We are approaching the mid-point of another year with ARPAS. As I pause to reflect on my role as your ARPAS President I am still thinking about Thanksgiving and all that we are grateful for. This is the time of year to be especially proud of the work we do to help put food on the Thanksgiving table. While most of us have plenty of food every day, there are still so many hungry people in the world. One example of how ARPAS has helped in this effort is the Memorandum of Understanding we signed with the Nigerian Institute of Animal Sciences to allow them to use the ARPAS model in their certification program. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) ranks Nigeria as one of the top 20 nations most ravaged by hunger, accounting for over 5 percent of the hunger problems in the world. We had the pleasure to meet several distinguished members of the Nigerian Institute this past summer at our National meeting and it was quite an honor to see how appreciative they are of the ARPAS organization.
One major change that has taken place at the ARPAS office is the departure of Yvona Vlach as Executive Secretary. We wish Yvona the very best and send her many thanks as we welcome Jeremy Holzner who has stepped into the role seamlessly.
Otherwise, this has been a typical year so far with our focus on retaining and attracting new sponsors, focusing on society related issues, continuing to work on implementing our strategic plan, and attending local chapter activities.
In late October, I attended the annual meeting of the California Chapter at the Harris Ranch Inn in Coalinga, CA. It was once again an excellent meeting focused on continuing education. Dr. Luis Rodriguez, current President of the Chapter allowed me to say a few words during their business meeting on behalf of the National Organization. I was unable to attend the Pacific Northwest’s local chapter meeting (held the same week as California’s) but my colleague Nick Nicholson attended for me. Congratulations to Nick for passing his ARPAS exam at that same meeting!
We owe a debt of gratitude to ARPAS member, Dr. Jim Oltjen with UC Davis, who attended Innovate 2012 Conference on Future Funding of Animal Sciences Research of behalf of ARPAS. This conference was held in early October and Dr. Oltjen will present a summary report of the conference at our Governing Council Meeting in January.
We received a nice thank you note from Sara Beth Hinders who accepted the 2012 Distinguished Professional Animal Scientist award for her late Husband, Dr. Raymond Hinders. John Kennedy, a close colleague and friend of Ray’s and my colleague, Dr. Gavin Staley presented the award to Sara Beth in early November.
Please read the rest of the newsletter highlighting many other activities of your national ARPAS organization including reports on the treasury from ARPAS Treasurer Carl Hunt, next summers ARPAS Symposium from President-Elect Mike Galyean, our Foundation Committee report by past-past President Bill Bramen.
The ARPAS Governing Council is currently preparing for the annual mid-year conference call to be held in January. As always, if anyone has any issues to address please bring them forward so that they we can include them on our agenda.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president! Please let me know if I can be of any personal service to you or if you want to share ideas for the organization. Please feel free to call me at 503-504-3797 or email me at bsanchez@diamondv.com.
Finally, I want to send my best wishes to you and your families for a very pleasant Holiday Season and a healthy and prosperous New Year.
Warmest regards,
Bill Sanchez