Time flies, doesn’t it? With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas and the New Year just ahead, my term as President of ARPAS is reaching the midway point. That makes it a good time to look back on what has been accomplished and to assess what remains to be done.

I am happy to report that thanks to the able and consistent leadership of our Executive Vice President, Kenneth Cummings, much has been and is being accomplished. Kenneth is always there to remind all of us on the Governing Council that we need to keep the ball rolling, with a helpful nudge when it comes to a stop.

Maintaining and growing membership in ARPAS continues to be a priority. In 2013, we had 1,536 members in our various categories, and thus far, just over 800 members have renewed for 2014. Renewals continue through March 2014. If you have not renewed, you will find that the process of renewing and updating your CEUs is a simple on-line task that will just take a few minutes. Thanks to support from the ARPAS Foundation, under the current leadership of chair Bill Braman, we have been able to offer the ARPAS exam at no cost to undergraduate students at the JAM this summer, with plans to continue this effort in the future. Introducing the students to the benefits of ARPAS membership should pay dividends as they complete their education and move into careers where certification will help them advance and continue to stay abreast of new developments in animal science.

Steve Schmidt, who heads the Examining Board, has been working to develop on-line versions of our various exams. To this end, ARPAS and ASAS recently developed a memorandum of understanding that provides a framework for us to work on projects of mutual interest related to online education, certification, and testing. We expect this agreement, as well as initiatives of this nature we might pursue with FASS and other FASS-affiliated societies, to lead to greater opportunities for expanding our membership internationally, enhanced member services, and increased opportunities for members to obtain CEUs. Steve and the Board will also be looking into a possible role for ARPAS in providing assessment examinations for graduating seniors in animal science departments across the country.

ARPAS chapters continue to be a success story. I recently attended the Southern Great Plains Chapter meeting in Lubbock. It was a terrific half-day event with timely applied topics and great speakers. Several graduate students from Texas Tech, West Texas A&M, and New Mexico State were able to attend. I look forward to meeting with this group again at the Plains Nutrition Council meeting in San Antonio, TX in early April 2014. Regional chapters provide a great venue for ARPAS members to interact with colleagues and focus on science that is relevant to their part of the world. Some chapters, like the California APRAS chapter, have taken their activities a step further and have made significant contributions in developing and sponsoring important applied research (e.g., developing improved estimates of the energy concentration of alfalfa hay).

Finally, the Professional Animal Scientist, our peer-reviewed journal operating under the capable leadership of Dr. Wayne Kellogg, is continuing to grow in both quality and number of papers published. We anticipate the publication in the journal early next year of five outstanding review articles that will provide comprehensive and timely updates on applied ruminant nutrition. These papers resulted from the 2013 ARPAS Symposium at the JAM. President-Elect Jack Garrett is putting together the ARPAS symposium for the 2014 JAM, which will focus on the importance of ethics in academic and industry settings.

I appreciate the opportunity to serve as President of ARPAS, and I hope that the remainder of my term will provide occasions to further enhance the stature of the organization and provide better service to our members.

Michael Galyean, PAS