Food Protection Trends

COMMENTARY from the Executive Director
July 2006

" We look forward to seeing you next month in Calgary! ”
By David W. Tharp, IAFP Executive Director

This issue of Food Protection Trends is our Annual Meeting issue and includes the full program for IAFP 2006. Our coverage of the 93rd Annual Meeting begins on page 513. You will want to review the program to plan for your participation in the “leading food safety conference!”

If you have never been to Calgary, you will love the city and surrounding area. You should consider bringing family members or friends, as most of us do not have the opportunity to travel to Calgary but once in a lifetime. Calgary is a beautiful, clean and enjoyable city with excellent restaurants (many close to our hotels) and great shopping opportunities including many one-of-a-kind shops.

We arranged a number of tours that your friends or family may choose to participate in. There are even tours for you to consider on Saturday and Sunday prior to the start of our meeting and a day of activities planned for Thursday after the meeting. Tour descriptions are on page 546, but let me entice you. On Saturday, our tour travels west of Calgary to the Canadian Rocky Mountains. You will visit Banff National Park sites including Lake Louise, Johnston Canyon and the majestic, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. It is a beautiful journey through the mountains and one you will long remember!

Also on Saturday, IAFP will hold a golf tournament for those interested in golfing in beautiful, scenic surroundings. There are panoramic Rocky Mountain views on each hole of The Links of GlenEagles. The course was carved into the rugged foothills as they run up to the Rocky Mountains. Portions of the course border 200-foot cliffs overlooking the Bow River Valley. Join your colleagues for a day of golf you will talk about for months and years to come.

On Sunday, a tour around the city of Calgary takes place. You will begin at the Calgary Tower with spectacular views of the city and the Canadian Rockies. A visit to Herit-age Park will take you back in time and a stop at Canada’s Olympic Park will bring back memories of the winter Olympic competitions.

Following IAFP 2006, we planned a day for activities in the Kananaskis Valley and an Alberta barbecue. You may want to consider staying an extra day to enjoy one of these activities: horseback riding, whitewater rafting, canoeing, biking or hiking. Top that off with a true, Alberta barbecue – not a bad way to relax after three days of learning at IAFP’s Annual Meeting!

Tours on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday include a trip to Drumheller and the Badlands of Alberta, an art walk and a combined yoga and cooking class. Drumheller is the location of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, which is a major research center for dinosaurs. You will enjoy the unique landscape of the Badlands and your time at the museum! The art walk tour will take you to some of Calgary’s best-known art galleries and will end at Art Central with an art demonstration. Our yoga and cooking class combine the health and vitality of Western Canada’s lifestyle. I think most would find something of interest in one of these tours, or maybe even all of them!

New this year is two Foundation Fundraisers. On Tuesday evening, a limited number of attendees will experience one of two, unique dining experiences. The first is a murder mystery dinner conducted at the Deane House on the banks of the Elbow River. Our second option is dinner at The Ranche, one of Calgary’s finest and most creative restaurants located in Fish Creek Provincial Park. Registration fees for both events include a donation to the IAFP Foundation so please help the Foundation grow while you enjoy great food and an evening with your colleagues!

As you can see, there are so many things to experience in Calgary; you will want to spend some extra time there. We hope you have made your plans to attend IAFP 2006 and we look forward to seeing you in Calgary next month.

In addition to the Annual Meeting, I want to call to your attention IAFP’s Career Services that are now available online at the IAFP Web site (see ad on this page). We have made a major expansion in our job postings to benefit both employers and job seekers. Job seekers can now post their resumes, search our job listings and request E-mail notification when jobs fitting their particular interests are posted.

Employers may now post job advertisements directly to our Career Services area on the IAFP Web site and no longer have to wait for our staff to perform this task. Job ads are posted in real time! There are many additional features for both employers and job seekers and we encourage you to take a look at this new, exciting service.

There will be further information on the IAFP Career Services coming your way and information will be distributed at IAFP 2006. Once again, we look forward to seeing you next month in Calgary!