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<< back to the 2004 archive listing << Food Protection Trends COMMENTARY from the executive director “There were so many good things that took place this year; it is hard
to know where to start!” It is hard to believe that November is here already, but we must face the facts! This is the beginning of an eventful time for most Members and their families as the holiday season keeps people on the go trying to schedule so many events related to the holidays. Many people request time off of work during this period too, so you see some slow down of work efforts from now until mid-January. That happens at the IAFP office too, but we try to minimize the effects of our reduced staff. Especially since we are already gearing up for IAFP 2005 during this time! Before we start on IAFP 2005, let’s review IAFP 2004. This issue of Food Protection Trends contains our recap of IAFP 2004 that was held in Phoenix, Arizona last August. It was our most successful Annual Meeting in the history of the Association on many accounts. Attendance was up by 7% over the prior year, reaching a total of 1,584 attendees. Our Exhibit Hall was filled to the maximum of 128 booth spaces with 110 companies represented. And it is so rewarding to know that our sponsoring companies (see pages 900 through 904) contributed 20% more in sponsorship monies than in the prior year. Certainly, this success also leads to a few problems. Some attendees who made hotel reservations late were not able to stay in our host hotel, the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and had to commute from off-property. As all conferences encounter, we had some speakers who were unable to be with us in Phoenix and did not send substitutes. That happens and of course we have no control over such situations. Another popular problem is that attendees cannot get to all of the sessions that they want to attend or they are unable to spend as much time in the poster sessions or the Exhibit Hall. I must say, we don’t have solutions to all of those problems, but we continue to address them. We encourage you to make your hotel reservations as early as possible (hotel reservations open in January for IAFP 2005) and, of course, we work with speakers who cancel early to fill the openings. Normally when a speaker does not make it to our Annual Meeting, it is because of an emergency situation. To address the issue of not being able to attend all sessions (including poster sessions) and the Exhibit Hall, we are working towards recording sessions at IAFP 2005! This is one way to allow attendees who are unable to attend conflicting sessions to be able to review some of the information presented during the session they missed. Now, let’s get back to the successes of IAFP 2004. There were so many good things that took place this year; it is hard to know where to start! One that is worth mentioning is the student involvement. Our Student Professional Development Group held a very successful luncheon on Sunday with about 70 people in attendance. In addition, they raised monies to support the first ever, Student Mixer that was held on Tuesday evening. The room was full of students and guests enjoying great food, drink and conversation! Students also assisted in our meeting rooms and provided summaries of the sessions, which are presented beginning on page 849. We want to recognize the efforts of Michelle Danyluk, Renee Raiden, and Ben Chapman who all helped this past year in organizing events and session monitoring for the students. Thanks to all students who assisted during IAFP 2004! We experienced a magnificent Ivan Parkin Lecture delivered by Martin Cole during the Opening Session. Dr. Cole was with Food Science Australia as the Deputy Chief Executive and recently joined the Illinois Institute of Technology as the Director of the National Center for Food Safety and Technology. His talk, “Advanced Food Protection Technology” is recapped on page 842. We want to recognize the IAFP Foundation for sponsoring the Ivan Parkin Lecture. In addition to Dr. Cole, we were fortunate to have Dr. Merle Pierson, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety address our attendees in a plenary session to discuss “Food Safety Policy at USDA: The Road from Ambitious Vision to Tangible Results.” Dr. Pierson’s presentation is summarized on page 846. Then, on Tuesday afternoon, the inaugural “John H. Silliker Lecture”
was delivered by R. Bruce Tompkin. Dr. Tompkin spoke on “Guess Who’s
Come to Stay – The Resident Pathogen Issue” (page 844). A big thank
you to Silliker, Inc. for their sponsorship of the John H. Silliker Lecture.
I should also mention that Dr. Silliker was present at IAFP 2004 to witness
the origin There were so many excellent sessions, both symposia and technical (oral and poster!), that choices of what presentations to attend when were difficult. The session rooms at the Desert Ridge Resort were large which made it easy to find a seat, even in the most popular sessions. We want to make a special word of thanks for all of our session organizers, convenors, speakers and presenters. Without you, our meeting would not be possible. The latest science, methods and procedures are what attendees thrive upon and IAFP consistently delivers this content! I mentioned the size and number of exhibitors at IAFP 2004, but I want to sincerely thank our exhibitors for putting forth the effort to be with us in Phoenix. We have a special relationship with our exhibitors as many of the company representatives staffing the booths also participate fully in our Committee and Professional Development Groups and also either attend sessions or give presentations. We are indeed fortunate to have such active support from our exhibiting companies! In addition, many exhibitors also provide sponsorship monies to support events during the Annual Meeting. We truly appreciate our sponsors’ assistance and the support of our exhibitors. Both provide assistance for the IAFP Annual Meeting that allows us to do so much for our attendees. Much of the support monies are directed towards events that add a social element to the Annual Meeting and IAFP 2004 was no exception. Social events were held on Saturday for New Members and first time attendees and for Affiliate Delegates and Officers. On Sunday, the Opening Reception was a grand success with more than 1,200 in attendance. Monday evening for the Social, attendees boarded busses and stepped back in time to the “Old West” at Rawhide Western Town. Tuesday evening, the President’s Reception was held and was followed by the Student Mixer. Then to conclude IAFP 2004, the Annual Awards Banquet was held. These social times were in addition to the refreshment breaks that were held in the Exhibit Hall. Socializing at the IAFP Annual Meeting is one of the most important things that can be done. You never know when you may meet someone who can solve the problem you have been working on for months! Or, you may just meet your new employer among the IAFP attendees. So, we hope that you were able to be with us in Phoenix for IAFP 2004, but if not, the recap in this issue will help to show you what you missed! If you were at IAFP 2004, the review will jog your memory of the great time we had! Now, be sure to plan ahead to prepare for IAFP 2005 – the dates are August 14–17 and we will be in Baltimore. Registration opens February 1 and program topics will be available at that time, too. |