It is a pleasure to serve as your president for the coming year. I write fresh off our Annual Governing Council and Business Meetings in Montreal. Committee reports and discussions at these meetings underscore that ARPAS is a dynamic and vibrant organization. Our membership continues to grow! Check out the updated ARPAS Web site (http://www.arpas.org/) for online CEU submission and a listing of conferences that have been preapproved by ARPAS for CEUs. The PAS journal is now available via High Wire Press to expedite manuscript submission and review and online searches for journal articles. 

We have experience and stability in the important positions of executive vice-president with Ken Cummings, executive assistant with Susie Rahn, PAS journal editor with Wayne Kellogg, and examining committee chair with Steve Schmidt, so you can expect that the day-to-day functions of ARPAS will continue to be conducted effectively. An award and recognition program for emeritus members, the Distinguished Professional Animal Scientist Award, has been initiated, with the first group comprising six individuals who have all had a major role in the evolution of ARPAS. 

On behalf of the organization, I want to extend appreciation to Marit Arana for her excellent leadership of the Governing Council and for her many years of dedicated service to ARPAS; I look forward to continuing to work with Marit in our new roles on the Executive Committee. I also look forward to working with the incoming president of ACAS, Bill Sanchez, to strengthen the opportunity for board certification of qualified ARPAS members. 

The ARPAS Sponsored Symposium at the Joint Annual Meeting in Montreal covered various aspects of the National Feed Management Project and the ARPAS Feed Management Certification with the following invited speakers: Joe Harrison, Washington State University; Glenn Carpenter, NRCS; Virginia Ishler, Penn State University; and Charlie Stallings, Virginia Tech. President-elect Bill Braman and the Program Committee are already planning the next symposium at the 2010 Joint Annual Meeting in Denver. 

A listing of ARPAS Standing Committees for 2009–2010 can be found on the ARPAS Web site (http://www.arpas.org/). Thanks to the members of these committees for their willingness to serve ARPAS in this important capacity. Later this year, I will appoint a committee to develop a strategic plan for continuing the success of ARPAS into the future. A survey of the ARPAS membership will be conducted so that you can have input on the planning process. 

We recently established an ARPAS Foundation, and I will soon appoint a committee to provide direction to the Foundation. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president! Please let me know of any ideas that emerge or suggestions that you may have. I can be reached by phone at (608) 263-3491 or by e-mail at rdshaver@wisc.edu.