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<< back to the 2004 archive listing << Food Protection Trends President's Perspective “New Blood… New Ideas… New Life” One of the attractive features of our organization is that we continually strive to be all-inclusive. We are an international food safety organization with active participation of our membership from around the world. Your Executive Board is continually striving to find new ideas to grow the organization — whether it be through the addition of international affiliates, formation of Professional Development Groups, sponsorship of professional workshops, or nurturing student involvement, to name a few. Victor Hugo, the great French Romantic writer concluded in this “Histoire d’un Crime” in 1877 that “One can resist the invasion of armies; one cannot resist the invasion of ideas.” The future of any organization is a function of the number of quality ideas that are implemented. I firmly believe that the best ideas rise to the top when there is a diversity of background and experience shaping and growing those ideas. That is certainly one of the strengths of our organization — we are a diverse Association. Among others, we have membership from multiple countries around the globe, we have representation from industry, government, and academia and we have a diverse range of experience — from the “grizzled veteran” to the “neophyte.” I believe the key to the quality of ideas is the diversity in thought and perspective. We need to encourage the active participation of our members, particularly, our younger members. The great Chinese philosopher, Confucius, said, “A youth is to be regarded with respect.” I don’t mean to minimize or discount the wisdom that comes with experience, but the exuberance of youthful ideas is invigorating and often contagious. There are some that believe in the notion of “having to pay your dues.” While length of service to our profession is an important criterion, it should not be the sole criterion for basing decisions for participation or involvement. For example, our Association has a number of committees that have a broad range of background and experience. One of the most important committees our Association has is the Program Committee. This committee has the charge to set the program for our Annual Meeting and the associated workshops. It is a committee with a tough job, but it is a tribute to our membership that year-in and year-out we have more volunteers asking to serve on this committee than any other. The appointments are always tough to make because the pool of potential members is much larger than the number of slots open on the committee. It would be easy simply to use length of service to our Association as the primary determinant and, in fact, it is an important but not sole determinant for committee appointment. I believe it benefits our Association to have representation from the “less seasoned” segment of our member-ship on this committee, as well as our other committees. I believe that in the end, we wind up with more quality ideas and a better program than we otherwise would. As always, I encourage all of you to actively participate in your Association. IAFP exists for your benefit and it is only with your involvement and your ideas that the organization will continue to thrive and grow. I encourage you to invite new members to join and your younger members to become actively engaged in the organization. Only with their active involvement will we have, as Victor Hugo described, “…an invasion of ideas.” This is one invasion we want to encourage, not resist. |