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LONE STAR PERSPECTIVE “Our Association is made up of
people who are very dedicated
to our mission and the international presence
of our organization " It is hard to believe that 2008 is right here in front of us. Although it seems like yesterday, about this time last year we were celebrating the successful compl etion of our second European IAFP meeting in Barcelona, and now we have completed our third successful meeting in Rome. The international presence of IAFP is alive and well in Europe. But there is even more good news on the international front: IAFP supported the China International Food Safety and Quality Conference and Expo in Beijing a couple of months ago. And, just prior to our meeting in Europe, David Tharp and I traveled to São Paulo, Brazil where the local affiliate members are helping us plan our first Latin American IAFP meeting. Our members there are very excited about hosting the first meeting in Brazil, and the program is really coming together with some top-notch speakers and timely topics. Our mission of advancing food safety worldwide is moving ahead at a rapid pace, and while much of that progress is due to a committed Executive Board, I have to say that most of the credit for our growth in the international arena should be awarded to our members. Our Association is made up of people who are very dedicated to our mission and the international presence of our organization, and they are ready to help in any way possible. Beyond impressive growth in global food safety, the New Year also allows us to note additional landmark accomplishments in 2007. We broke our record for Annual Meeting attendance in Orlando this year with 2,126 attend-ees at what, I think, was one of our most successful meetings ever. We are in outstanding financial condition. Our Foundation Fund continues to grow, and I believe our financial state otherwise has never been as solid as it is now. Of course, credit for that goes primarily to David Tharp and Lisa Hovey and the previous Executive Boards who were wise enough to see that David was a perfect fit for our organization. I can’t praise David, Lisa and the IAFP Staff enough for the great job they do keeping our organization running on a daily basis. As President, I have the opportunity to visit with many of our affiliate groups and talk with them about what IAFP has been doing and how their involvement is crucial to our success. Our affiliate members are always extremely interested to learn about the new membership dues restructure. You have likely heard this before, but I think it bears repeating. Several years ago, our Board began discussing how to enhance the value of membership in IAFP. In our discussions, it was determined likely that a large group of potential members exists who are not currently part of IAFP because of the previous significant cost of joining IAFP. While it is beneficial to be a member of IAFP and rece-ive all of the perks of being a member, not everyone needs all those benefits. Some members require only a basic membership in the Association, and others may need only one of the publications we provide. The Board decided that we could best serve our membership by providing a “buffet line” of membership options. That means all members are provided the opportunity to sign up for only wh at they want from IAFP. If all you require is a basic membership, that is available. If you would prefer to receive Food Protection Trends , but not Journal of Food Protection , or vice versa, you can do that, too. Basically, you can select as much or as little as you need. And that has made the price for membership in IAFP very reason-able. The Board is determined to meet our primary goal of serving the needs of the membership, and the restructuring of membership dues is part of our promise to do that. Of course, we all know noth-ing is free. The lowered cost of membership is likely going to reduce the income generated from membership dues, so we are going to have to make up that difference some way. One of the most beneficial ways wecan support IAFP would also likely be the easiest way to fill the financial gap—recruit new members. I think most of you would agree with the idea that the benefit we receive from our membership in IAFP is directly related to what we give. I know that my involvement in IAFP has helped make me a better scientist. The valuable professional and personal relationships I have with colleagues in IAFP are most often a direct result of involvement with committees, local affiliates and attendance at annual meetings. If you are like me, the value of IAFP membership is obvious, and you don’t need convincing it is an essential organization for food safety professionals. What about those who do not know the benefits of belonging to IAFP? I don’t know what convinced you to initially become a member, but for many of us, it was one of our respected colleagues who mentioned the benefits of the Association and led us to join. Do you know anyone As this New Year arrives, I would ask you to resolve to help recruit one new IAFP member in 2008. If you know of someone who could benefit by joining, please take a few minutes and introduce them to our association. You could be doing your colleague a great favor, helping support our Association, and meeting a New Year’s resolution all at once! And like we say in Texas, “you can’t beat that with a stick.” If that doesn’t make sense, ask Carl Custer. He can translate Texan. As always, it would be great to hear from you regarding your dreams for IAFP. You can contact me at gacuff@tamu.edu. If you are just looking for someone to translate Texan, Carl can be reached at carl.custer@gmail.com.
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