next year. Also in development at this time is a Student Professional Development Group. By this August at Annual Meeting, the Student PDG will have a full slate of meetings and activities planned. To date, it has been discussed to hold a luncheon with a featured speaker, to have a booth in the exhibit hall, to host a job-posting bulletin board, and to have other student social activities. Keep watching DFES for more information about the Student PDG as it develops. A future project for 2001 or 2002 was discussed at the recent Executive Board meeting. As we enter the New Year, we will be investigating and working towards hosting international meetings outside of North America. It is not the intent to replace our Annual Meeting with these international meetings, but to complement the Annual Meeting. We feel the time is right to pursue this activity with our new name and the increased ability to travel internationally. This will allow the International Association for Food Protection to position the Association as a world leader in providing information through journals and educational meetings on protecting the food supply. During the next year, we will conduct surveys and gather input from Members to consider and analyze when planning our plan of action. There you have it, a review of high points of 1999 and a preview of 2000 and beyond. I hope that you'll agree that the affairs of the Association are in good hands of your Executive Board and that you agree that the Executive Board continually plans for future growth with your best interests in mind. With your support, we will continue to grow. We do have the opportunity to be the organization that brings together food safety professionals worldwide to protect the world's food supply. What could be more important? |