ARPAS faces some critical and timely issues, and we are addressing them. These issues are the journal, sponsorship, and membership.

• Applied Animal Science (AAS) Journal. This is the fifth year of the initial 5-year contract with Elsevier, who is the co-publisher along with FASS. By the end of this year, ARPAS will decide whether to (1) continue with Elsevier by completing the fifth year of the current contract, (2) seek a new contract with Elsevier, or (3) seek another potential publisher. A committee of Executive Committee members, the previous AAS editor, an initial-contract time-period ARPAS president, and several FASS staff have been sorting through these options and will reach a decision this fall.
• ARPAS Sponsorship. What was once a significant source of annual income for ARPAS has greatly dwindled. A new simple sponsorship program has been developed to seek $1,000 annual contributions from companies, organizations, and consulting groups. The Executive Committee along with Daniel Rivera of Mississippi State University and Mike Looper of the University of Arkansas are seeking these annual contributions. This income will be used in support of the AAS journal. If your group, or you as an individual, is interested in becoming an ARPAS sponsor, please let me know at andhil@swbell.net.
• Membership. Membership is the major source of ARPAS income. The first need of any organization is to know who their members are. We presently have no demographic information on our members. Beginning with October membership renewals, a concise, simple template will be used for recording new and renewing members’ information. FASS is also implementing a new membership database system that will be more flexible and comprehensive. We do not know the age distribution of our members or how many female or male members we have. We do not know which other scientific organizations members belong to, who their employers are, or what levels of higher education they have. Why would we need or want to know this? We need to know whether we are keeping up with the animal science industry, how representative of our membership our committees and officers and Governing Council are, and whether our journal and programs are best serving the needs of our members and of the industry. None of this information will be shared outside of ARPAS.

ARPAS is fortunate to have Dave Beede, who, as editor of the AAS journal, is revitalizing it and is putting it into a growth mode. Read his newsletter comments. Kenneth Cummings provides a wealth of experience, knowledge, and wisdom to ARPAS operations. Andy Cole helped launch initiatives noted above when he was president last year. Dana Tomlinson, as ARPAS treasurer, minds our financials closely. Moe Bakke, as a director, is actively engaged on the Executive Committee. Daryl Kleinschmit is putting together the 2019 annual ARPAS Symposium. Earlier this year, Brittany Morstatter came on board as FASS executive assistant for ARPAS and for some other FASS clients. She jumped in and has been proactive in helping us address initiatives noted above and other issues. Susan Pollock has contributed mightily with her skills and knowledge about publishing and editing to aid us in sorting out publication of the ARPAS journal, and Jeremy Holzner has headed FASS into new systems that ARPAS will use in membership demographics and operations. ARPAS is in good hands.

Al Kertz, PhD, PAS, Dipl. ACAN
ARPAS President, 2019–2020