|
|
<< back to the 2000 archive listing << Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation Commentary From The Executive Director Let us cover how the Annual Meeting Program comes together On page 225 in this issue of Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation, you will find the Preliminary Program for our 87th Annual Meeting scheduled for August 6th to 9th in Atlanta, Georgia. This month I want to review how the Annual Meeting program comes together and explain the connection between our Annual Meeting and the Association Web site. From the Preliminary Program, note that during most all session times we are offering five concurrent sessions this year in addition to a poster session. The large number of submissions of both symposia and technical sessions necessitated this action. For the first time ever, we will accommodate more than 300 presentations at this year's Annual Meeting. What a wonderful problem to have to deal with! Two factors led to this extensive program offering; one, of course, is the extreme interest in food science and safety that is sweeping the world today and the other was the ability to submit abstracts online. This year was our first to offer online abstract submission and we can truly say it was an overwhelming success. Close to 95% of the submissions were received online or by E-mail! We only received 12 by mail and courier delivery. Now, let us cover how the Annual Meeting Program comes together. Our Professional Development Groups (PDGs) and other interested parties generate symposia topics and ideas. A symposium generally consists of six speakers with each giving a 30-minute presentation on a related topic. Normally, two convenors moderate the session to keep control of the time schedule. Symposia ideas are submitted to the Program Committee at the Annual Meeting one year in advance of presentation. The Committee reviews submitted symposia for appropriateness of topic as they relate to our attendees and recommends further development (if deemed appropriate). Fully developed symposia are then due before the January Program Committee meeting where final approval is granted. Technical abstracts for individual presentations are submitted before the January Program Committee meeting. Committee members review each abstract and make the decision whether to accept or reject the presentation. Once accepted, the Committee painstakingly schedules each presentation to limit conflicting sessions or speaker schedules. The Program Committee, under the direction of Chairperson David Golden, completed their obligations and the program for Annual Meeting is now complete. Without the Committee's expertise, our program would not be possible. On behalf of all our Members, we extend a big "thank you" to each member of the Program Committee and to everyone on this year's Annual Meeting program! We invite you to view the most complete program listing at the Association Web site (www. foodprotection.org) where you will also be able to register for he Annual Meeting online. Our E-commerce plans are progressing quickly. By the time you read this article, not only will you be able to register for the Annual Meeting; you will be able to renew your Membership, encourage new Members to complete their application for Membership online and purchase booklets and other publications online. Also, look forward to seeing an online Membership Directory available to Members only by mid-March. You will need your name and Member number (on your Membership card) to gain access to the Members only section of the Web site. I hope this short explanation gives you an insight about how many people are involved in bringing our Annual Meeting program to you. We covered the process we go through to ensure only the highest quality presentations make it to the International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting. We also discussed recent developments at the Association Web site. Please take time to view the Web site. While there, review the Annual Meeting program and plan your trip to Atlanta to attend the world's most comprehensive conference on food safety. We look forward to seeing you in August. |