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<< back to the 2003 archive listing << Food Protection Trends President's Perspective “IAFP Affiliates - Lifeblood of the organization” As President of IAFP I get to interact with a number of our Affiliates throughout the year. I recently had the pleasure of participating in the 2003 Joint Educational Conference of the Wisconsin Association for Food Protection, the Wisconsin Environmental Health Association and the Wisconsin Association of Dairy Plant Field Representatives in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. It was great to see a number of long-time friends like Kathy Glass, P. C. Vasavada, and Sir Randy Daggs to name a few. It was also great to make new friends and acquaintances as well. I also had the pleasure of presenting long-time IAFP supporter Fritz Buss with an IAFP Certificate of Merit for his dedication and service to the Association. The astonished look of surprise on Fritz’s face alone was worth the price of admission. Once again, I want to congratulate Fritz on this well-deserved honor. Overall, the WAFP Joint Educational Conference had a strong technical program and was well-attended with approximately 180 food safety professionals from across the state of Wisconsin. I truly believe that our IAFP Affiliates are the lifeblood of the organization. Therefore, I believe it is incumbent upon IAFP to help ensure the vitality and success of all of our Affiliates. We endeavor to do that in a number of ways. One great example is our Executive Board Speaker Program where IAFP helps to cover the cost of a Board Member Speaker at Affiliate technical meetings. Other examples include publication of the Affiliate Newsletter which publicizes Affiliate activities and other items of interest to the Affiliates, sponsorship of a number of Affiliate Awards at the IAFP Annual Meeting, and sponsorship of the Affiliate Council meeting and related activities at the IAFP Annual Meeting, to name a few. The IAFP Affiliate Council is chaired by Steve Murphy, an active member of the New York Affiliate, New York State Association for Food Protection. As Chairperson of the Affiliate Council, Steve serves on the IAFP Executive Board and acts as the voice of the Affiliates at Board meetings. Lucia Collison McPhedran does a superb job as the IAFP staff member responsible for IAFP Affiliate activities. When you get a chance, please thank Lucia for all of the tireless work she does on behalf of your Affiliate and IAFP. What’s so special about our Affiliates, in my mind, is that they have the flexibility to tailor their programs to meet the needs of their specific membership. They are also able to reach food safety professionals who, for various reasons, are not currently members of IAFP. Our Affiliates provide a mechanism for educating their members about the benefits of belonging to IAFP. The number of IAFP Affiliates continues to grow. We currently have 39 active Affiliates around the world. The United Kingdom and Portugal are the two newest Affiliates and we congratulate them as they develop their programs and membership participation. Admittedly, I am biased, but I believe that IAFP is the premier food protection organization in the world. One big reason for this preeminence is the success of our Affiliates. If you’re already involved in your Affiliate, I urge you to remain active. If you’re new to your Affiliate I urge you get actively involved. I also urge all Affiliate members who are also members of IAFP to encourage your Affiliate colleagues who are not members of IAFP to consider joining our organization. The networking experience at the IAFP Annual Meeting is worth the membership price alone. Even if a prospective IAFP member cannot afford to travel to the IAFP Annual Meeting, the many other professional benefits of our Association still makes membership a great bargain. The IAFP Executive Board and Program Committee are already working to host another successful meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, August 8–11, 2004. Please join us — I know it will be a great experience! As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments at phall@kraft.com. Until next month… |