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Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation

Commentary From The Executive Director
January, 2000

Recruit a new Member to join the Association
By David W. Tharp, IAFP Executive Director

It is now official; the name of the Association is now the International Association for Food Protection. This begins a new era in the life of this Association that generates excitement and anticipation for what the future will provide. We feel the new name provides a great opportunity for growth in Membership, growth in international Membership and growth in the Annual Meeting. You may ask, how do we plan to achieve this growth? Well, let us take a little time to review our plans.
We feel our expectations are realistic and achievable. For the Annual Meeting, we want to see slow growth in attendance to 1,500 attendees over the next three-to-five years. At the 1999 Annual Meeting, we had just over 1,130 attendees. Membership participation is up over the last few years and we expect to keep this same growth trend moving. Just two years ago, we had between 2,700 and 2,800 Members. Today we have exceeded 3,000 Members and expect to reach 3,500 in less than five years - sooner with your help!

I hope you took a good look at the cover of this month's Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation. The cover shows a new "image" for the Association and something you will see carried through various Membership materials, our exhibit booth, and our Member vision cards. Member vision card - what is that? A Member vision card is a card that presents a topic for your consideration as a Member of the Association. The Association mission, use of the Web site, committee involvement, and Annual Meeting attendance are topics for upcoming vision cards. The cards are suitable for placing in a small picture frame to display for colleagues to notice. It is our hope that by displaying these cards, Members will begin conversations with their colleagues and encourage their involvement and Membership in the Association. It is a great form of subtle, visual promotion for the Association.

We invite and encourage your participation. This is an important leg of promoting the new name! You received the first card with the Call for Awards Nominations that mailed in December. Other cards will follow with various mailings throughout this year.

All of our Membership materials were designed around the theme shown on the journal cover. This will help identify the International Association for Food Protection by sight as well as by name. Our name and new logo will also become more visible and consistently used to provide a constant reminder of the quality reputation of the Association.

Even with the use of new materials, we still need each and every Member's help to grow the Association. President Guzewich has called for action and I want to repeat the call for each Member to take it on him or herself to recruit a new Member to join the Association. If we can help by sending a sample copy of either Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation or Journal of Food Protection (or both), just contact our office and we are happy to fulfill your request.

Soon you will receive a new Membership card and Certificate of Membership. Be sure to keep your Membership card in a safe place. By March, we expect to have a "Members only" section on our Web site (www.foodprotection.org) that will include access to the Membership directory.

You will need your Membership number (on your Member card) to enter the "Members only" section of the Web site, so again, keep your Membership card safe!

We hope that you like the new materials and the new "image" for your Association. We look forward to your assistance in bringing new Members to the International Association for Food Protection! With your help, we can truly prosper. Thanks for your support of the Association.

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