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<< back to the 2003 archive listing << Food Protection Trends COMMENTARY from the executive director “We continue to be thankful for the extraordinary This year’s Annual Meeting was a colossal success and in this issue of Food Protection Trends, we feature the summary report on IAFP 2003. The meeting was held in New Orleans, Louisiana over the dates August 10 – 13 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Our report includes pictures, session summaries, event summaries, minutes of the committee meetings and the Annual Business Meeting, and pictures and bios of the Award recipients. We hope you were able to be with us in New Orleans and that this report will bring back memories of IAFP 2003, but if you were not able to attend, we know you will enjoy reviewing the Annual Meeting highlights. The report begins on page 888. Beginning on page 908, session summaries that were written by Members of the IAFP Student PDG are presented. This is the second year for these summaries and we believe this endeavor adds a valuable Member service. A gigantic “Thank You” to all of the students who helped make this possible and a special thanks to Michelle Danyluk and Renee Raiden who helped coordinate this effort. Please take a good look at the list of special contributors on page 901. These companies, along with those shown on page 906, were instrumental in providing support monies for IAFP 2003. We were fortunate to see magnificent growth in our total sponsorship this year and this enabled us to provide the settings for quality networking to occur. Thank you to each of our supporters! Each year the Annual Meeting grows but not to the point that makes it too big! This year we again set many records. We had 1,481 attendees, a five percent increase over last year; we had 108 exhibit spaces, a fifteen percent increase and we had a full 50% increase in sponsorship monies! The number of presentations increased by close to 100 over the prior year and our number of abstract submissions had increased by 33% for the second year in a row. This growth is above average and is a direct reflection on the quality of IAFP attendees and the scientific information being presented. We continue to be thankful for the extraordinary number of Members willing to assist us in conducting the Annual Meeting. From all of the session organizers and convenors to the presenters, to the Program Committee (led this year by Lynn McMullen, Chairperson), to those serving on our committees and PDGs, everyone comes together to make sure that IAFP’s Annual Meeting is a success! We also want to thank Marlene Janes and her students at Louisiana State University and Doug Marshall and his students at Mississippi State University for their help at the registration desk and their help with the social events. It was great to work with this enthusiastic group! Once again we close a chapter in the Association’s history. The 90th Annual Meeting is over and becomes a part of our history. Can you believe that there have been ninety Annual Meetings? This reminds me of another 90th celebration. Wilbur Feagan, a long-time Association supporter and sponsor of the Black Pearl Award, recently celebrated his ninetieth birthday. I was honored to be able to attend a reception that was held for Wilbur in Springfield, Missouri and we have a couple of pictures to share with you (see below). Thanks to Wilbur for his unwavering support over all these years and thanks to all IAFP Members for your support. It is the Members of this Association that make it great. Without active, supportive Members we would not be successful! |