Greetings to the ARPAS membership:

It was great to see many of you at the recent Joint Annual Meeting (JAM) in Phoenix. Thank you to those who attended the ARPAS and ACAS business meetings.

ARPAS continues to thrive as an organization. At the JAM it was evident by how active we were at the ARPAS booth, how many new exams were taken by future members, and the great attendance at our ARPAS Symposium. As the new President I am also now more aware of the many things our organization is doing to support the membership. Two things that may not be apparent to you is the Professional Animal Auditors Certification Organization (PAACO) and the new foundation. Please read through this newsletter to learn more about these and the many other critical things we are doing to serve our industry. 

I am looking forward to serving as your president during this next year. I recall learning about ARPAS as a young scientist when two of my mentors (and part of our current leadership), Drs. Carl Hunt and Kenneth Cummings, encouraged me to become an ARPAS member and then take the exam to become board certified. Although, these certifications may seem to be just an item for the resume, I truly believe the commitment that went with those early decisions has led me to many professional opportunities and accomplishments. I hope that I can encourage you to do pursue the next level of certification as well and to mentor others to grab a hold of the opportunities this organization offers.

I wish to personally thank Dr. John Wagner, last year’s president of ARPAS. John did an outstanding job leading the organization and has helped ARPAS become even stronger as a direct result of his hard work and dedication. I’d also like to thank the other members of the Governing Council for hard work this past year. Finally, whether you are part of the national leadership, local chapter leadership, or an active member at either level let me thank you in advance for helping me to serve ARPAS in any way I can. I look forward to seeing many of you this next year and talking about ways we can all support our industry by staying current in the animal sciences, help our clients to produce food as efficiently as they can, and be there to work on current issues. If you are interested in helping, we have several open committee positions that are critical to help ARPAS continue to move in the right direction. 

If I can help you in any way with your ARPAS membership, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. 

Warmest regards, 

Bill Sanchez