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<< back to the 1999 archive listing << Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation Views From Your President, February 1999 "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite old classic movies. In particular, I like the scene where Dorothy and her friends finally get their audience with the Wizard. They are cowering in the great hall, in awe of the "great Oz." It is only when Dorothy's dog Toto pulls back the curtain that they realize that the "Wizard" is actually an intricate production put on by a frantically working but ordinary man. Embarrassed, the man yells into the microphone, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" But it is too late, Dorothy and friends already know the truth. Believe it or not, this scene has some similarities to IAMFES. That is, what the average IAMFES Member perceives as IAMFES is actually the culmination of (often frantic) human efforts. If you have been following this column the past few months, you may notice that I have tried to play the role of Toto by revealing many of the "behind-the-scene" workings and issues that go into making IAMFES what it is. This is intended. I think Members should know as much about their organization as possible. This month, I will continue with that theme by revealing the workings of two "behind-the-scenes" groups, your Executive Board and the Program Committee (formerly known as PAC). I occasionally get asked, "Exactly what does the IAMFES Executive Board DO?" About the only time that most IAMFES Members see the Board in action is at the Business Meeting and the Annual Awards Banquet. However, these two events, although important, represent only relatively minor activities. The majority of Board activities are unseen and occur at other times throughout the year. In fact, your Executive Board meets face-to-face at least four times per year. The winter Board meeting is the first meeting of the new calendar year. The meeting is held in late January or early February at the venue of the upcoming Annual Meeting, this year at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan. A spring meeting is held in April or early May at the IAMFES office in Des Moines. The summer meeting is held in conjunction with the IAMFES Annual Meeting, and the fall meeting is again held in October or November in Des Moines. The overall purpose or "theme" of each meeting varies depending on the season. The winter meeting allows the Board to visit the facilities for the upcoming Annual Meeting, meet with the hotel management, and plan activities related to the Annual Meeting. The spring Board meeting focuses more on routine business as well as finalizing plans for the upcoming Annual Meeting. The summer meeting is focused almost exclusively on the Annual Meeting. The fall meeting focuses on fiscal year-end matters, review of the past Annual Meeting, long-range planning, and meeting with the IAMFES office staff. Regardless of the season and location of the meeting, there is much work that MUST get done during the Board's brief time together. Meetings typically start at 8:00 a.m. and continue until 5:00 or 6:00 p.m., and occasionally we meet in the evenings as well! The agenda for Board meetings follows the usual Robert's Rules of Order and typically involves discussions of various topics related to IAMFES policy, decisions regarding upcoming events, and reports from the IAMFES office. In addition to meeting in person, your Executive Board also "meets" throughout the year via E-mail and conference calls, as needed. Another important group that is often hidden from the average IAMFES Member is the Program Committee. The Program Committee consists of four members each from industry, academia, and government and is charged with all aspects related to the technical program for the Annual Meetings. The Program Committee first gathers at the Annual Meeting to identify potential topics for symposia and workshops. The list of proposed symposia may be suggested by the Program Committee itself, or come from Professional Development Groups or individual attendees wishing to organize a symposium. During the Annual Meeting, the Program Committee selects symposia and workshops they feel would best serve the Membership at the following year's Annual Meeting. The selected symposia are then returned to symposium or workshop organizers for further development. The Program Committee next meets immediately before, and in conjunction with, the winter Executive Board meeting at the location for the upcoming Annual Meeting. It is at this meeting that all the details of the upcoming technical program are decided. The Program Committee reviews and accepts or rejects submitted poster and oral presentations, places selected presentations into appropriate sessions, and decides when and in which rooms the sessions, symposia and workshops will take place. As you can imagine, this is no easy task! It requires long hours of hard work, good judgment, and fairness on the part of Program Committee Members. However, the Program Committee performs their duties in a dedicated and professional manner, as evidenced by the excellent and improving quality of our Annual Meeting technical program. It is my hope that this brief summary of your Executive Board and Program Committee leaves you with a better understanding of your Association so that you can get more out of it. After all, it was not until AFTER Dorothy and her friends understood the truth about the Wizard of Oz that they received what they had hoped for. |